A Karmo Area Court, Abuja, on Tuesday sentenced one Joseph Ogar to 10 months imprisonment for parading as an army officer and for fraudulently obtaining N120,000 from one Godwin Ephraim.
Ogar, who resides at Kuchikowa village in Nayanya, Nasarawa State, was convicted on a two-count charge of impersonation and theft.
The Judge, Mr Maiwada Inuwa, handed down the punishment after Ogar pleaded guilty to the charges.
Inuwa, however, asked Ogar to pay N17, 000 fine as option for the jail term and also to return the N120, 000 to Ephraim.
He warned the convict to desist from committing crime.
The Prosecutor, Ijeoma Ukagha, had told the court that on June 18, 2018, Ephraim of Mabushi village, Abuja, reported at Life Camp Police Station that the convict had introduced himself as an Army officer to him on May 21, 2018.
Ukagha said that the convict, dressed in Army uniform, showed him an identity card with his name and passport photograph on it.
She told the court that the convict collected Ephraim’s bank ATM card and his CX Techno phone valued at 50,000 after accusing Ephraim of committing an undisclosed crime.
She said that the convict criminally and fraudulently forced Ephraim to reveal his ATM card details to him, which Ephraim did.
The prosecutor told the court that the convict went to the nearest bank and withdrew N120, 000 from the complainant’s account.
She said that in the course of investigation, it was found that the convict had never enlisted into the Nigerian Army, neither did he state where he got the uniform and warrant he used for the crime.
She said that the offences contravened Sections 321 and 287 of the Penal Code.
The convict told the court that he used the N120,000 he withdrew from the complainant’s account for the payment of his house rent.
He pleaded for mercy and assured the court that he would not commit any crime again. (NAN)