A man, Ayoola Olakitan, was, on Tuesday, jailed one year for operating an unlicensed financial service business.
Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja convicted and sentenced Olakitan, after he was arraigned and pleaded guilty to the amended charge preferred against him by ICPC.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)!reports that the ICPC, in the two-count amended charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/529/2025, named Fortunetech Limited as 1st defendant whille Olakitan, the company’s secretary, was listed as 2nd defendant.
He pleaded guilty after the amended charge was read to him.
Following his plea, ICPC lawyer, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, prayed the court to convict and sentence him according to the law.
The defence lawyer, Hamza Liman, did not oppose.
Liman, however, urged the court to temper justice with mercy.
He argued that the guilty plea showed remorse and that the defendant had been held in ICPC custody for more than three months.
Akponimisingha, however, clarified that Olakitan was not deliberately kept in detention for the period mentioned.
He said his over three months detention was because the defendant absconded after arrest and was later rearrested.
After listening to both sides, Justice Umar sentenced Olakitan to one year imprisonment with an option of a N50,000 fine.
In count one, Fortunetech Limited was accused of carrying on e-commerce designated as non-financial business between December 2023 and December 2024 without registration and certification.
The commission said the offense is contrary to Sections 17 (2)(a)(b) and 18(2)(d) and punishable under Section 18(3)(4)(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
In count two, Olakitan was accused of making a false statement to ICPC investigators between April 29 and April 30 in Abuja, claiming he applied for a Central Bank of Nigeria operating licence on behalf of the company when he did not.
The offence is said to be contrary to Section 25 (1)(a)(b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act,
