Businessman bags 18 months imprisonment for N1.5m visa fraud

An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, on Wednesday, sentenced 63-year-old Abiodun Ogundimu to 18 months imprisonment for obtaining N1.5 million through false pretence.

The Magistrate, Mr A.J Odueke, sentenced Ogundimu to the Kirikiri Correctional Facility for defrauding Mr Akeem Olaleye, on the pretext to secure a Canadian visa for him.

Odueke, who did not give the convict an option of fine, said that six months of the jail term was for obtaining by false pretence, while one year was for stealing.

The magistrate further ruled that the convict, an Agege-based businessman, should refund the N1.5million to the complainant.

He said that the jail term would serve as a deterrent to others who may contemplate indulging in a similar act.

Earlier, the Police Prosecutor, ASP Racheal Williams, told the court that Ogundimu committed the offences on Aug. 8, 2022 at 34, Onibeju Street, Capitol Road, Agege, Lagos.

Williams said that the convict stopped taking telephone calls from the complainant after collecting the money.

“So, all efforts by the complainant to collect his money back from the convict were futile,” she said.

She said that the offences contravened Sections 287 and 314 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.