An Ekiti State High Court has sentenced a self-proclaimed Army lieutenant, Bethel Ukachukwu, to two years’ imprisonment for defrauding a victim of ₦500,000 through a fake Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) vehicle auction scheme.
Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, who presided over the court sitting, sentenced Ukachukwu after he pleaded guilty to amended charges of obtaining by false pretence and dishonest conversion filed against him by the Ekiti Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The convict was arraigned on a three-count amended charge after investigations revealed that he fraudulently obtained ₦500,000 from Kayode Samuel, claiming he would use the money to bid for an auctioned vehicle on the victim’s behalf through the Nigeria Customs Service.
Investigations further showed that Ukachukwu falsely presented himself as a Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army to gain the confidence of the petitioner before collecting the money.
He neither secured the promised vehicle nor refunded the money, leading to his arrest and subsequent remand at the Ado-Ekiti Correctional Centre pending the determination of the case.
Count One reads: “That you, Bethel Onyekachi Ukachukwu, sometimes in 15th April 2026 at Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State within the jurisdiction of this Honorable court with intent to defraud and obtain the total sum of Five Hundred Thousand Naira Only (N500,000.00) from one Kayode Aina Samuel under the pretext that you will use the same money to bid for an auction car for him with Nigeria Customs Service which pretext you knew to be false which goes contrary to Section (1) (b) and 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006.
Count two reads: “That Bethel Onyekachi Ukachukwu on or about the 15th day of April 2026 at Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State within the jurisdiction of this Honorable court, did dishonestly convert to your own use the sum of Five Hundred Thousand Naira Only (N500,000.00) being the property of Mr. Kayode Aina Samuel which was entrusted to you for the specific purpose of purchasing a motor vehicle on his behalf and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 295 (2)(f) and punishable under section 302 (1) of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State 2021”
Following the defendant’s guilty plea, prosecution counsel, Saidu Yusuf, called the first prosecution witness, Emmanuel Onuminya, who presented documentary evidence and exhibits linking the defendant to the offences. The court admitted the exhibits in evidence, after which the prosecution urged the court to convict the defendant in line with his plea.
Counsel to the defendant, T.A. Salami, appealed for leniency, informing the court that Ukachukwu was remorseful and had made restitution to the victim by refunding the money fraudulently obtained.
In his judgment, Justice Ogunmoye convicted Ukachukwu and sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment with an option of a ₦150,000 fine, bringing the EFCC’s prosecution of the fraudulent car auction case to a close.