The Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama, has sentenced one Jonathan Wallang to seven years in prison for defrauding the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, Staff Bonny Cooperative Investment and Credit Society Limited of N700 million.
Wallang, the Managing Director of Swift and Hay Limited, was convicted and sentenced by Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, after a decade-long trial.
According to a statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Wallang was found guilty on multiple counts bordering on conspiracy, forgery, and obtaining money under false pretenses.
Count six of the charge reads, “That you Jonathan Wallang, being the Managing Director of Swift and Hay Limited on or about the 20th October 2011 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N520,000,000 (Five Hundred and Twenty Million Naira) from the NLNG Staff Bonny Cooperative Investment and Credit Society Limited through Dinijocs Nigeria Limited paid into Swift and Hay Limited First Bank Account No:2016419957 under the pretext of selling a plot of land viz: Plot No1 Idu-Sabo District, Cadastral Zone D04, measuring 643398 Hectares covered by File no: MISC 106282 belonging to Larix Company Limited which you had no authority to sell and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
Count seven also states, “That you Jonathan Wallang being the Managing Director of Swift and Hay Limited on or about the 3rd November 2011 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja with the intent to defraud obtained the sum of N130,000,000 (One Hundred and Thirty Million Naira) only from the NLNG Staff Bonny Cooperative Investment and Credit Society Limited through Dinijocs Nigeria Limited paid into Swift and Hay Limited First Bank Account No:2016419957 under the pretext of selling a plot of land viz: Plot No1 Idu-Sabo District, Cadastral Zone D04, measuring 643398 Hectares covered by File no: MISC 106282 belonging to Larix Company Limited which you had no authority to sell and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
Wallang had pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned by the EFCC in 2015, following a petition by the NLNG Cooperative Society. During the trial, two co-defendants, Julius Ola Peter and Ijeoma David Alanza, died, while the first defendant, Emeka Iloegbunam, was discharged and acquitted.
In his judgment, Justice Muazu convicted Wallang on counts 1, 2, and 3 for conspiracy and forgery, sentencing him to two years’ imprisonment with an option of N200,000 fine on each count. He was further convicted on counts 6 and 7 for obtaining money by false pretenses and sentenced to seven years in prison without an option of fine.
The court also ordered Wallang to pay restitution of N580 million to the NLNG Staff Bonny Cooperative.
Wallang’s conviction marks the end of a 10-year legal battle that began when the EFCC received a petition alleging that he and three others fraudulently obtained N700 million under the guise of securing land in Abuja for the cooperative.
