The Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has convicted and sentenced Bethel Onyedikachi Ukachukwu to two years imprisonment for defrauding a man of ₦500,000 under the guise of securing an auctioned vehicle from the Nigeria Customs Service.
Justice Lekan Ogunmoye delivered the judgment on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, after the defendant pleaded guilty to amended charges filed against him by the Ekiti Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The charges bordered on obtaining money by false pretence and dishonest conversion.
According to the EFCC, Ukachukwu collected ₦500,000 from Kayode Aina Samuel after falsely claiming he could secure an auctioned vehicle for him through the Nigeria Customs Service.
One of the charges stated that the defendant obtained the money with fraudulent intent by falsely representing that it would be used to bid for an auctioned car.
Another count accused him of dishonestly converting the ₦500,000 entrusted to him for the purchase of the vehicle to his personal use, contrary to the Criminal Law of Ekiti State.
Following his guilty plea, prosecution counsel, Saidu Yusuf, called the Commission’s first witness, Emmanuel Onuminya, who presented documentary evidence before the court. The exhibits were admitted without objection.
Yusuf subsequently urged the court to convict the defendant based on his plea and the evidence presented.
Defence counsel, T.A. Salami, appealed for leniency, informing the court that his client had shown remorse and had refunded the victim’s money.
In his judgment, Justice Ogunmoye sentenced Ukachukwu to two years imprisonment with an option of a ₦150,000 fine.
The court heard that the convict had also falsely presented himself as a Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army to gain the confidence of the victim before collecting the money.
Despite receiving the payment, he neither provided the promised vehicle nor refunded the money until the matter was reported.
The EFCC said the convict has been remanded at the Ado-Ekiti Correctional Centre following his conviction.
