Economy
Court Convicts Aluko-Kola, Registrars for N206.5m Stocks Fraud
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A man known as Mr Osho Aluko-Kola has been conceited and sentenced to nine years imprisonment by a court in Lagos for diverting shares of an investor worth N206.5 million.
At the ruling on Wednesday, Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja found the 65-year-old man guilty of conspiracy and theft.
It was gathered that on July 2020, the convict was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside six companies Centurion Registrars Limited, United Securities Limited, Evolution Construction Engineering Design Limited, Cities & Towers Logistics Limited, Continental Exim Nigeria Limited, and Diffusion Impex Limited.
The agency levelled nine charges against him in court, one of which read, “That you, Osho Aluko-Kola, Alake Olatokunbo (now at large), Centurion Registrars Limited, United Securities Limited, Evolution Construction & Engineering Design Limited, Cities & Towers Logistics Limited, Continental Exim Nigeria Limited and Diffusion Impex Limited, between 2015 and 2019 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, conspired to commit a felony, to wit: stealing the sum of N206,502,490.02 (Two Hundred and Six Million, Five Hundred and Two Thousand, Four Hundred and Ninety Naira, Two Kobo), property of Chief Chukwudozie Nwanneka Daniel, and committed an offence contrary to Section 411 and punishable under Section 287 (5) & (9) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.”
In a statement issued on Friday by the Media and Publicity Department of the EFCC, it was stated that Mr Aluko-Kola pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
In the course of the trial, the prosecuting counsel, Mr Franklin Ofoma, called four witnesses, including the victim of the fraud, whose dividend warrant of 80 million shares of the defunct Diamond Bank obtained in 2006 and which was in the custody of Centurion Registrars Limited, were diverted through an impostor.
Also, a Deputy Director and Head of the Enforcement Department of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), testified as the fourth prosecution witness and narrated the outcome of the agency’s investigation, which indicted the registrars involved in the alleged fraud.
The prosecution also tendered several documents to prove the case against the defendants.
After the prosecution closed its case on June 23, 2021, the defendants chose to file a no-case case submission, which was dismissed by the court on January 28, 2022, and the defence was ordered to open its case. The defendant took to the stand to defend himself.
Delivering judgement, Justice Dada held that the prosecution successfully proved the charges against the defendants and held that, “All the defendants are guilty as charged on count one.”
On counts two to five, bordering on stealing an aggregate sum of N38,067,336.68, the trial judge declared the first, second and fifth defendants guilty as charged and ordered to restitute the said sum to the victim.
While count nine was struck out as being a duplicate of count eight, the trial judge held the second defendant accountable for counts six to eight involving the sum of N168,235,152.34.
The judge sentenced the defendant to seven years in prison for the offence of stealing and two years for conspiracy to run concurrently.
Justice Dada ordered the companies to restitute the sums involved in the fraud to the victim.
The sum of N33 million balance in the bank account of the first defendant was ordered forfeited to the victim of the fraud.
Following a passionate plea by the defence for mercy for the 65-year-old Aluko, the court gave him a fine of N10 million in lieu of serving the jail term.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.
The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.
The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.
The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.
Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.
In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
For the fourth consecutive trading session, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closed higher on Friday by 0.63 per cent on sustained renewed buying pressure.
Apart from the energy and industrial goods sectors which closed flat, every other sector ended in the green territory, according to data obtained from the bourse.
Business Post reports that the insurance index appreciated by 1.52 per cent, the banking space improved by 0.63 per cent, and the consumer goods counter expanded by 0.46 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 617.47 points to settle at 99,378.06 points compared with the preceding day’s 98,760.59 points and the market capitalisation went up by 375 billion to close at N60.242 trillion, in contrast to Thursday’s closing value of N59.867 trillion.
The volume of transactions on Customs Street yesterday grew by 11.13 per cent to 544.2 million shares from the 489.7 million shares transacted a day earlier.
The value of transactions increased during the session by 49.30 per cent to N10.6 billion from N7.1 billion and the number of deals went up by 1.93 per cent to 8,464 deals from the 8,304 deals posted in the previous trading session.
The busiest equity for the trading day was Japaul with the sale of 71.7 million units valued at N158.0 million, eTranzact exchanged 70.7 million units worth N477.5 million, Tantalizers sold 57.3 million units for N101.2 million, FCMB traded 33.0 million units worth N297.3 million, and Universal Insurance transacted 27.1 million units valued at N9.6 million.
A total of 36 stocks ended on the gainers’ chart, while 15 stocks finished on the losers’ table, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The trio of Aradel Holdings, Ikeja Hotel and Caverton gained 10.00 per cent each to trade at N550.00, N8.80, and N1.98, respectively, as Africa Prudential rose by 9.87 per cent to N17.25 and Golden Guinea Breweries soared by 9.64 per cent to N8.64.
On the flip side, Austin Laz lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1.62, ABC Transport crashed by 8.00 per cent to N1.15, Royal Exchange slumped by 7.69 per cent to 60 Kobo, Secure Electronic Technology plunged by 5.26 per cent to 54 Kobo, and The Initiates crumbled by 4.26 per cent to N2.25.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil climbed by about 2 per cent on Friday on expectations that additional sanctions on Russia and Iran could tighten supplies and that lower interest rates in Europe and the US could boost fuel demand.
Brent futures went up by $1.08 or 1.5 per cent to settle at $74.49 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures expanded by $1.27 or 1.8 per cent to close at $71.29 per barrel.
European Union ambassadors agreed to impose a 15th package of sanctions on Russia this week over its war against Ukraine, targeting its shadow tanker fleet.
The sanctions would target vessels from third countries supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine and add more individuals and entities to the sanctions list.
The sanctions package is likely to be formally adopted at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday and will target close to 30 entities, over 50 individuals and 45 tankers.
Also, the US is considering similar moves that might target some Russian oil exports, before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Britain, France and Germany told the United Nations Security Council they were ready if necessary to trigger a so-called “snap back” of all international sanctions on Iran to prevent the country from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The move comes as Iran has suffered a series of strategic setbacks, including Israel’s assault on Tehran’s proxy militias Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and the ouster of Iranian ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Meanwhile, data from China this week showed that crude imports in the world’s top importer grew annually in November for the first time in seven months.
There are expectations that China’s crude imports will remain elevated into early 2025 as refiners opt to lift more supply from top exporter Saudi Arabia, drawn by lower prices, while independent refiners rush to use their quota.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) increased its forecast for 2025 global oil demand growth to 1.1 million barrels per day from 990,000 barrels per day last month, citing China’s stimulus measures.
The Paris-based energy watchdog forecast an oil surplus for next year, when nations not in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, OPEC+ group, are set to boost supply by about 1.5 million barrels per day, driven by Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Guyana and the US.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), an OPEC member, plans to reduce oil shipments early next year as OPEC+ seeks tighter discipline.
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