Court convicts Lagos civil servant for receiving double salaries

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured the conviction of Emmanuel Ogunyemi, a civil servant in Lagos State, for unlawfully collecting salaries from two separate government agencies.

Investigations conducted by the ICPC revealed that Ogunyemi was concurrently listed on the payrolls of both the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and the Agbado Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area (LCDA). This arrangement led to an illegal financial benefit amounting to ₦3.49 million.

According to the commission, his actions were in violation of Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.

Based on these findings, the ICPC brought an eight-count charge against Ogunyemi before the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja (Charge No: ID/25541C/2024).

However, the defendant entered into a plea bargain agreement, which saw the charges reduced from eight to three.

Ogunyemi pleaded guilty to the amended charges before Justice Ismail Ijelu, who subsequently convicted him.

As part of the plea bargain, the court imposed non-custodial sanctions. He was ordered to pay a ₦1.5 million fine and perform three days of community service under the supervision of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice.

The court also required him to sign a ₦5 million bond of good behaviour, to be forfeited if he commits any future offence.

Before his arraignment, Ogunyemi had voluntarily refunded the full ₦3.49 million to the ICPC recovery account. The court subsequently ordered the forfeiture of the refunded sum to the federal government.

Additionally, Ogunyemi submitted a written undertaking to the ICPC, pledging to comply with all laws going forward.

The prosecution team was led by Yvonne William-Mbata, assisted by Roseline Eze and Oluwayemisi Pereira, while the defence was represented by Kehinde Adeleke.

According to the ICPC, this conviction underscores its commitment to promoting accountability and integrity within the public service.