The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured the conviction of Mr. Iyonu Eseme, an employee of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), for using a forged Trade Test Certificate to gain employment.
By Chimezie Godfrey
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured the conviction of Mr. Iyonu Eseme, an employee of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), for using a forged Trade Test Certificate to gain employment.
Mr. Eseme was arraigned before Justice M.I. Tanko of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on a three-count charge bordering on forgery. The charges were filed under Sections 366 and 368 of the Penal Code Act and Section 25(1)(b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
One of the charges read:
”That you, Iyonu Eseme (M), sometime in the month of August 2020 at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did with intent to commit fraud, forge a Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity Certificate of Competence also known as Trade Test Certificate I, II, III (2014) with trade test code KN/6/90052, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 363 and punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code.”
Upon arraignment, the defendant, through his counsel, Mr. Anthony Idanosa Eruaga, opted for a plea bargain. The prosecuting counsel for the ICPC, Mr. Nura Saidu, accepted the plea deal in line with Section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 and recommended a conviction with a fine.
Justice Tanko, after reviewing the terms of the agreement, convicted Mr. Eseme and sentenced him to pay a fine of Fifty Thousand Naira (₦50,000.00).
In a statement signed by the Commission’s spokesperson, Demola Bakare, the ICPC reaffirmed its zero-tolerance stance on corruption:
”The ICPC reiterates its commitment to ensuring integrity and transparency in public institutions and warns that acts of forgery and other corrupt practices will not go unpunished.”