By Wandoo Sombo
The Federal High Court Abuja, on Thursday,
sentenced AVM Tony Omenyi to seven years in prison for receiving N136
million bribe from Nigerian Air force, (NAF) contractors.
Delivering
judgment, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, said that he was satisfied that the
prosecution had proved its case and testimonies of its witnesses were
not controverted.
NAN reports that the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission, (EFCC), arraigned Omenyi, for receiving N136
million kick back from Syrius Technologies and Sky Experts Limited , two
contractors of the Nigeria Air Force.
He was charged on three counts bordering on abuse of office and money laundering but pleaded not guilty.
“The court did not believe that the evidence given by Omenyi in his defence was credible.
“The defence was a sham,” the judge held.
The
judge noted that if actually the money the defendant received from Mrs
Theresa Etu, a NAF contractor was a refund as he claimed, the said
expenditure should have had receipts to show for it.
“For example
the N15 million he said he helped her pay for refueling of two
aircraft, he should have received a receipt from those who refuelled but
no receipt or invoice was tendered in court by the defence.”
The
judge wondered what motivation the defendant had in expending his own
money in executing a contract on behalf of a contractor.
He
further noted that it was pertinent for a public office holder to
operate at arms length with a contractor, particularly one that was
working for the office in which he had due influence over.
He
further wondered how the defendant could claim to have made expenditure
on behalf of Etu when he was a co-owner of the business she operated and
her business partner.
The judge pronounced that:” In view of the above, I find the defendants guilty and convict them accordingly.
He
sentenced the convict to seven years in prison on each of the three
counts preferred against him to run concurrently with effect from
Thursday.
He also ordered that the N62 million recovered from him by the EFCC be forfeited to the Federal Government.
The
judge further made an order that the convict’s company, which was the
second defendant in the suit be wound up having being used as a conduit
pipe to perpetrate economic fraud.
Omenyi had said in his defence that the monies he received from Etu, were refunds for services he undertook on her behalf.
Counsel
to the convict, Mr Gordy Uche had appealed to the judge to temper
justice with mercy particularly since the convict was a first time
offender and had served the country meritoriously.
The Prosecutor, Mr Mohammed Abubakar confirmed that the agency had no record of a previous conviction.
He
urged the court to, inline with Section 15(4) of the Money Laundering
Act, make an order winding up the second defendant, since it was a
company registered in Nigeria.
Omenyi, retired, was the former
Managing Director of Aeronautical Engineering and Technical Services
Limited (AETSL), a company owned by the Nigeria Air Force.
In the
cause of the trial, the first prosecution witness, Mr Hassan Saidu, an
EFCC Principal Detective, informed the court that the investigation of
the defendant was triggered by a letter from the Office of the National
Security Adviser (ONSA).
He said that the letter had alleged that the defendant was operating suspicious accounts.
Source:- NAN
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