EKITI: For Diverting 9million Worth Of Fertilizers Meant For Farmers, Court Jails Pastor, Islamic Cleric

They are the people who make serving God look wrong with their devilish characters

An Ado-Ekiti Magistrate court on Thursday sentenced a 42-year-old pastor, Anjorin Adaniki, and an Islamic cleric, Maliu Aliu, to one year imprisonment each for diverting N9million worth of fertilizers meant for farmers in Ekiti State.....

They were arraigned for converting 1,800 bags of fertilizers meant to be sold at subsidized rate to farmers, to their personal businesses.

Police prosecutor, Oriyomi Akinwale, had at the trial told the court that the accused persons committed the offence between May and June 2013 at Emure-Ekiti.

“The accused persons on the said month fraudulently converted 1,800 bags of fertilizers which was meant to be distributed to Ekiti farmer in Emure local government at subsided rate of N2, 750 per bag and they sold to the farmers at the rate of N3, 500 per bag which all valued at the rate of N 9 million,” he said.

Mr. Akinwale also said that the fertilizers were in three trailers, given by the government to ease the farmers’ difficulties, but the accused persons fraudulently diverted them.

According to him, the offence contravened Section 1(3) of the Advanced Free Fraud and other Related Offences Act LFN 2006.

Counsel to the accused, Ademola Okeya, pleaded with the court to tamper Justice with mercy passing sentences on his clients, praying the court to be lenient in judgment.

The Presiding Magistrate, Bayode Owoeye, described as “callous” the action of the accused persons in converting the fertilizers meant for poor farmers to for their own use against the order of the government price to the farmers.

He thereafter sentenced them the to one year imprisonment without the option of fine.