The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday convicted Ayoola Olakitan of operating an unlicensed financial service business.
The court sentenced him to 12 months’ imprisonment but with an option of N50,000 fine.
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Trial judge Muhammad Umar passed the verdict after Mr Olakitan pleaded guilty to the two counts preferred against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The anti-graft agency filed the charges against Mr Olakitan and Fortunetech Limited, where he served as secretary.
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Following his guilty plea on Tuesday, ICPC lawyer Akponimisingha Osuobeni urged the court to convict and sentence him according to the law.
Defence lawyer Hamza Liman urged the court to temper justice with mercy, arguing that the guilty plea showed remorse and that the defendant had been held in ICPC custody for more than three months.
However, the prosecution clarified that investigators “did not deliberately keep the defendant in custody”. Mr Osuobeni explained that his over three months detention was because the defendant absconded after arrest and was later rearrested.
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After listening to both sides, the judge sentenced Mr Olakitan to 12 months imprisonment with an option of N50,000 fine.
Charges
The ICPC arraigned Fortunetech Limited and Mr Olakitan on two counts, including carrying on an e-commerce designated as non-financial business between December 2023 and December 2024 without registration and certification.
ICPC said the offence is contrary to sections 17 (2)(a)(b) and 18(2)(d) and punishable under section 18(3)(4)(5) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The second count accused Mr Olakitan of making a false statement to ICPC investigators between 29 and 30 April 2025 in Abuja, claiming he applied for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) operating licence on behalf of the company when he did not.
The offence was said to be contrary to section 25 (1)(a)(b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
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