Two Religion leaders jailed for fertilizer fraud in Ekiti State

At Ado-Ekiti Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday sentenced one Deeper life pastor, Anjorin Adaniki, and one Mallam Maliu Aliu to one year jail for fraud.

The two convicts were accused of selling 800 bags of fertilizer to farmers in the Emure Local Government Area for N3,500 instead of subsided rate of N2,750 per bag.

The police prosecutor, Sergeant Oriyomo Akinwale, told the court that the accused committed the offense between May and June, 2013 at Emure-Ekiti.

Oriyomi said the bags of fertilizer in three load of trailers were released by the government to help farmers, but the accused fraudulently converted them for their own personal gains.

He said, “The offense contravened Section 1(3) of the Advanced Free Fraud and other Related Offense Act, 2006.”

Mr Ademola Okeya, The counsel for the accused pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy.

Bayode Owoeye, the presiding magistrate said converting the fertilisers for their own gains against the order of the government was callous. He thereafter sentenced the two accused to one year imprisonment without option of fine.