RismadarVoice Reporters
March 17, 2026
The Federal High Court sitting in Asaba, Delta State, has convicted and sentenced a contractor, Julius Ejiogu, to two years’ imprisonment for forgery.
Justice F. A. Olubanjo delivered the judgment after finding the defendant guilty on one of the three counts filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Ejiogu was arraigned on March 23, 2021, by the Benin Zonal Directorate of the anti-graft agency on charges bordering on conspiracy, forgery, and uttering of false documents. He had pleaded not guilty, leading to a full trial.
According to the charge, the convict and another suspect still at large allegedly conspired in August 2013 to forge a document titled “Award of Contract for the Construction of Obudu–Oleri Road in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State.” The document was purportedly issued on the letterhead of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
During the trial, prosecution counsel K.Y. Bello called four witnesses and tendered documentary evidence, while the defendant testified as the sole witness in his defence.
In his judgment delivered on January 15, 2026, Justice Olubanjo held that the prosecution proved the offence of conspiracy but discharged and acquitted the defendant on the remaining counts. He was consequently sentenced to two years’ imprisonment with an option of a N1 million fine.
The EFCC said the case originated after the convict allegedly sold the fake contract to a petitioner for N2 million, only for the buyer to later discover that the purported contract award from the NDDC was not genuine.
