Justice W. I. Aziegbemhin of the Edo State High Court sitting in Benin City on Friday sentenced a businesswoman, Ifeoma Joy Bogamhe, to nine months’ imprisonment for fraudulent disposition of mortgaged property.
Bogamhe was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a two-count amended charge bordering on property fraud. The case was filed in June 2025 by the commission’s Benin Zonal Directorate.
The defendant, who is the proprietor of Zemehse Global Enterprise, had pleaded not guilty when she was arraigned, prompting the court to proceed to trial.
One of the charges alleged that Bogamhe, on March 16, 2023, in Edo State, fraudulently re-mortgaged a property already pledged to Standard Life Organization by using the same property to secure another loan from Wema Bank without the consent of the initial mortgagee and without disclosing the prior mortgage agreement.
The second count accused her of obtaining a loan of N10 million from Wema Bank under the false pretence that the property used as collateral belonged to her and was free from any encumbrances, an offence under the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
During the trial, prosecution counsel, Salihu Ahmed, presented three witnesses, including EFCC investigating officers Muhammed Abubakar and Sani Adamu. The prosecution also tendered nine documents which were admitted as exhibits by the court.
Justice Aziegbemhin had earlier convicted Bogamhe on February 27, 2026, but reserved sentencing until Friday.
Delivering judgment, the court sentenced the defendant to nine months in prison and ordered her to restitute the complainant for the money unlawfully obtained. However, she was discharged on the second count.
The EFCC said Bogamhe ran into trouble after she used her property as collateral to obtain a N20 million loan from Standard Life Organization and subsequently used the same property to secure another N10 million loan from Wema Bank.
When she defaulted on repayment to Standard Life Organization, the firm attempted to take possession of the property but discovered that Wema Bank had also been presented with the same asset as collateral for a separate loan.
