Travel Agent Sentence to Two year in Prison For Stealing

 

An Ikeja Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja on Thursday sentence a travel agent, Babawale Ponle to two-years in prison for misappropriating N10million worth of airline tickets.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had taken Ponle, who is the Managing Director of Travel Doctor Ltd to court with a four-counts of stealing and issuing of dishonoured cheques.

 According to the Mr Samuel Daji, the lead EFCC prosecutor, Ponle between March to December 2012,  misappropriated  N10million worth of airline tickets.

The tickets which were given to him on credit by a travel company, Sound Travel Services Ltd. The defendant had however claimed in his defence during the trial that the tickets were sold by him to IRS Airlines on credit.

He was also accused by the anti-graft agency of issuing two dud cheques to Sound Travel Services Ltd in the sum of N3million and N7million respectively.

"The offences contravene Section 285(7) of the Criminal Law of Lagos 2015 and Section 1 of the Dishonoured Cheques Offences Act," Daji said.

Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo in her judgment, found the defendant guilty of both count two and three which is stealing and issuing of dishonoured cheques.

The judge however, found him not guilty of one-count of stealing due to the nonappearance in court of a EFCC witness to give evidence. 

 Justice Taiwo in the verdict, noted that the prosecution had succeeded in proving that part of the N10milluon was diverted by the defendant for his own use.

"This court is mindful of the fact that this case emanated from a business arrangement between the defendant and the complainant.

"However the defendant since 2013 has failed to pay anything to the complainant. The court is satisfied that he used out of the N10million for his personal use.

" In light of this fact I hereby sentence the defendant to two-years imprisonment or a fine of N250,000. 

"On the two-counts of issuance of dud cheques, I hereby sentence the defendant to one-year in prison or a fine of N200,000," she said.

The judge said that restitution will not be ordered in the case because complainant had already been awarded restitution via a civil suit.

She noted that Justice Oyekan Abudullahi of a Lagos High Court had in a judgement ordered N10million to be paid by Ponle as restitution to the complainant over the same issue.

 

Earlier in her judgment, Justice Taiwo had given a breakdown of how the funds were misappropriated by the convict.

 

She said:"By Exhibit A, the defendant conceded that in the month of December 2012, IRS Airlines paid the defendant the sum of N3.3million.

 

" The N3.3million was part payment for tickets sold to IRS Airlines in the sum of N7million leaving a balance of N3.7million.

 

"The defendant revealed the part payment of N6.3million to the complainant. The statements revealed that no payments were made to Sound Travels after 2012 except the two cheques issued to the defendant which bounced.

 

"By Exhibit N to N14, the total paid to the defendant by IRS Airlines was N8.9million. By Exhibit Q2, the defendant's Zenith Bank Statement it was revealed he paid the complainant a total sum of N5.1million.

 

"A subtraction of the funds which the defendant received from IRS Airlines and what was paid to the complainant leaves a balance of N3.7million.

 

"Both documents relied on by the defendant revealed that IRS Airlines paid the defendant close to N9million but the defendant diverted some of the funds to his personal use."

 

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