The High Court of Akwa Ibom State sitting in Ikot Ekpene has sentenced a lecturer of Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic and his accomplice to prison over a ₦50 million extortion scheme that left a businessman financially and psychologically battered.
The trial judge, Justice Augustine Odokwo, found Abel Udo Jacob, a lecturer with a postgraduate degree in Engineering, and Innocent Ntokon, identified as a cult leader, guilty of masterminding a prolonged campaign of intimidation and financial exploitation against local businessman Edikan Jacob Jackson.
According to the court, between 2016 and 2020, Ntokon used his alleged position in the Klans Konfraternity to terrorise the victim.
Armed enforcers were reportedly sent to the businessman’s shops, while threats were issued against his mother and sisters to compel steady monthly payments.
Delivering a two-hour judgment, Justice Odokwo described Ntokon as a “predator who used the cloak of a trader to hide the heart of a hardened and merciless cultist and extortionist.”
The court held that the victim was subjected to four years of psychological trauma, which contributed to the near-collapse of his family business.
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The lecturer, Jacob, was said to have acted as the financial channel for the syndicate. The court dismissed his claim that he believed the large sums passing through his account were meant for NDDC roofing contracts, ruling that the explanation was inconsistent with common sense.
Ntokon was sentenced to eight years imprisonment on charges including demanding with menace, stealing, terrorism and cultism.
Jacob received a three-year sentence for demanding with menace, stealing and terrorism. The jail terms are to run concurrently.
In addition to the custodial sentences, the court ordered both convicts to jointly pay ₦25 million as restitution to the victim.
A Toyota Avensis and a Mercedes-Benz identified as proceeds of the crime were also forfeited to the state for auction, with proceeds to partly compensate the complainant.
The ruling underscores the court’s resolve to ensure that crime does not pay and to provide justice for victims of prolonged financial and psychological abuse.
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