‘How Medical Doctor, Orok Ita, Forged Documents To Commit 127m Fraud’

A Calabar, Cross River-based medical doctor identified as Geraldine Orok Ita has been sentenced to seven years imprisonment after she was found guilty of altering incorporation documents of two companies to fraudulently receive N127m payment.

Ita who was jailed by Justice Rosemary Oghogho-rie of Federal High Court was arrested based on a petition by the two companies she defrauded in 2019, Dele Oyewale, EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity said in a statement on Saturday.

The two companies, Sharpnet Concept Limited and ROK Project Limited had in the petition initiated by two of their directors alleged that Geraldine Orok Ita forged and fraudulently altered their incorporation documents in favour of herself.

Specifically, she was accused of removing the two initial directors from the companies’ records and claiming to be the second wife of Engr. Orok Okonkon Ita who died in 2004.

She subsequently used the documents to receive payments on behalf of the company.

The petitioners further stated that besides carrying out the fraudulent alterations, the convict appointed a new company Secretary on November 6, 2014 and changed the registered address of the companies at No. 25, Uyo Street, off Market Road, Port Harcourt, River State and made re-allotments and return of allotments of shares.

She was subsequently arraigned in her court following the petition

One of the charges filed against her by EFCC reads: “That you, Dr Geraldine Orok Ita ‘F’ on or about the 6th day of November, 2014, in Calabar, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did make a forged document to wit: FORM CAC 10 (ANNUAL RETURN FOR A SMALL COMPANY) IN RESPECT OF SHARPNET CONCEPT LIMITED DATED 06/1 1/2014, purported to have been signed by Mrs. Rose Orok Ita (a Director in Sharpnet Concept Limited), with the intent that the document may be acted upon as genuine and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (2) (C) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M 17 of the Revised Edition (Law of the Federation of Nigeria) and Punishable under Section 1 (2) (c) of the same Act.”

Another reads: “That you, Dr Geraldine Orok Ita ‘F’ on or about 14/02/2019, in Calabar, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did take possession of the sum of Forty- Five Million Naira (#45,000,000) through Bank Account No: 2027011283 domiciled in First Bank with Account Name: Rok Projects Limited, paid by the University of Calabar (UNICAL) for the project executed by ROK PROJECTS LIMITED/SHARPNET CONCEPT LIMITED, when you reasonably ought to know that the money was part of the proceeds of crime to wit: forgery and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 16 (3) of the same Act.”

She pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, prompting her trial that commenced in 2019.

In the course of the trial, prosecution counsel, Joshua Abolarin called witnesses and presented incontrovertible evidence.

Convinced that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, Justice Oghogho-rie convicted and sentenced Ita to seven years imprisonment.