In a landmark judgment hailed as a major victory in the fight against corporate fraud, Justice Raliat Adebiyi of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, has sentenced Alhaji Mohammed Gobir, a former director of Afromedia Plc, to seven years in prison for orchestrating a sophisticated, multi-million-naira and foreign-currency fraud.
Gobir, an associate of former Senate President Bukola Saraki and once a prominent figure in Nigeria’s outdoor advertising industry, was convicted on all 17 counts brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The charges included stealing, obtaining by false pretence, forgery, and possession of fraudulent documents.
The EFCC initiated prosecution in 2016 following a damning petition from Afromedia Plc, which revealed a complex scheme of deception and financial manipulation that bled the company of hundreds of millions of naira and substantial sums in foreign currency.
According to court documents and EFCC’s presentation, Gobir fraudulently secured a seat on Afromedia’s board by falsely promising to invest N1 billion into the company.
Once in a position of influence, he allegedly siphoned off a staggering $3.5 million, N514.4 million, $2.1 million, and £51,000 from company funds under various false pretences.
One of the most audacious claims Gobir made, prosecutors said, was that he needed $250,000 to secure a waiver certificate to retrieve $250 million he claimed was being temporarily held by British anti-money laundering authorities in a UK bank.
Justice Adebiyi, however, dismissed the claims as entirely fictitious and part of a deliberate ploy to mislead and defraud the company.
In another instance, Gobir deceived Afromedia into releasing over N514 million on the pretext that it was required to facilitate the transfer of $70 million from a non-existent London bank account.
His arrest in September 2015 at his upscale Ikoyi residence followed months of EFCC investigations into what officials described as one of the more elaborate financial frauds within Nigeria’s corporate boardrooms.
In her judgment, Justice Adebiyi condemned Gobir’s actions as a grave breach of trust, stating that his manipulation of corporate structures for personal gain represented “a betrayal of confidence and fiduciary duty.”
The EFCC lauded the ruling as a watershed moment in the fight against economic crimes, noting that it sends a clear message that “no one is above the law, regardless of influence or status.”
Gobir will serve his sentence in a Nigerian correctional facility.
