By Nkechi Eze
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured the conviction of a civil servant, Mr. Ewere Morgan Eseosa, for illegally receiving double salaries from two government institutions.
In a statement signed by the Commission’s Director of Public Enlightenment and Education, Demola Bakare, it was revealed that investigations uncovered that Eseosa had been drawing salaries concurrently from the University of Benin, where he was originally employed, and Ikpoba Okha Local Government Council, where he later secured another position.
The ICPC disclosed that the offence, which contravenes provisions of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, resulted in the illegal accumulation of ₦1,328,255.47 in unearned payments.
Following its investigation, the Commission, through Prosecutor Dennis Nnaemeka Okoro, charged Eseosa with two counts of obtaining by false pretense and cheating under Sections 419 and 421 of the Criminal Code Act 2004. The matter, filed as Charge No. B/CD/ICPC/2C/2024, was brought before the Edo State High Court in Benin after receiving necessary administrative approval for prosecution.
One of the charges read that between September 2018 and February 2021, Eseosa secured employment as a Special Assistant (Press Secretary) at Ikpoba Okha Local Government Council without disclosing his full-time employment at the University of Benin as a Security Officer II, thereby misleading the council into paying him salaries concurrently with his university earnings.
The Commission noted that the defendant subsequently entered into a plea bargain agreement with the prosecution, leading to the amendment of the charges from two counts to one. Eseosa pleaded guilty to the single count and was sentenced to one-year imprisonment or a fine of ₦150,000.
In addition to the sentence, trial judge Justice Williams Aziegbemhin ordered the convict to refund ₦1,328,255.47 to the Federal Government through the ICPC Recovery Account, representing the salaries fraudulently obtained.
The ICPC stressed that the conviction reflects its determination to uphold integrity in public service and hold public officials accountable for acts of corruption.
