On Thursday, December 14, 2023, Justice Bayo Taiwo of the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan convicted and sentenced Olaniyan Gbenga Amos to seventy-five years imprisonment for engaging in multiple counts of investment fraud. Amos, along with his firm, Detorrid Heritage Investment Limited, faced a 35-count charge brought by the Ibadan Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The charges included offenses related to obtaining money by false pretenses, as stipulated in Section 1(1) (a) and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006.
One of the charges, Count 35, detailed an instance where Amos and his firm fraudulently obtained the sum of N1,540,000 from an individual with false promises of registration and investment returns with Crime Alert Security Network. Another charge highlighted a similar fraudulent act where they obtained N170,000 from another individual under false pretenses.
Amos pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, leading to the commencement of the trial on February 17, 2022. The EFCC Counsel, Sanusi Galadanchi, presented six witnesses, tendered eight exhibits, and concluded the case on January 24, 2023. Despite the defendant’s “no case submission,” the court overruled it, prompting Amos to present three witnesses in his defense. Justice Taiwo reserved judgment until December 14, 2023.
The EFCC had arrested and arraigned Amos before Justice Bayo Taiwo on December 14, 2021. Amos was found guilty of orchestrating fake investment ventures that resulted in losses exceeding N1 billion for investors. He failed to fulfill agreements with investors in the “Crime Alert Security Network,” a security investment program affiliated with his firm, thereby leading to his imprisonment.
