The High Court of Akwa Ibom State sitting in Ikot Ekpene has sentenced a convicted cultist, Innocent Ntokon, and a lecturer with Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Abel Udo Jacob, to prison terms for masterminding a financial extortion scheme that raked in over ₦50 million.
Delivering judgment after a two-hour ruling, Justice Augustine Odokwo found the duo guilty of orchestrating what he described as a “merciless extortion scheme” against a local businessman, Edikan Jacob Jackson, between 2016 and 2020.
The court held that Ntokon, identified as a leader of the Klans Konfraternity, used armed enforcers and issued death threats against the victim’s mother and sisters to force monthly payments.
The sustained intimidation, the judge noted, plunged the businessman’s family enterprise into crisis and contributed to severe psychological trauma.
Evidence before the court showed that the lecturer acted as the syndicate’s financial channel, receiving and processing millions of naira linked to the illegal operation.
The court dismissed his claim that the funds were meant for “NDDC roofing contracts,” describing the defence as inconsistent with common sense.
In his remarks, Justice Odokwo labelled Ntokon a “predator” who hid behind the façade of legitimate business while operating as a hardened cultist and extortionist.
Ntokon was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment on counts of demanding with menace, stealing, terrorism and cultism, while the lecturer received a maximum of three years for demanding with menace, stealing and terrorism. The sentences are to run concurrently.
The court further ordered the convicts to jointly and severally pay ₦25 million in restitution to the victim. A Toyota Avensis and a Mercedes-Benz identified as proceeds of crime were also forfeited to the state for auction to provide partial compensation.
