N50m extortion: A’Ibom poly lecturer, accomplice jailed 11 years

Court

A lecturer at Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Abel Udo Jacob, and his accomplice, Innocent Nicholas Ntokon, have been handed a combined 11-year jail term by the Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Ikot Ekpene for their involvement in a N50m extortion scheme.

Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Augustine Odokwo convicted the duo for subjecting a businessman, Edikan Jacob Jackson, to years of threats, intimidation and financial exploitation that resulted in losses exceeding N50m.

The court found that between 2016 and 2020, Ntokon, described as a leader of the Klans Confraternity, orchestrated a sustained campaign of terror against the victim, allegedly sending armed enforcers to his shops and issuing threats against his family members to compel monthly payments.

Jacob, the polytechnic lecturer, was found to have facilitated the scheme by serving as the “financial clearinghouse” for the syndicate, allowing extorted funds to pass through his bank account. Punch