PREMIUM TIMES
Ifechukwude Okonjo, the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State, Nigeria, was jailed for theft in the US.
When Ifechukwude Okonjo emerged as the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State in September 2019, there was no indication that he had been convicted of a crime in the US.
Ogwashi-Uku is a community in Anaocha South Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria’s South-South.
Mr Okonjo succeeded his father, Chukuka Okonjo, a professor whose death was announced on 13 September 2019.
Findings by PREMIUM TIMES showed that he was crowned days after the death of his father.
Conviction in the US
According to court documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Okonjo was convicted of theft in April 1997 at the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, State of Maryland, in the US.
The court documents showed that his younger brother, Onyema Okonjo, was also convicted of a similar offence on 23 January 1998.
Charges, arraignment and trial
Mr Okonjo was first criminally indicted on 20 April 1995 and summoned to appear before a judge the following day.
After initially making his first appearance on 14 July 1995, he failed to show up at the court on 12 August of this same year.
He was initially charged with theft and conspiracy to commit the crime with his younger brother, Onyema.
Specifically, the first count charge indicated that Mr Okonjo stole “assorted computers and computer peripheral equipment, the property of Digital Equipment Corporation, having the value of $300 or greater” between 23 January 1995 and 24 March 1995 in Montgomery County, Maryland.
According to the court document, the offence violated Article 27, Section 342 of the Annotated Code of Maryland and was against the peace, government, and dignity of the US state.
He was released on bail on “personal recognisance” after paying a $2,500 bail bond.
Then unemployed and single, Mr Okonjo resided with his elder sister, Ngozi Okonjo, at 7004 West Greenvale Parkway, Chary Chase, MD 20815, in the US.
Ngozi Okonjo, now popularly known as Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been the director-general of the World Trade Organisation since March 2021.
At the time of the trial, Mr Okonjo was 30 and had lived in the US for nine years. He is now 57.
His brother, Onyema, was criminally indicted by the court on 18 October 1996, and a bench warrant was issued against him the same day.
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