Ms. Chidinma Ogbulu, Lagos socialite, has been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment by a Lagos State Special Offences (Mobile) Court for sharing petrol as gift at a social (owambe) party she hosted.
The court sitting in Oshodi delivered the judgment after Ogbulu pleaded guilty to the charges against her. She had initially pleaded not guilty but changed her plea on Thursday when the case came up for hearing.
The presiding Chief Magistrate, Kehinde Ogundare, held that prosecution proved its case against the socialite beyond any reasonable doubt.
The socialite had turned herself in after a video showing several kegs of fuel being distributed to guests at Havillah Event Centre in Lagos went viral and drew the ire of the state government and the police.
Ogundare sentenced the socialite to three months’ imprisonment or fine N15,000 fine on count one of the three-count charge, and one-year imprisonment or N500,000 fine on the second count.
The chief magistrate sentenced the socialite to one-year imprisonment or N500,000 fine on the third count.
According to the statement, “the socialite violated Section 251(1), 168 (1), 244 of the Criminal Law of the state, 2015, and Section 195 (2)(b) of the Environmental Management Protection Law of the state, 2017.”