A Magistrate Court sitting in Benin City, Edo State, has convicted Mr. Nuhu Omokide, a franchise owner and manager of a branch of DHL in Benin City.
He was convicted on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy to steal, stealing, and unlawful interference with property.
Mr. Omokide, who was arraigned in Charge No. MEG/275c/2023/A, was convicted on Tuesday, July 22nd by Afe Osamudiamen, (Chief Magistrate Grade I), under Sections 412(1)(2), 287(1)(b)(c), and 346 of the Criminal Law of Edo State, 2022.
The charge followed allegations that Mr. Omokide criminally converted a parcel containing original academic certificates and other sensitive documents belonging to his customers.
The parcel was submitted at DHL’s Airport Road Office in Benin City in July 2023 for onward delivery to the United Kingdom, but allegedly disappeared under Mr. Omokide’s custody and failed to arrive at its destination.
The nominal complainants, frustrated by the defendant’s dismissive and uncooperative attitude, initially reported the matter to the police.
However, Mr. Omokide refused to cooperate with police investigation at the AIG Zone 5 headquarters in Benin City, and instead petitioned the Inspector General of Police, alleging harassment.
The matter was eventually charged to court upon subsequent conclusion of Police investigation.
In his defence, counsel to the defendant, Mr. Razak Isenalumhe, argued that liability for the missing parcel lay with DHL as a corporate entity, not with the defendant personally.
However, the prosecuting counsel, Festus Usiobaifo, Esq., Principal State Counsel, submitted that where a company is involved in criminal conduct, its alter ego, including the manager, can be held personally liable if they directly committed, aided, or abetted the offence.
Usiobaifo argued that the defendant, having admitted operational control, responsibility, and close proximity to the parcel, could not hide under the corporate veil of DHL to avoid criminal liability.
He, therefore, urged the court to pierce the corporate veil, asserting that corporate cover must never be allowed to shield criminal misconduct, especially where trust is wilfully breached.
Delivering his judgment, Chief Magistrate Osamudiamen agreed with the prosecution and convicted the defendant on all five counts.
The Court held that company executives and managerial officers will be held personally accountable for criminal acts carried out in the course of their duties, and that corporate protection cannot extend to shield criminality.
The judgment has been described by legal observers as timely and significant, especially in the face of growing concerns over the misuse of entrusted property by courier agents. It sends a clear signal that courier personnel are custodians of public trust, and any act of criminal conversion or breach of duty will attract the full weight of the law.
Thereafter, stakeholders in the logistics and delivery industry were advised to draw lessons from the judgment, adding that the era where managerial negligence or deliberate conversion is masked by corporate identity is over.
