Nigerian: Olukayode faces five-year jail for falsifying statements in US

Olukayode Ojo, a 36-year-old Nigerian, was found guilty of making fraudulent claims to the Federal Aviation Administration in order to gain a certificate, and he now faces a five-year prison sentence in Texas, United States.

According to information obtained by PUNCH Online on Wednesday, US District Judge Jodi Dishman ordered the Nigerian pilot to be detained until his sentence following the guilty verdict.

In a statement posted on the FAA’s official website on Monday, US Attorney Robert Troester announced Ojo’s conviction. He said that Ojo had been trying to get the medical certificate required to operate a commercial passenger aircraft, which ultimately resulted in his conviction on August 16, 2024.

Troester stated that Assistant U.S. Attorney Jackson Eldridge and Matt Dillon was prosecuting the case, which was a component of an investigation by the Transportation Security Administration—Investigations.

“A federal jury returned a two-count superseding indictment against Ojo, charging him with two counts of making a false statement on June 4, 2024,” he stated. A federal jury convicted Ojo guilty on both counts on August 16, 2024.

“Ojo, an FAA-certified commercial airline pilot, entered a guilty plea to two misdemeanour theft charges in Kentucky state court on February 8, 2023, in relation to the theft of passenger luggage from the baggage carousels at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, according to evidence presented during the trial.

“Ojo then concealed his past criminal conviction history by making false claims to the FAA in March 2023 and March 2024 when he applied for an FAA First Class Medical Certificate. An airman is allowed to pilot with a First Class Medical Certificate.