Justice T.G. Ringing of the Federal High Court
sitting in Gombe, Gombe State on Tuesday, November 26, 2024 convicted and
sentenced two police officers: Yusuf AbdulKarim Bature and Musa
Philip and an immigration officer; Nasiru Mohammed to seven years
imprisonment each for employment fraud to the tune of N1,640,000( One
Million Six Hundred and Forty Thousand Naira)
Bature and Philip were arraigned on
two count - charges of obtaining by false pretences and intent
to defraud while Mohammed was arraigned on one- count charge of
obtaining by false pretences by the Gombe Zonal Directorate of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Count one of the charges against Yusuf AbdulKarim
Bature and Musa Philip reads : “That you Yusuf Abdul karim.Bature and
Musa Philip while being public officers with the Nigerian Police Force sometime
in 2022 in Gombe within the Gombe Judicial division at the Federal High Court
of Justice did with intent to defraud falsely obtained from one Asabe
Hamed the total sum of Nine Hundred and Seventy Thousand Naira for the purpose
of securing a job, a claim you knew to be false”.
The charge against Nasiru Mohammed reads: "that
you Nasiru Mohammed sometime in 2022 in Gombe within the jurisdiction of this
honourable court while being a staff of the Nigerian Immigration Service did
falsely obtained the sum of Six Hundred and Seventy Thousand naira ( N670,000)
from Abdul Rahman Abubakar and Akwalo Adamu under the false pretence of
securing them a job with the Nigerian Immigration service which you knew to be
false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance
Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under
Section 1(3) of the same Act"
Upon arraignment the defendants pleaded guilty to
their respective charges .
In view of their guilty pleas, prosecution
counsel Tortema Joshua prayed the court to convict and sentence the
defendants accordingly but counsels to the defendants, Babangida Mohammed and
K.K. Jomoh pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy as the
defendants were first -time offenders who are remorseful of their actions .
Justice Ringing thereafter convicted and sentenced
Bature , Philip and Mohammed to seven years imprisonment each
or a fine of N50,000 (Fifty Thousand Naira) each.
In addition, the judge ordered the convicts
to pay restitution of N1,640,000 to the petitioners and sign an
undertaking to be of good behaviour henceforth.
The convicts' journey to the Correctional Centre
began sometime in February 8, 2024 when some petitioners alleged that
Bature and Philip collected N970,000 while Mohammed collected N670,000 as
payment for employment slots. The convicts neither offered the
petitioners the jobs nor returned their money to them.
Comments:
Leave a Reply