Justice Aisha Kumaliya of the Borno State High Court, sitting in Maiduguri, has convicted and sentenced a businessman, Bukar Alhaji Modu to six months imprisonment for breach of trust to the tune of N6.95m.
Modu’s journey to prison started when a petitioner approached the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) with a complaint against him, and alleged that he paid him N6.9m to buy 73,936 grams of silver at the rate of N94,000 per gram.
The petitioner, however, discovered that the convict had defrauded him, when he failed to deliver the silver as agreed, and despite the intervention of Maiduguri Jewelleries Market Association, the petitioner was only able to recover the sum of N1.4m from the convict.
Modu was arrested and arraigned before Justice Aisha Kumaliya on November 14, 2019, on two-count charges and he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
While on trial, prosecution counsel, Fatsuma Muhammad, tendered two exhibits in proving her case beyond reasonable doubts against the convict.
Justice Kumaliya thereafter found the convict guilty and sentenced him to six months imprisonment on count one of the charges but dismissed count two of the charges. He also gave him an option of fine of N100, 000 in lieu of the sentence.
The Judge also ordered the convict to pay the sum of N3.5million to the petitioner as restitution, warning that failure to pay the sum would attract four years imprisonment.
Meanwhile, the EFCC Maiduguri zonal office, on Tuesday, September 8, 2020, separately arraigned two suspected fraudsters for alleged N16million fraud, at separate courts in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The two defendants are: Abdullahi Adam (a.k.a Kawu), and Bashir Mohammed Karube. They were docked before Justices Musa Mustapha and Justice Aisha Kumaliya of the Borno State High Court, Maiduguri.
While Abdullahi Adam (a.ka. Kawu), was charged on one-count charge bordering on misappropriation of fund to the tune of N3 million, his counterpart, Bashir Mohammed Karube was charged on one- count charge bordering on misappropriation of fund to the tune of N13 million.
Trouble started for Adam after he allegedly failed to supply iron scrap materials, worth N3million , to a petitioner, one Alhaji Iliyasu Salisu Muhammad, after the defendant had received the said amount from Muhammad.
Muhammad alleged that he transferred the sum of N2 million to the account of the defendant while a sum of N1 million was given to him in cash.
The defendants pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them, prompting the prosecution counsels to apply for trial dates.
Prosecution counsels, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed and Abubakar Uba Ringim urged the court to remand the defendants in a Correctional Centre, pending the outcome of their cases.
Justice Mustapha, after listening to both parties, admitted the first defendant to bail in the sum of N2million with one surety in like sum.
The surety must be a resident of Jere Local Government and must depose to an affidavit of means.
Justice Mustapha adjourned the matter to September 21 and 22, 2020, for commencement of trial.
Also, Justice Aisha Kumaliya adjourned the matter to September 24, 2020, for commencement of trial and ordered that the defendant be remanded in a Correctional Centre.
Karube got into trouble, when he allegedly collected the sum of N13m from Mohammed Bukar Customs, for the purchase of 20 units of Tricycles, popularly known as “Keke Napep. He neither supplied the Tricycles nor returned the money to the intending buyer.
