Justice M.S. Shuaibu of Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna state has convicted and sentenced members of a notorious syndicate of fraudsters comprising five Nigerians and a Nigerien (a man from Niger).
The Nigerien, Magaji Musa (a.k.a Maishayi) and five Nigerians: Salisu Rabiu, (a.k.a Mai Magani); Ibrahim Idris, (a.k.a Dankano); Haruna Abdullahi,(a.k.a Balogun), Haruna Usman (a.k.a Maiturare) and Abubakar Umar (a.k.a Fulani), were handed 14 years imprisonment following their prosecution by Kaduna Zonal Office of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The convicts were prosecuted on four counts of conspiracy, attempt to obtain money by false pretence and possession of counterfeit currencies, contrary to Section 8A, 1A, 8B of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and Section 1(3) of the same Act.
They allegedly tricked a victim to claim boxes containing huge sums of money.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges, setting the stage for their full trail. In the course of trail, the prosecution called witnesses and presented several documents that were admitted in evidence.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, Justice Shuaibu convicted all six defendants on the count of conspiracy and attempt to commit offence, and sentenced them to seven years imprisonment.
The 4th defendant, Haruna Abdullahi (a.k.a Balogun) was sentenced to another seven years imprisonment on the count that relates to possession of fake currencies.
The 2nd, 4th, and 5th defendants bagged another 7 years on count three without an option of fine. All sentences are to run concurrently.
Meanwhile, the 1st defendant, Salisu Rabiu (a.k.a Maimagani) is to restitute the sum of N 1,075,000 (one million seven seventy-five thousand naira only).
