A federal high court in Gombe has sentenced two police
officers and an immigration operative to seven years in prison over N1.6
million employment fraud.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
arraigned Yusuf Abdulkarim Bature and Musa Philip—the police officers—on a
two-count charge of obtaining by false pretences and intent to defraud, and
Nasiru Mohammed—the immigration personnel—on a one-count charge of obtaining by
false pretences.
“That you, Yusuf Abdulkarim 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 sheet 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.”
The three defendants pleaded guilty to the charges.
THE JUDGMENT
After the guilty pleas, Tortema Joshua, the prosecution
counsel, asked the court to convict and sentence the defendants in line with
the law.
Babangida Mohammed and K.K. Jomoh, counsels to the three
defendants, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy.
In his judgment, T.G. Ringing, the presiding judge,
convicted and sentenced Bature, Philip, and Mohammed to seven years
imprisonment apiece or a fine of N50,000 each.
The judge ordered the defendants to pay restitution of
N1,640,000 to the petitioners and sign an undertaking to be of good behaviour.
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