…for N325million fraud
Justice Malami Dogondaji of a Sokoto State High Court has convicted and sentenced Ahmad Abubakar to 87 years imprisonment, for criminal breach of trust and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N325. 8million
He was jailed on Thursday, after pleading guilty to 12- count charges of criminal breach of trust and obtaining by false pretence.
One of the charges reads: “That you Abubakar Ahmad sometime in October, 2022 in Sokoto within the Judicial Division of the High Court of Justice Sokoto State, while being entrusted with property to wit: the total sum of N80.1million by one Usama Abdullahi for the purpose of Bureau de Change business; you dishonestly converted the said property/sum to your personal use in violation of the mode in which the trust was to be discharged and you thereby committed the offence of Criminal Breach of Trust contrary to Section 300 of the Sokoto State Penal Code Law 2019 and punishable under Section 301 of the same Law”.
Another charge reads: “That you Abubakar Ahmad sometime in March, 2023 in Sokoto within the Judicial Division of the High Court of Justice Sokoto State, while being entrusted with property to wit: the total amount of N50 million by one Najib Hamza for the purpose of Bureau de Change business; you dishonestly converted the said property/sum to your personal use in violation of the mode in which the trust was to be discharged and you thereby committed the offence of Criminal Breach of Trust contrary to Section 300 of the Sokoto State Penal Code Law 2019, and punishable under Section 301 of the same Law”.
Upon arraignment, the defendant pleaded guilty to all the 12 counts charges preferred against him, prompting EFCC’s counsel, Kufre Ekpeyoung to pray the court to convict him accordingly.
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Defence counsel, Hamza Liman pleaded for a lighter sentence for his client “in view of the fact that he is a first-time offender”.
Justice Dogondaji convicted and sentenced Abubakar Ahmad to 87 years imprisonment with an option of fine of N200,000 on each count totalling N2.4million.
He also ordered restitution of N225.661million to all the petitioners, through the EFCC.
Ahmad’s journey to prison began when he was arrested by operatives of EFCC in Sokoto for defrauding 12 different persons various sums of money under the guise of investments in his purported bureau de change business which investigations proved to be false.
Investigations further revealed that Ahmad promised his victims between 50 percent to 100 percent interests on their investments monthly.
He neither offered them any return on their investment nor refunded their money to them.
