Joseph Bakare
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.