Joseph Bakare
The Maiduguri Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, April 22, 2024, secured the conviction and sentencing of three fraudsters before Justice Umaru Fadawu of the Borno State High Court, Maiduguri.
The convicts are Mohammed Dogo, Babagoni Mustapha Ali, and Dookenger Odey Takon.
Dogo and Ali were arraigned on April 8, 2024, on one-count separate charge bordering on criminal misappropriation to the tune of N6,360,422.00 (Six Million Three Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Four Hundred and Twenty-Two Naira).
Takon , on the other hand, was arraigned on September 24, 2020, on a four-count charge bordering on cheating, obtaining by false pretence, forgery, and criminal misappropriation to the tune of N11, 300,000.00 (Eleven Million, Three Hundred Thousand Naira).
The charge against Dogo read: “That you Mohammed Dogo, between 2012 to 2018 at Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly misappropriated the entire sum of N1,660,422.94 (One Million, Six Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Four Hundred and Twenty-Two Naira, Ninety Four Kobo), where you opened an Account Number; 1015975677 with an Account Name; Audu Umar Abdullahi (now deceased) without the consent of his legal heirs for your personal use and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 308 of Penal Code Cap. 102 Laws of Borno State of Nigeria and Punishable under Section 309 of the same Law.”
The charge against Takon read: “That you Dookenger Odey Takon whilst being a Director of X-Traodinaire Designs Ltd. And X-Traodinaire Designs Ltd. sometime in September 2018 at Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N10, 500,000.00 (Ten Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira) only from Abatcha Ana’s under the false pretence that the sum represent payment for the execution of a purported contract of constructing a Mopol container and store awarded to X-Traodinaire Designs Ltd. By a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), International Organization for Migration (I.O.M) which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and Punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.”
The two defendants pleaded “guilty” to their separate counts while Takon pleaded “not guilty” and the matter proceeded to trial.
Counsel to the prosecution Muhktar Ali Ahmed, Faruqu Muhammad, and Aliyu D. Abdulmalik presented four witnesses and tendered several documents as exhibits before the court.
Justice Fadawu thereafter convicted them as charged and sentenced Dogo to one-year imprisonment without an option of fine.
Ali was sentenced to one-year imprisonment with an option of N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) fine. The Judge further ordered the convict to restitute the sum of N1.9m to his victim and in default to serve a three-year jail term.
After that, Justice Fadawu convicted and sentenced Takon to seven years imprisonment for the offence of obtaining by false pretence without an option of fine.
In the same vein, the court sentenced Takon for cheating to one-year imprisonment with an option of N100,000 while X-Traodinaire Designs Ltd shall pay a fine of N100,000. For the offence of using a forged document, she was jailed to a year imprisonment with an option of N400,000 while the judge awarded a four-year jail term for criminal misappropriation with the option of N400,000 as a fine.
The Judge ordered Takon to pay the sum of N11.3m to her victim; in default, she should serve a five-year jail term. The prison terms shall run concurrently while in default of the restitution, the five years imprisonment should run consecutively according to the judge.
The three convicts bagged their imprisonment when they were arrested for various offences ranging from misappropriation, cheating, forgery to obtaining under false pretence. They were charged to court and convicted.