One Babiya Mailafia, alleged to have defrauded a certain Shuibu Lukman under the pretext of giving his siblings job with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has been remanded at the Makurdi correctional centre in Benue State.
Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court, Makurdi gave the order for Mailafia’s remand after he was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a four-count charge of conspiracy, employment scam, and obtaining money under false pretence to the tune of N600,000.00 (Six Hundred Thousand Naira).
An EFCC statement issued on Wednesday by its Spokesman, Tony Orilade said one of the counts against the suspect reads: “That you, Babiya Meshack Mailafia, Faruk Jimoh, Babiya Timothy and Innocent (now at large), sometime in September 2018, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, did conspire among yourselves to obtain the aggregate sum of N600,000.00 (Six Hundred Thousand Naira Only) by false pretence from one Shuibu Lukman under the pretext of giving two of his siblings a job with the Nigeria Immigration Service and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act.”
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He pleaded “not guilty” when the charges were read to him.
Counsel for the EFCC, Mary Onoja, asked for a trial date and for the defendant to be remanded pending his bail.
However, defence counsel, H.M. Animasun prayed the court to allow him make an oral application for the bail of his client.
Justice Olajuwon rejected the motion and ordered Animasun to make a formal application for bail.
While adjourning until May 11, 2020 for commencement of trial, the trial judge ordered that the defendant be remanded in Makurdi correctional centre pending the hearing of his bail application.
The case was adjourned until May 11, 2020 for commencement of trial.