Man Convicted For Converting Alhaji’s N44m To Personal Use

One Bukar Muhammad, has been convicted by Justice Aisha Kumaliya of the Borno State High Court sitting in Maiduguri for converting to personal use money entrusted in his care for safe keeping.

Muhammad’s journey to prison began when the Maiduguri Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission received a petition from the victim, one Alhaji Ali Mohammed.

According to the victim he gave the sum of N44 to the defendant for safe keeping, but the defendant converted it for his own use.

The defendant was first arraigned on Tuesday, September 7, 2021, on a one-count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence.

He was later re-arraigned on an amended charge for the offence of criminal breach of trust to the tune of N43,328,000.00 million.

The count reads: “That you, Bukar Mohammed sometime in 2018 at Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court fraudulently induced one Alhaji Ali Mohammed to deliver to you monies in Euros and Naira to the equivalent sum of forty-three million, three hundred and twenty-eight thousand naira (N43,328,000.00) only, under the false pretence of collecting same for safekeeping, which facts you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under sections 1(1)(b) and 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 respectively.”

The defendant had pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the one-count charge which prompted a full trial of the case.

Counsel for the prosecution, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed alongside S.O Saka presented three witnesses and tendered three exhibits as evidence.

Meanwhile, Justice Kumaliya in her judgement, found the defendant guilty and convicted him to a fine of N200,000.00 or one-year imprisonment.

She further ordered the convict to pay a balance of N13,234,100 to his victim or serve additional seven years imprisonment.