NGO Executive Bags 8-Year Jail Term For Committing Advance Fee Fraud

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a non-government organization, Young Aid International Humanitarian, Emmanuel Yakubu has bagged 8-year jail term after Justice Umaru Fadewu of the Borno State High Court convicted him for fraud.

Justice Fadewu, who also ordered him to make a restitution of N12, 300,000.00 (Twelve Million, Three Hundred Thousand Naira) to his victim, ruled that in default of making the restitution, the convict will spend additional six years in a correctional centre, which shall run concurrently from the day of sentencing.

The convict was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Maiduguri Zonal office on a one-count charge of obtaining money by false pretence contrary to Section 1(1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related offences Act, 2006.

According to a statement issued by the EFCC on its Facebook page, Yakubu’s journey to prison started when the EFCC received a petition against him from one Kieran Felix Zirra, alleging that, sometime in March, 2019 one Moses Bulus (now a convict) approached him with a purported purchase order for the supply of emergency shelter kits to the sum of over N19million.

The statement reads briefly: “Investigation by the EFCC revealed that on April 9, 2019, Zirra supplied the said emergency kits which was delivered and verified by the logistic officer of Young Aid International Humanitarian.”

The charge reads: “That you, Emmanuel Yakubu Usman, while being the Head of Mission and Executive Director of Young Aid International (Non Governmental Organisaton) sometime between April, 2019 at Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this honourable court with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N10,000.000.00 (Ten Million Naira) from one Kieran Felix Zirra into your corporate account, Mega-Scale Global Enterprises with account No. 008569089, domiciled in Union Bank Plc under the false pretence that the said sum represents payment towards the execution of a purported contract of supply, awarded by you to Heavy Dollar Global Company, 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 convict pleaded not guilty to the charge, prompting his trial. In the course of the trial, prosecution counsel, Benjamin Manji presented six witnesses and tendered several documents as exhibits in the court.