The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC Gombe Zonal Office, has secured the conviction of Umar Ahmed and Habibu Sakairu for a land scam.
They were arraigned before Justice Fatima Musa of a State High Court sitting in Gombe on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and cheating, on March 28, 2019.
Their fraudulent activities were uncovered by EFCC operatives while acting on a petition, which alleged that they defrauded their victim in a N700,000 land scam.
One of the counts reads: “That you, Umar Ahmed and Habibu Sukairu, sometime in the month of March 2016 or thereabout in Gombe, Gombe State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, induced Sa’ad Abba Hassan to deliver to you monies, the sum of N700,000 (Seven Hundred Thousand Naira), and that the said sum was meant for the purchase of a plot of land at New Federal Low Cost Extension Gombe, Gombe State, which you never did and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 320 and punishable under Section 322 of the Penal Code.”
They pleaded “guilty” to the charges.
Counsel for the EFCC, S.M. Aliyu, thereafter urged the court to convict them accordingly.
Justice Musa, thus convicted and sentenced them to three months in prison with an option of N10,000 as fine each in respect of count one, and on count two, one year in prison with an option of N30,000 as fine. The sentences are to run concurrently. They were also ordered to make restitution with their victim.
