Ex-judicial officer jailed 16 years for defrauding 194 widows in Borno

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction of Borno State former judicial officer, Ramat Mohammed (alias Gaddafi) for defrauding 194 widows of N781,800.

Disclosing this in Abuja yesterday, EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said Justice Umaru Fadawu of the Borno High Court, on Tuesday, May 16, 2020, sentenced Mohammed 16 years.

According to Oyewale, the Maiduguri Zonal office of the EFCC arraigned the convict before Justice Fadawu on a two count-charge of obtaining by false pretence and other fraud-related offences.

Oyewale noted that the convict forged and sold a food collection card, in the name of a non-governmental organisation (NGO), to 194 widows for N781,800 and failed to deliver food items to them, leading to her arrest and arraignment.

Count one of the charge read: “That you, Ramat Mohammed (alias Gaddafi), sometime in December 2018 at Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N520,000 from 40 women (mostly widows) of Fissabi-lillah Islamic School, under the false pretence that the entire sum represent payments for registration/eligibility for a programme by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Action Against Hunger (AAH) at Auno Town of Konduga Council, Borno State, which payment will entitle the said women to be issued a special card for various food items, which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

After the charge was read to the convict, she reportedly pleaded guilty.

Fadawu consequently sentenced her to eight years each on the two counts and ordered that the terms should run concurrently.

Also, Justice Fadawu sentenced Bashir Mohammed to two years for criminal breach of trust.

The convict had allegedly received 600 cartons of noodles worth N1.86 million allocated to him to sell and remit the proceeds to the complainant, but he converted the money for his personal use.