Court remands travel agency’s CEO over alleged N144m Hajj fraud

Justice T.G. Ringim of the Federal High Court sitting in Gombe has remanded the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MB Lugga Global Travels and Tours Limited, Mustapha Mohammed, in Gombe State Correctional Facility over allegations of defrauding Hajj pilgrims of N144,162,500.

The court ordered Mohammed’s remand after he pleaded not guilty to a three-count charge brought against him by the Gombe Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The charges include intent to defraud and obtaining by false pretences.

One of the charges reads: “That you, Mustapha Mohammed, male adult, while being the Chief Executive Officer of MB Lugga Global Travel and Tours Limited, and Nazifi Sale Idris (now at large), sometime in 2024, at Gombe, Gombe State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did with intent to defraud falsely obtain through your personal bank account the sum of N97,080,000 from one Hamza Ibrahim Maina. The amount was for the procurement of flight tickets, visas, and accommodation for the 2024 Ramadan Lesser Hajj in Saudi Arabia, which you knew to be false, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

The second count accused Mohammed of obtaining N29,082,500 from another victim, Ibrahim Arabia, for the same purpose. Following Mohammed’s plea, the EFCC requested a trial date and his continued detention at the Gombe State Correctional Facility. However, the defendant’s counsel, M.Z. Gambo, applied for bail, a request strongly opposed by the prosecution.

The EFCC prosecution argued that Mohammed faces additional petitions involving N120 million and may abscond if granted bail. “The defendant still has about eight other pending petitions filed by different nominal complainants, alleging that he defrauded them. If granted bail, he might flee the shores of Nigeria and may never be found again,” the prosecution stated.

Justice Ringim, after hearing submissions from both counsels, adjourned the case for ruling on the bail application and ordered Mohammed’s remand in the Gombe State Correctional Facility pending trial.