EFCC Arraigns Two for N8m Fraud

Two persons, Bello Mohammed Tukur, a staff of Bauchi State Scholarship Board and one, Shamsuden Abdullahi, were today arraigned before Justice Mohammed Garba Umar at the Federal High Court Bauchi by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, for conspiracy, forgery and stealing.

The duo sometime in 2012, allegedly defrauded the Bauchi State Scholarship Board to the tune of about N8.023 million.

The sum was allegedly pulled out from the Board’s accounts at the defunct FinBank (now FCMB) and GT Bank Plc, with forged instruments.

Further investigation by the Commission revealed how Tukur who works in the Secret Registry of the Board, and his accomplices,  intercepts and doctored students scholarship cheques before cashing them with fake student identity cards. Fictitious names were also found to have been added to the payment vouchers by Tukur.

One of the count reads: “That you, Bello Tukur, Shamsudeen Abdullahi and Kabiru Shuaibu (now at large) sometime between May and July 2012 in Bauchi, Bauchi State within the Jurisdiction of this court, the Federal High Court of Nigeria did fraudulently convert to your own use, monies, the sum of N8,023,440:00 (eight million, twenty three thousand, four hundred and forty naira only) property of the Bauchi State Scholarship Board and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 383 and punishable under Section 390(9) of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C38, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (LFN) 2004”.

The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charge when read to them.

In view of the plea of the accused persons, prosecuting counsel, Alqasim Ja’afar, asked the court to fix a date for trial. Attempt by counsel to the accused persons, Mohammed Rabiu Musa and Dalhatu Sufyan Khalid to move an oral application for bail was turned down by the judge who asked them to come formally before the court.

Justice Umar adjourned the case to June 17, 2014 for trial, while the accused persons were ordered to be remanded in prison custody.