Juliana Francis
Justice Mallong Peter of the Federal
High Court, Kaduna State, yesterday, sentenced Sadiq Mustapha to seven years
imprisonment without option of fine.
The convict was arraigned by the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Kaduna Zonal Office, for obtaining money
by false pretence to the tune of N6,100, 000 and operating illegal bureau de
change.
According to the EFCC spokesman, Dele
Oyewale, Mustapha was arraigned on December 2, 2019, on a two-count charge,
bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and operating a bureau de change
without authorisation by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
Oyewale said: “Trouble began for the
convict following a petition by Abdulsalam Danlami Abubakar, who alleged that
sometime in 2016, Mustapha lured him into transferring the sum of N6,100.000 in
three separate transactions from his
Zenith Bank account to that of his company, Abueleven Limited, domiciled in
Fidelity Bank for exchange with dollar equivalent of $ 20,000 USD.”
One of the count read: “That you Sadiq
Mustapha while being the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of your company,
called Abueleven Limited, sometime in 2016, at Kaduna within the judicial
division of the Federal High Court of Kaduna, without appropriate licence from
the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and with intent to defraud, obtained from
Abdulsalam Danlami Abubakar, the total sum of N6.1m through your company
account called Abueleven Limited with account number 4010185189, domiciled at
Fidelity Bank Plc for changing the money to $20 000 United State Dollars at the
rate of N305 per dollar, which you knew all to be false and thereby committed
an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud
Related Offence Act 2006.”
He pleaded not guilty to charges. In the
cause of trial prosecution counsel, S.H.SA'AD presented two witnesses and
tendered various exhibits.
Apart from the sentence, Mallong further
ordered the convict to make a N100,000
restitution to the complainant, having earlier refunded the sum of N6,000,000
to him, and additional N100,000 fine to
the Federal Government of Nigeria on count-two of the charge.
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