The Federal High Court Sokoto has convicted a director of administration with the Sokoto State Commodity Board, Hassan Bello to a jail term of seven years on a one count charge of obtaining money through false pretense.
Bello was charged for fraudulently obtaining N1,320,000 under the guise of offering nonexistent employments to complainants.
The charge reads: “That you Hassan Bello, Male, while being the Director Administration Sokoto State Commodity Board sometime in August 2021, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud did obtain the sum of One Million Three Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira from one Aliyu Adamu Tsaki, Yusuf Abubakar, Yahaya Salihu Mohammed and others in the presence of one Dahiru Muhammad when you falsely represented yourself to them that you will secure employment for them in the Sokoto State Commodity Board and issued them letters of provisional appointments a representation 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.”
Investigations revealed that Bello, who pleaded guilty to the one count charge, deliberately lured the complainants into parting with the sum with intent to defraud.
The prosecution counsel S.H Sa’ad therefore prayed the court to convict and sentence the accused accordingly.
In his judgement, Justice Ahmad G. Mahmud convicted and sentenced the accused to seven years imprisonment with an option of N100,000.00 fine to the federal government.
The Judge also directed the convict to pay a restitution of N850,000.00 to the victims through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Court to be notified of the payment.
Justice Mahmud further directed that failure to pay the restitution within six months, the convict shall serve two years imprisonment.
