Justice Abdulhamid Yakubu of the Gombe State High Court on 29th May 2024 convicted and sentenced one Aliyu Mohammed to twelve months imprisonment for land scam to the tune of N4,800,000 (Four Million Eight Hundred Thousand Naira).
Mohammed was jailed after pleading guilty to one-count charge of intent to defraud preferred against him by the Gombe Zonal Directorate of the EFCC.
The charge reads: “That you Aliyu Mohammed former staff of NITEL/MTEL sometimes in 2021 at Gombe, Gombe State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court, with intent to defraud, obtained the aggregate sum of N4,800,000 (Four Million, Eight Hundred Thousand Naira) property of Lacachika Nigeria Limited and Captain Lamolohguhe, which you claimed the money was payment for the landed property located at Kaltungo Gombe State, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 320 the penal code law and punishable under Section 322 of the same law.”
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The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him, prompting the prosecution counsel, S. E Okemini to pray the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.
However, counsel to the defendant pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy stressing the defendant was a first- time offender.
Justice Yakubu, having listened to both counsels, convicted and sentenced the defendant to twelve months imprisonment.
Mohammed’s journey to prison began when a petitioner alleged that he obtained the sum of N4,800,000 from him for a landed property. He neither delivered the property to the petitioner nor returned the money to him.