Justice A. S. Dahiru of Sokoto State High Court has sentenced a former Director of Sokoto South Local Government, Mr. Kassimu Jibo, who was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a three-count charge bordering on Advance Fee Fraud, to twenty-one years in prison.
Jibo’s conviction followed a petition to the Commission in December 2008 by one Mr. Bulus, who alleged that the convict, as director in the Sokoto South Local Government, told him that he had some tractors to sell under the state government agric scheme, and in the process defrauded him to the tune of Three million, Two hundred Thousand Naira, (N3.2 million).
Unknown to Bulus that it was fraud, he then contacted another Alhaji Tijjani, an agric inputs supplier in Kano and the latter made available the initial sum of two million naira for two tractors through Bulus to the convict. After a while, he deceived the complainant by demanding and receiving additional one million two hundred thousand, which he said his Permanent Secretary demanded.
In her judgment, Dahiru who is the Chief Judge of the state said that the fact that the convict had refunded the sum of N1.5m of the money is an admission of culpability. She averred that the accused knew he had no tractors to sell but canvassed for buyers and deceitfully showed Bulus a compound along Koko road in Sokoto where tractors were stocked in order to convince his victim he had tractors to sell.
She therefore found the accused guilty of the three count charge and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment on each count. But the sentence is to run concurrently. The court also directed that the convict should refund the sum of N1.7m to Alhaji Tijjani as restitution.
