A Borno State High Court sitting in Maiduguri has convicted and sentenced a woman, Yagana Musa Mohammed, to six months imprisonment for fraud involving N3.5 million obtained from a job seeker under the false promise of securing employment in Qatar.
Justice B.T. Zannah delivered the judgment on Wednesday after the defendant pleaded guilty to a one count amended charge of criminal misappropriation filed against her by the Maiduguri Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The charge stated that Mohammed, sometime in 2025 in Maiduguri, dishonestly misappropriated and converted to her personal use the sum of N3.5 million belonging to Mohammed Tukur Yaji while claiming she would facilitate his employment in the State of Qatar.
According to the charge, “That you, Yagana Musa Mohammed, sometime in 2025 at Maiduguri, Borno State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, dishonestly misappropriated and converted to your own use the aggregate sum of N3,500,000, money belonging to Mohammed Tukur Yaji during the course of your work while assessing to the State of Qatar and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 296 of the Penal Code Law and punishable under Section 297 of the same Law.”
The defendant pleaded guilty when the charge was read to her.
Following the plea, prosecution counsel, A.D. Abdulmalik, urged the court to convict the defendant accordingly.
Counsel to the defendant, H.A. Aliyu, however, pleaded for leniency, informing the court that the convict had shown remorse for her actions and had restituted the petitioner.
Justice Zannah subsequently convicted Mohammed and sentenced her to six months imprisonment with an option of a N50,000 fine.
The EFCC said the convict’s prosecution followed a petition alleging that she collected N3.5 million from the victim under the guise of securing a job for him in Qatar, despite knowing the claim was false.
The commission stated, “She neither offered the job to the victim nor returned his money,” adding that her actions led to her arrest, prosecution and eventual conviction.
