A chief magistrates’ court sitting at Gyadi-Gyadi in Kano has convicted and sentenced one Bukar Galadima and Suleiman Ahmed for defrauding Kano billionaire, Alhaji Aminu Dantata and the immediate past minister of state for Housing and Urban development, Abdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo.
The convicts conspired to defraud Dantata and Gwarzo N5 million and N1 million respectively.
Galadima had reportedly impersonated former FCT Minister, Engr. Abba Gama, pretending to be ill and sought medical assistance from Dantata who sent N5m, only to later discover that Gana did not make such a request.
Dantata reported the matter to the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-corruption Commission. Galadima and Ahmed were subsdquently arrested and arraigned before Magistrate Umma Sani Kurawa who found them guilty of criminal conspiracy and sentenced them to 6 months’ imprisonment or a fine of N30,000, another 3 months for impersonation or N20,000 fine and 6 months’ imprisonment or N20,000 for the breach of trust.
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They were also ordered to pay compensation of N 5,000,000 or serve additional two years’ imprisonment.
Counsel for the anti corruption commission, Zahraddeen Kofar Mata, said the commission had also recovered N1m defrauded the former minister by the convicts.
He stated that though Gwarzo had not filed a formal complaint the fraud was discovered in the cause of investigation.
Kofar Mata said the defendants were tried under Section 129 (8) of the ACJL 2019 and were Convicted accordingly.