Justice Abdul Hamid of the Gombe State High Court sitting in Gombe has sentenced a woman, Rose Dogara Silas Gyar, to three years imprisonment for N3 million fraud.
In a Friday statement, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said its Gombe Zonal Command prosecuted the convicts.
According to the statement, Gyar pleaded guilty to one-count charge bordering on cheating to the tune of N3 million, contrary to Section 322 of the Penal Code.
The EFCC said Gyar bagged her imprisonment when a petitioner alleged that she and Mohammad Babayo Maina (at large) induced him to part with N3 million paid into her Gioprenuers Enterprises bank account under the pretence of enrolling him in CBN’s Anchor Borrowers’ programme for farmers with a promise that he would receive funding and farm input from the apex bank.
However, it dawned on the petitioner that he had been scammed when he got nothing from the bank and could not get a refund from Gyar and her accomplice.
Her lone-count charge reads: “That you Rose Dogara Silas Gyar between 17th and 30th December 2021, at Gombe, Gombe State within the jurisdiction of this honourable court dishonestly induce Saifullahi Sani Abdullahi to entrust to you the sum of N3,000,000 which you received via your company Gloprenuers Enterprises, whose account is domiciled in Fidelity Bank PLC, with account number: 5600544823 by fraudulently representing to him that the sum has been paid as collateral for the agricultural loan facility approved for your company by the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) under the Anchor Borrowers programme, a representation you knew to be false thereby committed an offence of cheating and punishable under Section 322 of the Penal Code.”
She pleaded “guilty” to the charge when it was read to her, upon which prosecution counsel, M.D Aliyu prayed the court to convict and sentence her accordingly, while the defence counsel, S.O Kumu pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, saying his client has shown remorse and has fully restituted the proceeds of crime to her victim.
Justice Hamid convicted and sentenced her to three years imprisonment with an option of fine of N20,000.
In another development, EFCC operatives from the Gombe Zonal Command have arrested one Yusufu Tanimu for Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card fraud in the state capital.
Tanimu was arrested following actionable intelligence on his suspected involvement in ATM card fraud in Ecobank Plc.
Items recovered from him at the point of his arrest include: 33 ATM cards, belonging to different banks, a Tecno phone and an ATM card holder.
He would be charged to court as soon as investigation on his activities is concluded.