Justice Umaru Fadawu of the Borno State High Court sitting in Maiduguri, has sentenced a serial fraudster, Alen Abel to 15 years imprisonment for obtaining N4, 065, 000 under false pretence.
The offence is contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.
The convict was arraigned on July 14, 2021 by the EFCC on two separate one count charge.
In one of the counts, Abel, sometimes in May 2020 at Maiduguri, obtained 100 bags of rice worth N900, 000 from Saaqndo Orseer Emmanuel.
He claimed to be executing a contract of supplying food items awarded by Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management.
He lied to Emmanuel that the rice was meant for the Federal Government School Feeding Programme), under the Special Intervention Programme (SIP).
According to the second count, he committed the same fraud against Sontanimen Orison Nyigngo, from whom he collected 25 cartons of spaghetti and 20 bags of rice, worth N3, 165, 000.
He also claimed to be executing a contract awarded by Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management And Social Development.
The convict pleaded ‘‘guilty’’ to the separate counts preferred against him by the EFCC.
Upon his plea, the prosecution counsel, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed, through Buba Abdul, an operative of the EFCC, reviewed the facts of the case and prayed the court to convict and sentence Abel as charged.
Justice Fadawu, after listening to the prayer of the prosecution, convicted the defendant and sentenced him to eight and seven years imprisonment on the respective charge.
He however ordered that the jail term will be served consecutively.
Justice Fadawu also ordered the convict to pay N4, 065, 000.00, in restitution; and in the event of failure to obey the restitution order, the convict shall serve five years jail term on the two separate charges.
