The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Maiduguri Zonal Command, On Monday, successfully prosecuted and sentenced Sadiq Mustapha to one year in prison for his involvement in a land fraud case.
Mustapha was found guilty of swindling Yawudi Zarma out of N3.9 million. Zarma had paid this sum to purchase a plot of land that Mustapha purportedly owned.
The land is located in the Pompomari Industrial Layout of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.
However, Mustapha failed to provide the land to the buyer or refund the money, according to reports.
The anti-corruption agency shared this information in a tweet from its X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday.
During his appearance in front of Justice Umaru Fadawu at the Borno State High Court, Mustapha admitted guilt to a single count of deception involving the specified amount.
Given his admission, the prosecution counsel, A. I Arogha, requested the court to proceed with the defendant’s conviction and sentencing
“In his ruling, Fadawu imposed a one-year prison sentence on the defendant, allowing for an alternative of a N200,000 fine.
The charge read, “That you Sadiq Mustapha on or about the 10th day of August 2017, at Maiduguri, within the judicial division of this Honourable Court, did fraudulently induce Yawudi Zarma to deliver to you the sum of three million, nine hundred thousand naira, N3,900,000.00, under the guise that the said amount represents payment for the purchase of a plot of land covered by grant right of occupancy No. BO/2065/16, Plot No. 7 on BOTP/64, Pompomari Industrial Layout, Maiduguri, which you claimed to be the owner and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 320 (a) of the Penal Code Law Cap. 102 Laws of Borno State and Punishable under Section 323 of the same Law.”