A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja has found Mrs. Ramat Mba, a mother of five children, guilty and convicted her for forging the signature of the late Abba Kyari, former Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.
The presiding judge, Justice Ibrahim Mohammad, postponed the convict’s sentencing until Thursday, May 16, 2024, but ordered her remand in Suleja Correctional Centre.
Mrs. Mba was arraigned by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in June 2022 on a 5-count charge related to cheating, fraud, and forgery, contravening Section 13 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 200, and Sections 320 (b) and 366 of the Penal Code Cap 89 laws of Northern Nigeria.
One of the counts read: “THAT you RAMAT MERCY MBA (F) sometime in October, 2019 or thereabout at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did fraudulently induce one Mr Ismail Adewole Oladipupo, an unsuspecting job seeker and collected the sum of Seven Hundred Thousand Naira only N700,000.00 from him which sum was paid into your private account under the guise of securing employment for him at the National Space Research and Development Agency. (NASDRA), AND you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 320(b) and punishable under Section 322 of the Penal Code Cap 89 Laws of Northern Nigeria.”
During the trial, Mr. Hamza Sani, Esq., the prosecutor for the ICPC, presented evidence detailing how the convict, under false pretenses, deceived her victims into believing she could secure employment for them with government agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), National Space Research Development Agency (NASRDA), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Additionally, documentary evidence presented during the trial revealed that the convict unlawfully forged a letterhead paper from the Office of the Chief of Staff to former President Muhammad Buhari, Abba Kyari, along with his signature.
The forged letter, addressed to the Chairman of the ICPC, requested the recruitment of three individuals by the Commission. However, evidence presented in court included written correspondence from the late Chief of Staff, distancing himself and his office from authorizing the letter.
In his ruling, Justice Ibrahim Muhammad convicted the mother of five children on counts 1, 2, 3, and 5, which relate to cheating and forgery, while she was acquitted on count 4, which pertains to felony.