A court in Maiduguri has sentenced a man, Shehu Saleh, to two years in prison for fraud involving N22 million.
Justice Aisha Kumaliya of the Borno State High Court found Saleh guilty after he was charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for misappropriating funds belonging to another person.
The charge stated, “That you, Shehu Saleh, sometime in 2024, at Maiduguri, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, converted to your own use the gross sum of N22,000,000 (twenty-two million naira) belonging to one Zara Betra Aliyu on your instruction via your account numbers domiciled with GT Bank and First Bank, respectively, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 296 and punishable under Section 297 of the Penal Code Law of Borno State.”
Saleh admitted guilt when the charge was read in court. Following this, the prosecution counsel, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed, urged the court to convict and sentence him.
The judge subsequently sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment, with an option of a N100,000 fine. If he fails to pay the fine, he will serve an additional six months in jail.
The case began after N22 million was paid into Saleh’s account for a contract with an international organisation, but he diverted the funds for personal use instead of executing the job.
