Gombe — State High Court of Jewel in the Savannah (Gombe) has sentenced five individuals to various prison terms for fraud-related offences, following their prosecution by the Gombe Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justices H.H. Kereng and Abdulhamid Yakubu handed down the judgments between July 29 and 30, 2025, after the convicts pleaded guilty to the charges filed against them.
Those convicted are Illiyasu Mohammed, Dan Musa, Elisha Elkana, Nasiru Mohammed, and Saidu Mohammed Laddo.
Mohammed and Musa were arraigned before Justice Kereng on a one-count charge of cheating and impersonation, while Elkana, Nasiru, and Laddo faced multiple charges of obtaining by false pretence before Justice Yakubu.
One of the charges against Laddo and Nasiru reads:
“That you Nasiru Mohammed and Saidu Mohammed Laddo, sometimes in 2022 at Gombe State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, with intent to defraud, induced one Umar Adamu Musa to deliver to you the sum of Two Million, Six Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira (N2,620,000) as payment to help him secure employment with the Nigerian Immigration Service for his brothers, a representation which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 320 and punishable under Section 322 of the Penal Code Law.”
Elkana was charged with diverting funds meant for repayment of debt. The charge reads:
“That you, Elisha Elkana, sometimes in July 2024 at Gombe, Gombe State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, with intent to defraud, induced one Blessing Johnson to deliver to you the sum of Three Hundred Thousand Naira (N300,000) for the purpose of repaying one Jamila Adams, which you ended up diverting to your personal use and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 320 and punishable under Section 322 of the Penal Code Law, Cap. 89 Laws of Northern Nigeria.”
Following their guilty pleas, prosecuting counsels S.E. Okemini and M.E. Ugbe urged the court to convict and sentence them without delay. Defence lawyers, however, appealed for leniency.
Justice Kereng sentenced Mohammed and Musa to six months’ imprisonment or a fine of N50,000 each. Justice Yakubu gave Elkana a 12-month sentence with an option of a N30,000 fine, while Nasiru and Laddo received two-year jail terms or fines of N100,000 each.
The court also ordered the convicts to pay a total restitution of N2,920,000 to their victims and directed the forfeiture of a Samsung S8 and Tecno Camon 16 used in committing the crimes to the Federal Government.
