A former legislative aide and banker, Goni Yilkan, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for obtaining ₦120.5 million under false pretences. The judgment was delivered by Justice F.E. Messiri of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Jabi, Abuja.
Yilkan was arraigned alongside Mohammed Adamu in October 2023 after a petition alleged that he defrauded the complainant, Mrs. Hindatu Bello, between 2020 and 2021. He claimed to have influence to secure employment opportunities in federal agencies including the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Based on this claim, Bello collected various sums from over 60 jobseekers, totaling ₦120,580,550, and remitted the amount to Yilkan.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), through its Ilorin Zonal Directorate, investigated and confirmed the allegations, leading to Yilkan’s prosecution.
Yilkan, who hails from Nguru, Yobe State, was charged with two counts of obtaining money by false pretence, contrary to Section 1(1)(a) and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.
One of the charges read:
“That you, Mohammed Goni Yilkan, Mohammed Adamu and others at large between 3rd January 2020 and December 2021 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory with intent to defraud obtained the sum of ₦120,580,550 from Mrs. Hindatu Bello under the false pretence that you had the capacity to secure jobs for her candidates in various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria, which pretence you knew to be false…”
During the trial, prosecuting counsel Cosmas Ugwu called six witnesses and presented documentary evidence. The defence team, led by J.A. Oguche, called two witnesses including Yilkan.
Justice Messiri ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, convicting Yilkan and sentencing him to eight years without an option of fine. His co-defendant, Mohammed Adamu, was acquitted.
