ByMatthewAtungwu 
A Kaduna Chief Magistrates’ Court has sentenced 40-year-old travel agent Olalekan Yusuf to 18 months in prison for committing N4.2 million in visa fraud. Magistrate Ibrahim Emmanuel delivered the sentence after Yusuf pleaded guilty and requested leniency.
Yusuf was given an alternative of paying a N200,000 fine and was ordered to restitute N4.1 million to his victims, Sarah Thomas and Christian Gabriel. Should he fail to make restitution, he faces an additional year in prison.
The case arose when Yusuf, a resident of Malali, Kaduna, was reported to the Gabasawa Police Station on June 16. He had collected N2.1 million from each complainant under the false pretense of assisting them with travel visas to the U.S. and Dubai.
The prosecutor recounted that Yusuf approached the complainants, claiming he was a travel agent capable of processing their visa applications. After receiving the money, he disappeared, leaving the complainants unable to reach him.
Yusuf was eventually arrested at his residence on June 16, after the complainants tracked him down through a friend. The court determined that his actions violated the Penal Code of Kaduna State, 2017.
