A federal high court in Gombe State has sentenced three government officers to seven years in prison for their involvement in an employment fraud amounting to N1,640,000.
The convicted officers include Yusuf AbdulKarim Bature and Musa Philip, both members of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), and Nasiru Mohammed, an officer with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
The trial, led by Justice T.G. Ringing, took place on Tuesday. The officers were charged after being accused of fraudulently collecting large sums of money from victims by promising them job placements, which they failed to deliver and did not refund the funds.
The police officers faced charges of obtaining money under false pretenses with the intent to defraud, while the immigration officer was charged with obtaining money under false pretenses.
In 2022, Bature and Philip defrauded Asabe Hamed of N970,000, falsely claiming they could secure a job for her within the Nigeria Police Force. The charge against them read, “You Yusuf AbdulKarim Bature and Musa Philip, while being public officers with the Nigerian Police Force, falsely obtained from Asabe Hamed the total sum of ₦970,000 to secure a job, which you knew to be false.”
Mohammed, the immigration officer, was found to have collected N670,000 from Abdul Rahman Abubakar and Akwalo Adamu under similar fraudulent pretenses, promising them jobs within the Nigerian Immigration Service.
Both Bature, Philip, and Mohammed pleaded guilty to the charges.
Justice Ringing convicted all three officers and sentenced them to seven years in prison or a fine of N50,000 each. The judge also ordered the officers to refund the total amount of N1,640,000 to their victims and to sign an undertaking to refrain from further criminal activities.
