A serial fraudster has earned himself a jail term spanning fifteen years for obtaining N4, 065, 000.00 (Four Million, Sixty-five Thousand Naira), under false pretence.
Alen Abel, who was sentenced by Justice Umaru Fadawu of the Borno State High Court sitting in Maiduguri, on Friday, 16 July, had been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on 4 July, in two separate one-count charges.
TheFact Nigeria gathered that Abel, sometime in May 2020, under false pretense, obtained One Hundred (100) bags of rice worth N900, 000.00 (Nine Hundred Thousand Naira), from Saaqndo Orseer Emmanuel, claiming it was for the purpose of executing a contract of supply of food items, purportedly awarded by Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management (Federal Government School Feeding Programme), under the Special Intervention Programme, SIP.
As a result, he contravened Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.’’
Furthermore, Abel, was charged for obtaining, also under false pretense, 25kg of Spaghetti at N2,900 (Two Thousand, Nine Hundred Naira) per carton and Twenty bags of rice at N16,000 (Sixteen Thousand Naira) per bag, worth N3, 165, 000.00 (Three Million, One Hundred and Sixty-five Thousand Naira), also from Sontanimen Orison Nyigngo, claiming to execute a contract of supply of food items, purportedly awarded by Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management And Social Development (Federal Government School Feeding Programme), under the Special Intervention Programme, SIP, thereby committing an offence, contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.’’
The convict pleaded ‘‘guilty’’ to the separate charges preferred against him by the EFCC, upon which, the prosecution counsel, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed, through Buba Abdul, an operative of the EFCC, reviewed the facts of the case and prayed the court to convict and sentence Abel as charged.
Justice Fadawu, after listening to the prayer of the prosecution, convicted the defendant and sentenced him to eight and seven years imprisonment on the respective charge, and that the jail terms will be served consecutively.
Justice Fadawu also ordered the convict to pay N4, 065, 000.00 (Four Million, Sixty-five Thousand Naira), in restitution; and in the event of failure to obey the restitution order, the convict shall serve five years jail term on the two separate charges.
