The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, Ilorin Zonal office, has arraigned a serving corps member and a 400-level student of AL-Hikma University, Ilorin, over offenses bordering on theft to the tune of N9.1million.
The corps member, Nazim Usman Gomna, serving at the Jigawa State House of Assembly, and the student, Idris Shuaibu Suleiman, were arraigned yesterday, Thursday, March 11, before Justice Sikiru Oyinloye, of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin, on a three count charge of conspiracy and theft.
Thefact Nigeria reports that the two defendants allegedly conspired to hack into the website of the AL-Hikmah University and diverted students’ school fees to the tune N9.1million.
Nazim, who graduated as a Computer Scientist at the AL-Hikmah University, Ilorin, and currently serving his fatherland at Jigawa State House of Assembly allegedly connived with Idris to hack the university’s website using the latter’s account details (Idris) to be collecting tuition fees illegally from students.
Count one of the charge reads: “That you, Nazim Usman Gomna and Idris Shuaibu Suleiman sometime between the month of March, 2020 and May, 2020 at Ilorin, Kwara State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, agreed amongst yourselves to do illegal act to wit; theft of N9,118,500.00 (Nine Million, One Hundred and Eighteen Thousand, Five Hundred Naira Only) property of the Al-Hikmah University and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 96 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 97 and 287 of the same Penal Code.”
Following the defendants’ not guilty plea to the three counts, counsel to the EFCC, Sesan Ola, asked the court for a date to commence trial as well as an order to remand the defendants in prison custody.
However, A.T Kamaldeen and Ismail Mustapha, representing Nasim and Idris respectively, in separate applications urged the court to admit their clients to bail pending trial and determination of the case.
Justice Oyinloye in a bench ruling admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N3.5million each with one surety in like sum.“The surety must be resident within the jurisdiction of this court and must provide the telephone contacts, residential address, recent passport photographs to the court”, the judge added.
The judge also ordered the defendants to submit their travel documents to the court and, not to travel without the permission of the court pending the determination of the case. He further ordered the defendants to attend all court proceedings while the trial lasts or risk having their bail revoked.
