Justice F. E Messiri of the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Jabi, Abuja, has sentenced a former legislative aide and banker, Goni Yilkan, to eight years imprisonment without option of fine.
According to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s spokesman, Dele Oyewale, in a statement on Tuesday, Yilkan was sentenced for offences bordering on obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N120.5 million.
Yilkan, who hails from Nguru, Yobe State, was found guilty on a two-count charge of obtaining money by false pretence, 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 was arraigned alongside one Mohammed Adamu in October 2023, following investigations into a petitioner’s claims of being defrauded by the convict.
According to the petitioner, Mrs. Hindatu Bello, Yilkan deceived her between 2020 and 2021 into believing that he had the capacity to secure employment slots in government agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
On the strength of this, the petitioner collected varying sums of money from over 60 job seekers, amounting to N120,580,550.00 (One Hundred and Twenty Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Naira), which she allegedly remitted to the convict.
The purported employment offers, however, never materialized, prompting her to petition the EFCC.
In the course of the trial, the prosecution, led by Cosmas Ugwu, called six witnesses and tendered documentary evidence, while the defence, led by J.A. Oguche, presented two witnesses, including Yilkan himself.
In his judgment, Justice Messiri held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, convicted Yilkan, but discharged and acquitted his co-defendant, Adamu. The judge further sentenced Yilkan to eight years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.
