The Gombe Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has arraigned the Chief Executive Officer of MB Lugga Global Travels and Tours Limited for fraud to the tune of N144,162,500.
The anti-graft agency’s spokesman, Dele Oyewale, said in a statement on Monday, that the defendant, Mustapha Mohammed, was arraigned before Justice T.G Ringim of the Federal High Court sitting in Gombe, Gombe State.
According to one of the charges, Mohammed, alongside one Nazifi Sale Idris (now at large), sometime last year, falsely obtained the sum of N97,080,000.00(Ninety Seven Million, Eighty Thousand Naira) from one Hamza Ibrahim Maina, under the pretext of procuring flight tickets, visas and accommodation for the 2024 Ramadan Lesser Hajj in Saudi Arabia, an act contravening 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.
Another charge accuses the defendant and Nazifi Sale Idris (now at large) of falsely obtaining the sum of N29,082,500.00 (Twenty Nine million, Eighty Two Thousand, Five Hundred Naira) from one Ibrahim Arabia, also for the Ramadan Lesser Hajj in Saudi Arabia.
The defendant pleased not guilty, in view of which, prosecution counsel, SH Saad prayed the court for a trial date and for the defendant to be remanded at the Gombe State correctional facility.
However, counsel to the defendant, MZ Gambo,
moved a motion for bail which was vehemently opposed by Saad, who submitted that “the the defendant still has about eight (8) other pending petitions filed by different nominal complainants alleging that he defrauded them to the aggregate sum of N120,869,500 and if granted bail, he might flee the shores of Nigeria and may never be found again” and urged the judge not to grant the defendant bail “for the interest of justice”.
Justice Ringim, having listened to both counsel, adjourned the case for ruling on bail application and remanded the defendant at the Gombe State Correctional Facility.
