The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured the conviction of two staff members of the National Assembly, Mustapha Mohammed and Tijjani Adam Goni, for defrauding job seekers of N4.8 million through a fake employment scheme at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

The case followed a petition (ICPC/P/NC/1056/2022) filed by the victims, Saifudeen Yakub and Aminu Abubakar, who alleged that one Mustapha Mohammed, currently at large, claimed he could help secure employment for them at the CBN for N4 million each, with appointment letters to be released in April 2021.

Investigations revealed that the petitioners paid N3 million into a Zenith Bank account belonging to the first defendant and later transferred another N300,000 each to an Access Bank account under the name Badraddin Mohammed for purported medical screening.

In a statement on Wednesday, ICPC spokesperson, Demola Bakare, said the defendants were arraigned before Justice B.M. Bassi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court No. 55, sitting in Asokoro, Abuja, following thorough investigations by the Commission.

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According to prosecuting counsel, Fatima Abdullahi Bardi, the defendants were charged with a five-count offence bordering on advance fee fraud, forgery, and conspiracy to obtain money under false pretence, contrary to the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and the Penal Code.

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Counts 2 and 3 accused the defendants of conspiring to forge an employment letter dated June 28, 2021, purportedly issued by the CBN, while Counts 4 and 5 involved a forged employment letter dated June 11, 2021, allegedly from the FIRS.

One of the charges read: “That you, Ibrahim Suleiman Umar (m), and Tijjani Adam Goni (m), on or about June 2021 at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired to forge a letter of employment dated 11th June 2021 purportedly issued by the Federal Inland Revenue Service in favour of one Mustapha Muhammad, and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 363 and punishable under section 364 of the Penal Code.”

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Under Section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, which allows for plea bargaining, the defendants pleaded guilty to a lesser charge after agreeing to refund the full sum of N4.8 million to the ICPC Recovery Account.

They were subsequently convicted on a one-count amended charge of making false statements, contrary to Section 25 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

Justice Bassi sentenced each of the defendants to pay a fine of N100,000 after they refunded the total amount defrauded to the ICPC.

A widow in Plateau State, whose husband was killed by Fulani bandits has narrated how five of the bandits gang-raped her 13-year-old daughter in her presence while the body of her husband lay beside her.

The woman who narrated her horrific experience to our correspondence on Tuesday, said the Fulani bandits invaded her community in Bwai district in Mangu local government area of Plateau State in the night and went from house to house slaughtering people and livestock.

“The Fulani bandits, who were over 100, invaded our community around 12 midnight and went from house to house killing people, stealing our livestock, and killing some of them.

“They also burnt down some houses and food silos. When they got to our house, they asked about my husband, who was one of the leaders of the vigilante group. It was clear they knew my husband and had come purposefully to kill him.

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“When my husband heard them, he ran into the toilet to hide but when they threatened to kill me and our 13-year-old daughter, he came out and surrendered himself. He begged them to kill him instead and spare me and our daughter.

“Luckily, our two older sons were in the boarding school; otherwise, they would have been killed too. One of the Fulani men told my husband, John, yau na ka ya kare. Ba kun kafa kungiya domin ku yi tare mu ba? Ina sauran mutanen ku?’ (John, today will be your end. So you people formed a group to stop us? So where are the remaining members of your group?)

“Having said that, he ordered one small boy who could not be more than 17 years old to shoot my husband, and the boy carried out the orders immediately.

“I was busy begging them not to kill me and my daughter and the leader said they were not out to kill women. The leader was looking at my daughter, somehow, and I feared for the worst. My fears were confirmed when he told my daughter to remove her clothes and lie on the bed, that they were going to have sex with her.

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“I begged them not to defile my daughter, and out of desperation, offered to be raped in her place, but they said I was old and they needed to taste a young girl. That was how the five of them gang-raped my little girl, and even when she passed out, they still continued assaulting her.

“The most heartbreaking part of the ordeal was that they made sure I watched what they were doing, and every time I turned my face away, they would slap me and threaten to shoot me if I refused to look. For over one hour, I watched in horror as the animals took turns to rape my daughter.

“Since the ordeal, the girl has not been the same again. She has become a recluse and hardly talks to anyone. I have not shared this horrible experience with anyone to protect her, but I am opening up now to see if I can get help for my daughter, as her condition is becoming worse. She can no longer control her bladder and urinates on her body without control.

“I am a poor widow just managing to take care of my children but my life has been shattered,” she said, breaking down in tears.

The Bauchi State Yankari Express Corporation has embarked on a three-day capacity building of its drivers on traffic rules and regulations so as to ensure safe driving and avoid road crashes in the state.

Speaking before the commencement of the training in Bauchi on Wednesday, Engr. Babaji Yunusa, the General Manager of the Corporation said that he had liaised with professionals in the field to give out their vast experience to the drivers.

According to him, the world is dynamic and there have been some certain changes in the way the transport system in the country is operated, hence, the need for the drivers to be abreast of new happenings for effective safe driving.

“As you are aware, this is a transportation corporation and virtually every day, our vehicles go round the country from one state to another.

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“So, in this kind of situation, we need our drivers to be getting capacity buildings, training and retraining and that’s the reason for this training.

“We liaised with professionals in the field who had been into the system for quite a long time to give out their vast experience to our drivers.

“We have been saying that our drivers are professionals but you can’t be a professional without training and that is why we are doing this training because what you know sometimes, you need to be reminded of it,” he said.

He added that road experts that would be sensitising the drivers included the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Vehicle Inspection officers (VIO) as well as some highly recognised driving schools in the state.

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While emphasising that the training was timely as it coincided with Ember Months, the General Manager added that safety is paramount in road transportation and one could not be on a safer side without knowing the rules and regulations of the road.

Also speaking, Mr Silas Bankondi, Director, Chittado International Driving School, said that the purpose of the capacity building was to deliver awareness to the drivers in line with the traffic rules and regulations.

This, he said, would further remind them of the fundamental factors of the driving techniques essential in every driver to save his life, that of his passengers and other road users.

Speaking on behalf of the drivers, Mohammed Auwal appreciated the management of Yankari Express Corporation and other road experts for coming up with the training.

He promised that the drivers would make effective use of the knowledge that would be gathered and apply to their day to day driving activities.