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Court Jails Two Fraudsters in Maiduguri

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Court Jails Two Fraudsters in Maiduguri

By: Bodunrin Kayode

The Maiduguri Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, July 24, 2023, secured the conviction and sentencing of two fraudsters: Mohammed Maidugu and Allen Abel to different jail terms.

While Maidugu was jailed two years for dishonestly copying the Automated Teller Machine, ATM’s Personal Identification Number of a bank customer, Abel bagged 10 years imprisonment for obtaining under false pretences.

They were both jailed by Justice Umaru Fadawu of the Borno State High Court, Maiduguri.

Maidugu got his prison term after more than three months of trial on a one count charge bordering on attempting to commit theft. The charge reads: “That you, Mohammed Maidugu on or about 22nd February, 2023 at FCMB Main Branch ATM Point, Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, attempted to commit theft and in such attempt did a certain act towards the commission of the said offence to wit: dishonestly copying the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) PIN of Usman Mohammed while making a transaction at the ATM without his consent and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 95 of the Penal Code Law Cap. 102 Laws of Borno State of Nigeria and punishable under section 287 of the same law.”

The defendant pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned on April 20, 2023, and the matter proceeded to trial.

In the course of the trial, the prosecuting counsel, Shamsuddeen Olayinka Saka, presented five witnesses and tendered several documents which were admitted in evidence as exhibits.

Justice Fadawu, in his judgment, convicted and sentenced Maidugu to two years imprisonment without an option of fine.
The convict’s journey to the Correctional Facility started when a customer went to an FCMB ATM point to make a transaction and at the point of inserting his secret PIN code, discovered that the convict surreptitiously copied the same on his mobile phone.

The customer, upon this realization, quickly cancelled the transaction, held Maidugu and alerted the bank’s security men who reported the matter to the Efcc.

Abel, on the other hand, was arraigned on March 10, 2023, on four-count amended charge for obtaining by false pretence, forgery and criminal misappropriation to the tune of N N10,151,000( Ten Million, One Hundred and Fifty One Thousand Naira only).

Count one of the charges read: “That you, Allen Abel on or about 19th April, 2020, in Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud obtained the sum of Seven Million Naira (N7,000,000.00) from one Suleiman Adamu purportedly for the supply of 1000 bags of sugar which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) & (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

The defendant pleaded not guilty to all the count charges, thereby bringing the matter to full trial. In the course of trial, EFCC counsel, Muktar Ahmed, called four witnesses and tendered several documents as exhibits before the court.

Justice Fadawu in his judgment convicted and sentenced Abel to ten years imprisonment.

He also ordered the convict to pay the sum N10, 151,000 only to the victim. The prison term runs concurrently.

Also, the Command on Monday, July 24, 2023, arraigned one Bulama Yahaya before Justice Fadawu on one-count charge for obtaining N8,000,000.00 (Eight Million Naira) by false pretence.

The charge reads: ‘’That you Bulama Yahaya Jibrin Ahmed on or about the 28th day of July, 2017, at Maiduguri, within the judicial division of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud obtained N8, 000,000.00 (Eight Million Naira) from Mustapha Modu Tela under the false pretence that it is for the purchase of a plot of land No. 315A on BOTP/44 covered by grant no. BO.2217 situated at Polo Damboa Road, Maiduguri purportedly belonging to you, the pretext you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act. 2006 and Punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.”

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge preferred against him by EFCC.
Counsel for the prosecution, Mukhtar Ahmed asked for the remand of the defendant and a date for trial to commence.

Justice Fadawu adjourned the matter till July 25, 2023, for commencement of trial.

Court Jails Two Fraudsters in Maiduguri

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Two immigration officers shot in Abuja after being mistaken for robbers

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Two immigration officers shot in Abuja after being mistaken for robbers

By: Zagazola Makama

Two immigration officers were shot in the Sabon Iddo area of Abuja on Friday night after being mistaken for armed robbers by a man identified as Pastor Darlington, who is currently at large.

A Police sources told Zagazola Makama that the incident occurred at about 10:00 p.m. when the officers, Oyomide Zion and Hakeem Mashood, were on routine movement in the area.

According to police sources, at about 11:40 p.m., the Divisional Police Officer of Iddo Division received a distress call and deployed patrol teams to the scene.

Upon arrival, another immigration officer, Uduk James, reported that his colleagues had been shot. The injured officers were evacuated to the Nigerian Air Force Base Hospital, Abuja, where they are currently receiving treatment.

Police sources say efforts to track and arrest the fleeing suspect, identified as Pastor Darlington alias, have been intensified.
End

Two immigration officers shot in Abuja after being mistaken for robbers

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NDLEA arrests Iran-bound Hijab wearing woman with cocaine in private part, stomach, bag at Port Harcourt Airport

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NDLEA arrests Iran-bound Hijab wearing woman with cocaine in private part, stomach, bag at Port Harcourt Airport

By: Michael Mike

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have thwarted a desperate attempt at the Port Harcourt International Airport to smuggle cocaine into Iran by a woman, Ihensekhien Obehi who disguised with hijab and concealed the illicit drug in her private part, stomach and false bottom of handbag.

According to a statement by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, she was intercepted at the security checks of the departure hall of the Port Harcourt airport on Sunday 3rd May 2025 while trying to board a Qatar Airline flight to Iran via Doha following credible intelligence.

Babafemi said during her search, she was found to have inserted three wraps of cocaine in her private part, and two large parcels hidden in false compartments of her handbag while she swallowed 67 pellets of the Class A drug.

He said she was placed under excretion observation and after four excretions that lasted days, she expelled the 67 wraps of the substance in her stomach. She claimed she was to swallow 70 pellets of cocaine but after ingesting 67 pieces she could no longer swallow the remaining three and decided to insert them into her private part, adding that the total weight of the three consignments hidden in different parts of her body comes to 2.523 kilogrammes.

Babafemi said in like manner, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos last Friday intercepted a 22-year-old British national, Campell Slifer coming from Thailand through Doha on Qatar Airways flight with two suitcases loaded with 35 parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 37.6 kilogrammes.

Campell, who claimed he had twice been convicted in the UK for drug trafficking and robbery, said he was recruited in London to travel to Thailand to pick the illicit consignment and bring same to Nigeria.

In Niger state, NDLEA officers acting on intelligence last Wednesday intercepted a fuel truck marked ABJ 693 XU and three other vehicles loaded with 246 bags of skunk, a strain of cannabis with a combined weight of 3, 047 kilogrammes along Suleja-Kaduna road. Four suspects arrested with the exhibits include: Christopher Onyema, 47; Benedict Etineruba, 54; Chukwudi Ujue, 30; and Mohammed Danasabe. Apart from the fuel truck, three other vehicles recovered from the suspects include: Honda Odyssey bus marked YAB 667 CZ; Gulf bus with registration number GWA 125 TQ and
Honda Odyssey bus marked ABJ 230 CN.

At Oja Amukoko in Ijora area of Lagos, two suspects: Eze Chekube and Ike Chinyerem were last Thursday arrested by NDLEA operatives with a total of 109,914 pills of tramadol, swinol and nitrozepam seized from them, while 52.5 kilogrammes skunk was recovered from two suspects: Lukman Umar, 23, and Tukur Ammadu, 20, in a bus at Gwantu, Sanga local government area, Kaduna State last Tuesday, NDLEA operatives on patrol along Bode Saadu- Jebba expressway, Kwara State last Monday arrested Rufai Nasiru with 45,400 pills of tramadol 225mg.

In Bauchi state, NDLEA officers on patrol along Bauchi-Gombe road last Tuesday intercepted a Toyota Tundra jeep marked RBC 111 DW conveying 526 blocks of skunk weighing 505 kilogrammes with two suspects: Isaac Onogure, 37 and Ikechukwu Peter, 44, arrested.

Babafemi said a total of 31 kegs containing 775 litres of codeine syrup were recovered from two suspects: Hafizu Uman, 34, and Ismail Shehu, 48, when NDLEA operatives raided their hideout at Rijiyar Zaki area of Kano on Saturday, while 1.1 kilogrammes of Loud consignment concealed in pillow coming from Thailand was last Tuesday intercepted by NDLEA officers at a courier company in Lagos.

The War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA commands equally continued across the country in the past week.

Meanwhile, while commending the officers and men of DOGI, MMIA, PHIA, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi, Kwara, and Niger commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) equally praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.

NDLEA arrests Iran-bound Hijab wearing woman with cocaine in private part, stomach, bag at Port Harcourt Airport

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Army troops neutralised 5 Boko Haram insurgents in renewed offensive in Sambisa Forest

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Army troops neutralised 5 Boko Haram insurgents in renewed offensive in Sambisa Forest

By: Zagazola Makama

The ongoing military onslaught under Operation Hadin Kai has recorded another feats, with the successful neutralisation of five Boko Hara fighters in the notorious Ladin Buttu axis of Sambisa Forest.

The recent encounter, which resulted in the recovery of arms and critical supplies, reinforced the renewed momentum of the Nigerian military’s intensified offensive operations deep into insurgent-held enclaves within the forest.

Ladin Buttu, a known terrorist transit and logistics hub, particularly for water access, had long served as a strategic hideout for insurgents operating within the fringes of the forest. But under the latest push by troops of Operation Hadin Kai, it has become the latest flashpoint in a string of aggressive operations designed to dismantle remnants of terrorist infrastructure.

Military sources told Zagazola Makama that the troops made contact with the terrorists during a clearance patrol and engaged them in a fierce firefight. Five terrorists were neutralised, while others fled with varying degrees of gunshot wounds.Recovered from the scene were three AK-47 rifles, five loaded magazines, and other military ordnance.

The operation, forms part of a broader recalibrated campaign by the Theatre consequent upon the visit of the COAS who has ordered intensified ground raids and aerial surveillance across Sambisa, Timbuktu Triangle, and parts of the Lake Chad fringes in a bid to cripple the operational capacities of the Boko Haram and ISWAP factions.

Army troops neutralised 5 Boko Haram insurgents in renewed offensive in Sambisa Forest

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