The Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) has arraigned 4 Nigerians—Baba Sule Abubakar Sadiq, Hafsat Kabir Lawal, Abdullahi Bala, and Ladani Akindele—for allegedly impersonating the spouse of the Governor of Katsina State, Fatima Dikko Radda, and laundering N197,750,000.
They had been arraigned on a six-count cost earlier than Justice Amina Bello of the Kaduna State Excessive Courtroom, in keeping with an EFCC assertion on Thursday.
It was alleged that they obtained cash by false pretenses, engaged in cash laundering, and dedicated theft amounting to N197,750,000.
“Particularly, the defendants allegedly colluded amongst themselves and defrauded their victims by means of numerous means, together with impersonating the spouse of the Governor of Katsina State, Fatima Dikko Radda,” the assertion partly reads.
EFCC’s Allegations
In accordance with the anti-graft company, the defendants had been initially arrested by officers of the Division of State Companies (DSS) and later transferred to the EFCC when it was decided that their offenses had been monetary crimes.
One of many expenses reads:
“That you just, Hafsat Kabir Lawal, Babasule Abubakar Sadiq, Abdullahi Bala, and Ladani Akindele Ayodele, someday in December 2024, at Kaduna, inside the jurisdiction of this honorable courtroom, with intent to defraud, did get hold of the sum of N89,000,000.00 (Eighty-9 Million Naira Solely) from Aminu Usman. The stated cash was paid into the Taj Financial institution Plc account quantity 0009914725, belonging to Abdullahi Bala, beneath the false pretense that you simply had the sum of $53,300 (Fifty-Three Thousand Three Hundred United States {Dollars}) to trade for the Naira equal—a pretense you knew to be false. By doing so, you dedicated an offense opposite to Part 1(1) of the Advance Price Fraud and Different Fraud-Associated Offences Act, 2006, punishable beneath Part 1(3) of the identical Act.”
Courtroom Proceedings
In the course of the courtroom session, the defendants pleaded not responsible to the costs once they had been learn to them by the registrar.
Counsel to the defendants—M.S. Katu (SAN), Jazuli Mustapha, and Paul A. Okachi—knowledgeable the courtroom that they’d filed and served numerous bail functions on behalf of their shoppers.Nevertheless, the prosecution counsel, Brilliant C. Ogbonna, prayed the courtroom for a trial date and requested that the defendants be remanded in a correctional facility pending the listening to and dedication of their bail functions.Ogbonna vehemently opposed the bail functions, arguing that they weren’t but ripe for listening to.After listening to the submissions from each events, Justice Bello ordered the defendants to be remanded in a correctional facility and adjourned the matter until March 17, 2025, for the listening to of the bail functions.
Extra Insights
In accordance with the EFCC, investigations revealed that Hafsat contacted the petitioners whereas impersonating one of many wives of the present Governor of Katsina State, Malam Dikko Radda.
Utilizing this guise, she allegedly obtained N89,000,000 and one other N108,000,000 from a petitioner, claiming to have $118,300 to promote to them.
“Additional investigations confirmed that Hafsat’s husband, Sadiq (the second defendant), offered his spouse with two SIM playing cards and registered them on Truecaller as ‘Fatima Dikko Radda.’”
“He then allegedly contacted the fourth defendant, Ladani Akindele, his former colleague at a new-generation financial institution, and requested him to supply the contact variety of the Chairman of Unity Financial institution, Hafiz Bashir. Via this connection, he obtained the contact variety of the petitioner, who’s a bureau de change operator.”
“Hafsat subsequently contacted the petitioner, Aminu Usman, and picked up a complete sum of N197,750,000 from him, claiming that she had the greenback equal of the cash ($118,300) to trade,” the EFCC assertion reads.
The funds had been reportedly deposited into the checking account of Abdullahi Bala earlier than allegedly being distributed among the many 4 defendants and laundered by means of numerous means.
