A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, has sentenced a man, Hamza Abdullahi, to three years imprisonment for allegedly defrauding 175 women of N5.4 million under the guise of securing government jobs for them.
The convict was said to have collected money from the victims after promising to facilitate employment opportunities for them as cooks in government establishments.
During the trial, the prosecution counsel, Aminu Diri, told the court that Abdullahi’s actions violated Section 140 of the Kebbi Administration of Criminal Justice Law and Section 341 of the Penal Code.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, defence counsel, Bashar Zakari, pleaded with the court to show leniency, describing the defendant as a first-time offender.
He urged the court to consider imposing a fine instead of a prison sentence.
Responding, the prosecutor acknowledged that the convict had no prior criminal record but insisted that justice must be served for the victims, many of whom allegedly lost their means of livelihood.
“The complainants’ N5.4 million has yet to be recovered.
Recovering the money would bring relief to the victims and also serve as a deterrent to others,” Diri told the court.
He further noted that the matter suffered repeated adjournments at the request of the defendant, who had promised to refund the money but failed to fulfil the commitment.
In his judgment, Magistrate Abdullahi Koko said the court had carefully considered the submissions of both the prosecution and defence before arriving at its decision.
The magistrate lamented the hardship allegedly suffered by the victims, including widows, divorcees and minors, stressing that the defendant’s conduct had caused severe distress to many families.
The court also disclosed that efforts to trace properties belonging to the convict for possible recovery of the funds proved unsuccessful, as he reportedly owned no assets and still resided in his family house.
Abdullahi was subsequently sentenced to one year imprisonment for obtaining money under false pretences, another one year for depriving the victims of their livelihoods, and an additional one-year jail term if he fails to refund the N5.4 million.
Following the judgment, the defence counsel expressed appreciation to the court for what he described as a lenient ruling.