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EFCC prosecutes man for N8m oil scam
The Sokoto Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Monday, December 7, 2020, arraigned one Shafiu Suleiman before Justice Raliya Uthman Muhammad of the Sokoto State High Court, Sokoto State for alleged criminal breach of trust and misappropriation to tune of N8,040, 000.00 (Eight Million, Forty Thousand Naira).
Trouble started for Suleiman when in 2016, he allegedly lured one Samaila Abubakar Jega to supply a truck-load of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO/diesel), valued at N8,240,000.00 (Eight Million, Two Hundred and Forty Thousand Naira) to him, paying only N200,000.00 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) with a promise of paying up after one week, which he has failed to do, four years after.
One of the charges against him, read, “That you, Shafiu Suleiman (“m”) sometime in 2016 at Sokoto, within the judicial division of the High Court of Justice, Sokoto State, while being supplied with one truck, loaded with Automotive Gas Oil (A.G.O) valued at N8,240,000.00 (Eight Million Two Hundred and Forty Thousand Naira) by one Samaila Abubakar Jega, which you are to pay off after one week, committed criminal breach of trust by misappropriating the sum of N8,040, 000.00 (Eight Million Forty Thousand Naira) in violation of the mode in which such trust is to be discharged and thereby committed an offence, contrary to the provisions of Section 300 of the Sokoto State Penal Code Law 2019 and punishable under Section 301 of the same Law.”
He pleaded “not guilty,” to the charge, upon which prosecution counsel, Habila Jonathan, prayed the court for a trial date and for him to be remanded in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service, (NCoS), while defence counsel, Mohammad Adeleke made an oral bail application for him.
Prosecution counsel’s objection to the bail application led to the judge’s adjournment of the case till December 14, 2020 for ruling on the bail application and ordered that the defendant be remanded in EFCC’s custody.
