Justices H.H. Kereng and Abdulhamid Yakubu of the Gombe State High Court 2 and 3, sitting in Gombe, on August 5, 2025, convicted and sentenced Maigari Abba, Joseph Samuel Bulus, Kasheaure Joseph, Emmanuel Dilibe, Livite Ibrahim, and Awolowo Martins to varying jail terms for fraud-related offences.
The convicts were separately arraigned by the Gombe Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on one-count charge bordering on breach of trust, cheating, and impersonation.
One of the charges against Joseph Samuel Bulus, stated that between 2024 and 2025, he impersonated one Peter Elis, a supposed former King’s Guard in the UK, created fake Facebook and TikTok accounts, and lured unsuspecting victims into sending him money, mostly via gift cards.
He fraudulently obtained $1,500 in the process, an offence contrary to Section 321 and punishable under Section 324 of the Penal Code Law.
All the defendants pleaded guilty to their respective charges. Prosecution counsel S.E. Okemini and A.B. Kware urged the court to convict and sentence them accordingly, while defence counsel pleaded for leniency.
Justice Kereng sentenced Abba to six months imprisonment or a fine of ₦60,000, and Martins to six months imprisonment or a fine of ₦50,000.
Justice Yakubu sentenced Bulus, Joseph, Dilibe, and Ibrahim to 24 months imprisonment each or a fine of ₦50,000 each.
The court also ordered that ₦2.8 million recovered during the investigation, being proceeds of crime, be used to compensate the victims.
In addition, one laptop and five mobile phones seized during the arrests, identified as instruments of crime, were forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The convictions followed EFCC intelligence that led to the suspects’ arrest, investigation, and prosecution.
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