Glory Ebomah
For the third time in as many months, Aisha Alkali Wakil has been convicted of fraud as Justice Aisha Kumaliya of the Borno State High Court, sitting in Maiduguri, on Wednesday, December 21, 2022, convicted and sentenced her alongside Tahiru Saidu Daura, and Prince Lawal, to 10 years imprisonment for conspiracy, cheating and obtaining N 120,500,000.00 by false pretence.
The defendants were arraigned by the Maiduguri Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, December 8, 2021, on five counts of amended charges.
Count two of the charge read: ”That you, Aisha Alkali Wakil, Tahiru Alhaji Saidu Daura, Prince Lawal Shoyade whilst being Chief Executive Officer, Programme Manager and Country Director respectively of Complete Care and Aid Foundation (Non – Government Organization) and Saidu Mukhtar (now at large) sometime in June 2018 at Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N45,000,000.00 (Forty-Five Million Naira) from one Mohammed Umar Mohammed of Nyeuro International Limited under the false pretence of executing a purported contract of supply, installation and servicing of 10 pieces of Chison 600A, 2009 version deluxe ultrasound system, which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and Punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act”.
Count four of the charge read: ”That you Aisha Alkali Wakil, Tahiru Alhaji Saidu Daura, Prince Lawal Shoyade whilst being Chief Executive Officer, Programme Manager and Country Director respectively of Complete Care and Aid Foundation (Non – Governmental Organization) and Saidu Mukhtar (at large) sometime between June and August 2018 at Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did conspire to do illegal act to wit; cheating by obtaining 3000 (Three Thousand) bags of 50kg white beans worth N65,000,000.00 (Sixty Five Million Naira) from one Mohammed Umar Mohammed of Nyeuro International Limited under the pretence of executing a purported contract of supply of the said beans which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 96 (a) and Punishable under Section 97 of the Borno State Penal Code Laws Cap 102.”
Head, Media and Publicity, EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, said the defendants had pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
In the course of the trial, the prosecuting counsel, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed, called seven witnesses, including, Shehu Usman, an investigator with the EFCC, who testified that “Complete and Aid Care Foundation (Non – Governmental Organization) was run as a Ponzi scheme, by robbing Peter to Pay Paul.”
After the prosecution closed its case on March 16, 2020, the defendants choose to file a no-case submission, which was dismissed by the court on September 27, 2021, and the defendants were ordered to open their case.
Delivering judgment today, Justice Kumaliya held that the prosecution proved its case against the defendants beyond a reasonable doubt.
“The court hereby finds you Aisha Alkali Wakil, Tahiru Alhaji Saidu Daura, Prince Lawal Shoyade guilty and convicted you as charged” the Judge ruled.
Justice Kumaliya sentenced them on the first count to seven years imprisonment and ten years on the second count. On the third count, the Judge sentenced the defendants to 5 years imprisonment.
The sentences are to run concurrently. The judge ordered the convicts to jointly restitute the sum of N66m to the nominal complainant or serve an additional seven years of jail term each.