Court convicts man in Maiduguri for N20m fraud

Glory Ebomah

Justice Aisha Kumaliya of the Borno State High Court sitting in Maiduguri has convicted and sentenced one Modu Ali Kotoko to one-year imprisonment for cheating to the tune of N20,000, 000.00 (Twenty Million Naira).

Kotoko was first arraigned on January 1, 2021, and pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge preferred against him, setting the stage for a trial in which prosecution counsel, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed, presented one witness.

At the resumed hearing of the case on June 28, 2022, Kotoko changed his plea and pleaded ‘guilty’ to an amended charge.

The charge reads: “That you, Modu Ali Kotoko, sometime in May 2019 in Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly induced Mohammed Abubakar Girgiri to deliver to you the sum of N20,000,000.00 (Twenty Million Naira) which the said payment is for the auction of cars in Borno State and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 320 (a) and punishable under Section 322 of the Penal Code Cap 102 Laws of Borno State.”

Upon his plea, Ahmed, prayed the court to convict him accordingly, while counsel for the defendant, A.B Usman pleaded for leniency. He informed the court that the defendant had restituted the nominal complainant in full.

Justice Kumaliya thereafter convicted and sentenced Kotoko to one-year imprisonment with an option of N100,000.00 fine.