The Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Jabi, Abuja, has convicted and sentenced a former legislative aide and banker, Mr. Goni Yilkan, to 8 years’ imprisonment over a N120.5 million employment scam involving obtaining money by false pretence.
Justice F. E. Messiri passed the judgment, according to a statement issued by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday.
The Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC prosecuted the case against Yilkan, who hails from Nguru, Yobe State, with the court finding him guilty on a two-count charge of obtaining money by false pretence, contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
What Transpired in Court
According to the statement, the defendant was arraigned alongside Mohammed Adamu in October 2023, following investigations into a petitioner’s claims of being defrauded by the convict.
- The petitioner accused Yilkan of deceiving her between 2020 and 2021 into believing that he had the capacity to secure employment slots in government agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
“On this strength, the petitioner collected varying sums of money from over 60 jobseekers, amounting to N120,580,550.00 (One Hundred and Twenty Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Naira), which she allegedly remitted to the convict,” the statement partly reads.
- The Commission added, however, that the purported employment offers never materialised, prompting Bello to petition the EFCC.
One of the charges read:
“That you, Mohammed Goni Yilkan, Mohammed Adamu, and others at large between 3rd January 2020 and December 2021 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N120,580,550 (One Hundred and Twenty Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Naira) from Mrs. Hindatu Bello under the false pretence that you had the capacity to secure jobs for her candidates in various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria, which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
The defendant denied the allegations, paving the way for trial.
The EFCC’s legal team maintained that he collected the sum of N120.5 million from desperate job seekers under the guise of offering them employment slots.
- The defendant was accused of neither offering them the jobs nor returning their money.
- At the trial, the prosecution, led by Cosmas Ugwu, called six witnesses and tendered documentary evidence, while the defence, led by J.A. Oguche, presented two witnesses to dispute EFCC’s claims, including Yilkan.
What the Judge Said
In his judgment, Justice Messiri held that “the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The judge convicted Yilkan but discharged and acquitted his co-defendant, Adamu.
The judge further sentenced Yilkan to eight years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.
