A 45-year-old businessman, Shehu Abdullahi, was on Thursday arraigned in a Kaduna Magistrates’ Court for fraud.

Mr. Abdullahi is facing a two-count of fraud and cheating.

The prosecutor, Insp. Chidi Leo, told the court the defendant committed the offences sometime in June 2019 in Kaduna.

According to Mr. Leo, the defendant sold a plot of land situated at Rigasa in Kaduna to the complainant at the sum of N1.5 million.

“The defendant collected the money and gave the complainant a fake document for the land,” he said.

When the complainant started building on the land, the prosecutor said the real owner stopped him.

Mr. Leo added that all efforts made by the complainant to get his money back proved abortive.

The prosecutor said that the offences contravened sections 297 and 307 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law.

The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty.

The Magistrate, Ibrahim Emmanuel, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.

Mr. Emmanuel said the sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction, with evidence of tax payments to the Kaduna government.

He adjourned the case until March 2 for a hearing.

(NAN)