A high court in Borno State on Monday convicted and jailed the trio of Aisha Wakil popularly known as Mama Boko Haram, Tahiru Daura and Lawal Soyade for 10 years.
 
This was disclosed in a statement posted on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission X account.
 
According to the statement, Justice Umaru Fadawu, who gave the ruling, found the defendants guilty on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and obtaining N40 million by false pretence.  
 
According to the charges, the EFCC accused the defendants of crime which contravenes 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.”
 
The defendants pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them.
 
Counsel for the prosecution counsel, A.I Arogha presented four witnesses and tendered 17 exhibits before the court.
 
Consequently, Justice Fadawu, convicted and sentenced them to 10 years imprisonment for the offence of conspiracy. 
 
The court further sentenced the defendants to 10 years imprisonment for the offence of obtaining by false pretence and ordered them to jointly and pay the sum of N40m to Bashir Muhammad.
 
“The prison term shall run concurrently on the expiration of all prison terms imposed on the convicts by any court”, the Judge said.
 
The convicts’ journey to the correctional centre began when a petitioner alleged that they swindled him of N40 million through a purported contract for the supply of five X-ray Machines 1900 with solar energy to a non-governmental organisation, Complete Care and Aid Foundation.  
 
They neither supplied the machines nor returned the contract sum to the petitioner.
 
The two-count charge read, “That you Aisha Alkali Wakil, Tahiru Alhaji  Saidu Daura and Prince Lawal Shoyade whilst being the Chief Executive  Officer, Programme Manager and Country Director respectively of Complete  Care and Aid Foundation, (a Non-Governmental Organisation) and Saidu  Mukhtar (At large) sometime in Maiduguri, Borno State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did with intent to defraud obtained the sum of Forty Million Naira (N40,000,000.00) from  one Bashir Abubakar, the Chief Executive Officer of Duty Free Shop Ltd under the false pretence of executing a purported contract for the supply of Five (5) X-ray machines 1900 with solar energy 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.”