For conspiring to defraud innocent people of their hard-earned money thereby denying Bauchi State Government of revenue, two former accounts staff of the government are to spend seven years and three months each in prison.
The two former officials, a former Chief Accountant of the State Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board, Kawu Chindo, and account clerk of the office of the Accountant General of the Bauchi State, Ali Baba, were found guilty and sentenced by the Bauchi Division of the Federal High Court.
The two former accounts officials were found guilty of financial misappropriation brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Gombe Zonal Office which arraigned them in August 2020.
The court, therefore, sentenced the duo of Kawu Chindo, former Chief Accountant of Bauchi State Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board, and Ali Baba of the Office of the Accountant General of the State to 7 years and 3 months imprisonment each.
The two were accused of conspiring to appropriate to themselves public funds to the tune of N73.7m by diverting the amount to personal account thereby committing the offence of fraud.
The Gombe Zonal Office of EFCC had commenced investigations on the allegation against the convicts as soon as it received a petition to that effect from Bauchi State Government.
The State Ministry of Finance and Economic Development had accused the two officials of printing and issuing fake revenue receipts to intending hajj pilgrims in 2019.
They were accused to have rather than pay the sum into the account of the Board, diverted the money to their personal accounts with the intention of defrauding government and the innocent people who paid the money.
At the end of the trial, the Federal High Court presided by Justice Mu’azu Abubakar found them guilty as charged and therefore sentenced them to seven years and three months imprisonment on the 16th of February, 2022.
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