Ayuba Sanusi
JUSTICE Nasiru Saminu of a Kano State High Court has convicted and sentenced Bulama Abdulrahman, a PhD student of the Nasarawa State University to seven years imprisonment without an option of fine for posing as an auctioneer assigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to sell some properties forfeited to the Federal Government on the Commission’s behalf.
He was jailed after facing trial on two-count charges bordering on intent to defraud and obtaining under false pretences to the tune of Thirty-Five Million Naira (N35,000.000) only.
One of the charges reads: “That you Abdulrahman Bulama on or about June 2023 in Kano within the jurisdiction of the Kano State High Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of Twenty Million Naira (N20,000,000) only from one Safiyanu Abdullahi of Tauraro and Property Limited under the false pretence that you are an auctioneer and you had the consent and authority of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to auction a fenced uncompleted building at Rijiyar Zaki Kano, which pretence you knew to be false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offenses Act, 2006.”
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the two-count charges when they were read to him.
In view of his plea, prosecution counsel, Musa Isah, took the cases to full trial during which he presented three witnesses while the defendant stood as a lone witness in his defence.
Upon conclusion of the case, Justice Saminu, convinced by the weight of evidence presented by Isah, found the defendant guilty as charged on count two and acquitted him on count one.
Subsequently, Isah prayed the court to convict the defendant accordingly.
The defence counsel pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy adding that the defendant is a PhD student at Nasarawa State University.
Accordingly, Justice Saminu convicted the defendant and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment without an option of a fine. The judge further ordered that the defendant pay the sum of Thirty-Five Million Naira (N35,000,000) only as restitution to the victim. The court also ordered that, for any failure to pay the restitution, the defendant would serve an additional prison term of seven years.
Bulama’s journey to prison began when the Commission received a petition alleging that he posed as an auctioneer assigned by the EFCC to sell some properties that were forfeited to the Federal Government on the Commission’s behalf. In the process, Bulama allegedly obtained a sum of N35,000,000 from his victims under the guise of selling them a truck and an uncompleted building in Kano.
Bulama is a serial fraudster who was investigated by the Commission and was subsequently convicted by the Kano State High Court on 28 June 2021 for a similar offence bordering on obtaining by false pretence.
Eighteen-Eleven Media