Sokoto: EFCC Arraigns Court Registrar Over Alleged N3.8m Fraud
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) yesterday Wednesday 8 May 82024 arraigned a former court registrar, Abubakar Garba Dandare, before Justice Bello Muhammad Shinkafi of a Zamfara State High Court for allegedly stealing the sum of Three Million, Eight Hundred and Thirty-Seven Thousand, Six Hundred and Thirty-Four Naira (N3,837,634).
He was arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust while being the Registrar Upper Sharia Court 1 Gusau, Zamfara State.
Count one reads “That you Abubakar Garba Dandare ‘Male’ adult, while being the Registrar Upper Sharia Court 1, Gusau Zamfara State, on or about the 4th day of December 2010, at Gusau within the Judicial Division of the High Court of Zamfara State, while being entrusted with the sum of Three Million Eight Hundred and Thirty-Four Naira (N3.837,634) retention fee paid by Ministry of Finance, Zamfara State for the family of late Alhaji Ladan Mada, did dishonestly misappropriated the money to your personal use in violation of the mode in which the trust is to be discharged and thereby committed the offence of criminal breach of trust contrary to Section 311 of the Penal Code Cap 89 Laws of Northern Nigeria 1963 and punishable under Section 312 of the same Law”
Before taking his plea, defence counsel, Bello Umar, drew the attention of the court to the fact that the charge under which the suspect was being arraigned was defective; but prosecution counsel, P. A. Attah cited the Court of Appeal’s decisions along with the ACJA 2015 to counter the statement.
Justice Mohammad Shinkafi granted the accused bail in the sum of Five Million Naira (N5,000,000.00) and two sureties in like sum. The judge equally directed that one of the sureties must deposit a certificate of landed property within Gusau metropolis while both sureties must deposit their passport photographs with the court. The judge ruled that the defendant be remanded in a correctional facility pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions and adjourned the matter to 6 June 2024 for mention.
Dandare was arrested based on the claims of a petitioner alleging that the defendant diverted the money paid to his late father by the Zamfara State government for the construction of two students’ hostels at Government College, Talata Mafara. Dandare was the Registrar of the Upper Sharia Court 1, Gusau then.
Investigations by the Commission showed that Dandare collected the said money but failed to remit same to the petitioner.
Eighteen-Eleven Media
