Court Jails Man Over N59.5m Bank Fraud, Offers N1m Fine Option
THECONSCIENCE NG reports that Kano State High Court presided over by Justice Maryam Ahmed Sabo has sentenced one Khalifa Hamza Aminu to five years’ imprisonment.
However, the court gave him the option of paying a fine of ₦1 million for dishonestly taking the sum of ₦59,546,540 from the bank account of one Yakub Mukthar without his consent.
The EFCC’s prosecution counsel, Barrister Zalami Muhammad, stated that the offence contravenes Section 286 and is punishable under Section 287 of the Penal Code.
According to the charge sheet sighted:
“That you, Khalifa Hamza Aminu, between 14th January and 4th June 2025, at Kano within the judicial division of the High Court of Kano State, did dishonestly take out of the possession of Yakub Mukthar the sum of ₦59,546,540 without his consent, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 286 and punishable under Section 287 of the Penal Code.”
Based on Khalifa’s plea of guilty and the prosecution’s application, Justice Maryam Ahmed Sabo further ordered the convict to compensate the complainant with the sum of ₦59,546,540.
In her judgment, Justice Sabo ruled:
“The convict is hereby sentenced to pay a fine of ₦1 million or serve five years’ imprisonment, in addition to the compensation as applied by the prosecution. I hereby invoke the provisions of Sections 3 and 320(1) of the Kano State Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) 2019 and similarly order the convict to compensate the sum of ₦59,546,540. Failure to pay shall result in an additional two years’ imprisonment.”
The court concluded:
“This order is to be complied with within 90 days. The convict has a 90-day period to appeal the judgment pursuant to the provisions of Sections 20(2) and 320(2) of ACJL 2019.”
