Justice Aisha Ibrahim of the Borno State High Court, Maiduguri, has convicted and sentenced two fraudsters, Abdullahi Suleiman and Ahmad Yahaya, over separate fraud cases involving more than N7.3 million.
The duo were arraigned on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, on separate one-count charges bordering on cheating and criminal misappropriation of funds amounting to N7,378,000.
According to court documents, Suleiman, alongside two accomplices still at large, allegedly defrauded one Mustapha Baraka Abubakar of N5 million under the pretext of exchanging the money for United States dollars, which was never delivered.
The charge stated that the defendants conspired to obtain the money through false representation, an offence punishable under the Penal Code Law of Borno State, 2023.
In a separate case, Ahmad Yahaya was accused of fraudulently obtaining N2.378 million from one Abba Goni Hassan after posing as the Chief Executive Officer of Siliki Millennium Oil, a company purportedly involved in the supply of foodstuff and flour.
Investigators said Yahaya convinced the victim to transfer the funds into his Union Bank account for the purchase and supply of food items to markets and stores, but allegedly diverted the money for personal use instead.
Both defendants pleaded guilty when the charges were read before the court.
Following their guilty pleas, prosecution counsel, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed, urged the court to convict and sentence them accordingly.
Delivering judgment, Justice Ibrahim sentenced Suleiman to one year imprisonment with an option of N25,000 fine, while Yahaya was handed a 10-year jail term with an option of N200,000 fine.
The court noted that the convicts abused the trust of their victims through deceitful business claims and fraudulent financial transactions.
Their conviction marks another crackdown on economic and financial crimes in Borno State as authorities intensify efforts to tackle fraud and protect residents from criminal schemes.
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