A Jalingo Chief Magistrates’ Court on Friday sentenced Dominic Bukuni, a Special Adviser to Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State, to two years’ imprisonment for criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery.
Bebeto Haruna, 32, who was arraigned along with Bukuni, was also sentenced to nine years in jail.
The Chief Magistrate, Mr Yusuf Babasoro, in a three-hour judgement said that the prosecution had proven its case beyond any reasonable doubt that the two accused were guilty of the offences as charged.
Babasoro said that Haruna was guilty as charged on the 1st and 2nd counts for impersonation and cheating which were contrary to Sections 132 and 322 of the Penal Code.
He said that the offences attracted a fine of N5, 000 and N10, 000 or jail terms of six months and one year respectively.
The magistrate also convicted Haruna on a three-count charge of fraud to the tune of N3.5million and sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.
According to Babasoro, Haruna defrauded 28 unsuspecting victims of the amount on the pretext that he would assist them to secure employment at the Taraba State University, Jalingo.
The magistrate delivering his judgment on Bukuni, 59, found him guilty of criminal conspiracy, impersonation and cheating.
He sentenced the convict to two years’ imprisonment with an option of a fine of N20,000.
Babasoro said that the offences contravened Section 597 of the Penal Code.
Earlier, the prosecutor, ASP Mohammed Ibrahim, in his First Information Report (FIR) filed before the court on March 20 , 2013, said that Haruna and Bukuni committed the offences sometime between June and December 2013.
Ibrahim said that the two men criminally conspired between themselves and impersonated Sen. Emmanuel Bwacha and the Vice-Chancellor of the Taraba State University, Prof. Sani Yahaya, respectively.
The prosecutor told the court that Haruna and Bukuni, using a telephone number- 08108989687, defrauded one Philomena Umaru and 14 others: all of Jalingo of N2, 245,000 under the pretext of offering them employment with the Taraba State University.
He stated that the two convicts had, similarly, defrauded one Bala Yakubu and 12 others of N1, 420, 000 on the pretext of presenting their names to the Vice-Chancellor of Taraba State University as candidates of Sen. Emmanuel Bwacha seeking to be offered employment.
Furthermore, Ibrahim said that the convicts had sometime in December 2012 used a GSM number 08108989887 to impersonate Sen. Emmanuel Bwacha and defrauded one Ishaku Adamu, the suspended Chairman of Ibi Local Government Council of Taraba State.
The prosecutor said that the fraudsters collected N500,000 and a N95,000 cow from the council chairman to assist him plead with members of the Taraba House of Assembly to revoke his suspension and return him to office.
According to Ibrahim, the two convicted persons also defrauded one Danasabe Jatau and collected N486,000 and gave him four forged appointment letters of the Taraba State University.
Ibrahim had urged the court to give the convicted persons the highest punishment as the offences contravened the provisions of Sections 97, 179, 322 and 364 of the penal code.
