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Two fraudsters bag jail terms in Gombe

Justice A.Y Yakubu of Gombe State High Court sitting in Gombe , Gombe State on July 31, 2024 convicted and sentenced the duo of Vanna Henry Nguna and Morgak Peter to two years imprisonment for fraud.

Nguna (a.k.a.Emily Enoch) and Peter were prosecuted on one-count separate charges of personation by the Gombe Zonal Directorate of the EFCC.

The charges against Vanna Henry Nguna reads: “That you Vanna Henry Nguna sometimes between January and February, 2024 at Gombe, Gombe State within the jurisdiction of this honourable court dishonestly impersonate a female American national by operating a fake account ( Emily Enoch ) and a fake Gmail account ( emily00795@gmail.com) and by using same to defraud unsuspecting individuals mostly men, foreign nationals and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 and punishable under Section 324 of the Penal Code Law.”

The charge against Morgak Peter reads: “That you Morgak Peter sometimes between January and February 2024 at Gombe , Gombe State within the jurisdiction of this honourable court dishonestly impersonate some foreign nationals by pretending to be an online gamer and vendor operating fake Facebook account (help zone criss Ty and TJ field) and Instagram account ( nunji- 000) and in the process gained to your advantage the sum of N40,000 and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 and punishable under Section 324 of the penal code Law.”

Upon arraignment , the defendants pleaded guilty to their respective charges prompting the prosecution counsel , AB Kware to urge the court to convict and sentence the defendants as charged. However, counsel to the defendants, Jimoh.K and Yusuf. Ali pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy as the defendants were first -time offenders who are remorseful of their actions.

Justice Yakubu convicted and sentenced Nguna and Peter to two years imprisonment or a fine of N40,000( Forty Thousand Naira) each.

In addition, Peter restituted the sum of N40,000 to the victim of crime and the Samsung phones recovered from the two convicts in the course of investigation, being instruments of crime, forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria .

The convicts were arrested in May , 202 for internet fraud, charged to court and convicted.

In another development, the EFCC on July 31, 2023 arraigned one Mohammed Abubakar before Justice AY Yakubu of the State High Court sitting in Gombe , Gombe State.

He was arraigned on two- count charges of obtaining by false pretences by the Gombe Zonal Directorate of the EFCC.

One of the charges reads: “That you Muhammed Abubakar sometimes between May, 2023 to July 2023 at Gombe, Gombe State within the jurisdiction of this honourable court fraudulently induced one Hassan Shuaibu Kada to deliver to you the cumulative sum of N2,070,000 (Two Million Seventy Thousand Naira) under the pretence that the money was for investment in grains which you never did and thereby Committed an offence contrary to Section 320(a) of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 322 of the same law.”

He pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him by the EFCC, prompting prosecution counsel A.B. Kware to ask the court for a date for trial.

However, counsel to the defendant, Ishaku David moved an oral motion for bail stating that the defendant shall offer himself for trial when needed.

Justice Yakubu granted Abubakar bail in the sum of N2,000,000 (Two Million Naira) with two sureties in like sum who shall be men of good standing in the society and shall own landed properties in the state.

The judge thereafter adjourned the case to October 21,2024 for hearing.

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EFCC seals Kaduna hotel for breaching money laundering act

The Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, SCUML, of the Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has sealed up Hampton Hilton Hotel and Apartments, Kaduna, for non-compliance with the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022 and Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations of the Financial Action Task Force, FATF for Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions, DNFBPs.

The entity was found to have committed multiple infractions in the course of the first evaluation carried out on it, on June 4, 2024, leading to the issuance of administrative sanctions to it by SCUML.

It was also found to have committed further infractions following the compliance evaluation of June 13, 2025, for which it was slammed N2,300,000.00 (Two Million Three Hundred Thousand Naira) fine, payable within seven days and with instruction to ensure full compliance with the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022 and AML/CFT regulations or face further consequences.

While it refused to pay the fine, it, as well, dishonoured SCUML’s invite to show up for compliance evaluation, resulting in the sealing of the premises.

The Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, SCUML, ensures DNFBPs’ compliance with Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022 and AML/CFT regulations.

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Buhari could have long been dead if he had chosen to be treated in Nigeria -Fmr aide Adesina

Former spokesperson to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, has defended the decision of late President Buhari to always seek medical attention abroad before and after he left office.

In a chat with Channels TV this morning, Adesina who served as the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Buhari said;

‘’Buhari always had his medical in London, even when he was not in office. So, it’s not about the time he was president alone. He had always had it in London and then, you have to be alive first to get certain things corrected in your country. If he had said, ‘I will do my medical in Nigeria just as a show-off or something,’ he could have long been dead because there may not be the expertise needed in the country but he needed to be alive to lead the country to a point where we will have that expertise”

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Buhari’s body arrives in Daura from Katsina for final burial

The remains of Nigeria’s former President, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has arrived in his hometown of Daura from Katsina ahead of his burial later today.

The body, which was flown into the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport in Katsina from the United Kingdom earlier in the day, was received with full state protocol by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda, and members of the late president’s family.

From the airport, the late leader’s remains were transported by a specially prepared ambulance under tight security to Daura, a journey marked by solemnity and respect, with hundreds of residents lining parts of the route to pay their final respects.

Buhari, who served as Nigeria’s Head of State from 1983 to 1985 and returned as a democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023, died in London on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at the age of 82 after a brief illness.

According to Islamic tradition, he will be buried later today at his private residence in Daura.

Dignitaries, traditional rulers, political leaders, and sympathizers from across Nigeria have already gathered in Daura for the Janazah prayers and final interment, with security operatives deployed across the ancient town to ensure a peaceful ceremony