From Sola Ojo, Abuja
Justice Muhammad Maina of the Borno State High Court, Maiduguri, on Tuesday, 28 January 2025, convicted and sentenced Ahmed Saleh Mubi to one year’s imprisonment for criminal misappropriation.
According to Dele Oyewale, Head of Media and Publicity at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mubi was arraigned on 19 September 2024 by the EFCC’s Maiduguri Zonal Directorate on a one-count charge of criminal misappropriation involving N19,691,200.
The charge reads: “That you, Ahmed Saleh Mubi, between December 2019 and March 2020 at Maiduguri, Borno State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, offered to sell CFA 45,200.00 to one Abdulkarim Mohammed Saleh at the cost of N20,975,200.00. You also collected 14 motorcycles valued at N324,000.00 from the said Abdulkarim Mohammed Saleh for sale and remittance of the proceeds to him but dishonestly misappropriated the sum of N19,691,200.00 (Nineteen Million, Six Hundred and Ninety-One Thousand, Two Hundred Naira) only, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 308 and punishable under Section 309 of the Penal Code Laws of Borno State, Cap. 102 Vol. 3 of 1994.”
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge, leading to a trial.
During the trial, prosecution counsel Mukhtar Ali Ahmed and Faruku Muhammad presented three witnesses and tendered several exhibits to the court.
Delivering judgment, Justice Maina convicted and sentenced Mubi to one year’s imprisonment with an option of a N100,000 fine.
“The convict’s road to the Correctional Centre began when he collected N19.6 million from Abdulkarim Mohammed Saleh to exchange it for CFA 45,200.00 and took 14 motorcycles valued at N324,000.00. He neither returned the money nor the motorcycles,” Oyewale said.