The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Gombe zonal office on January 8, 2019 secured the conviction of one Sule Raymond for a one-count charge bordering on cheating.
Raymond was arraigned before Justice Sa’ad Muhammad of the Gombe State High Court for defrauding Daniel Solomon, a farmer of N155, 000 (One Hundred and Fifty Five Thousand Naira) only in the guise that he would help his son gain employment into the Nigerian Army.
His journey to jail began in August 2017, when after collecting the said money, he deceived Solomon’s son to travel to Kaduna to meet the “officer-in-charge” of the recruitment in Zaria. After spending three days at Zaria, the son realized that the phone number given to him by Raymond actually belonged to him and not that of the expected recruitment officer.
The charge reads: “That you, SULE RAYMOND, sometimes in August 2017 at Gombe Local Government Area of Gombe State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did dishonestly induce one Daniel Solomon, a farmer to deliver to you monies, the sum of N155,000 (One Hundred and Fifty-Five Thousand Naira) only in the belief that the said sum was for facilitating employment into the Nigerian Army, thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 320 (a) and Punishable under Section 322 of the Penal Code Laws, CAP 89, Laws of Northern Nigeria”.
In view of the weight of evidence brought against him, he did not waste the time of the court as he pleaded “guilty” to the charge.
The prosecuting counsel, Ndeh Godspower, urged the court to “convict him and sentence him according to the Law he was charged with”.
Defence counsel, however, pleaded with the court to “temper justice with mercy”.
Justice Muhammad, thereafter, convicted and sentenced him to three months in prison, with an option of N40, 000. The trial judge also ordered that the money in question be recovered from him and returned to his victim.