Justice Aisha Kumaliya of the Borno State High Court in Maiduguri, on Wednesday, convicted and sentenced the Managing Director, Kyari and Sons Company Nigeria Limited, Kyari Mohammed to one year imprisonment
Mohammed was first arraigned on June 21, 2021 by the Maiduguri Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice Umaru Fadawu of the Borno State High Court, Maiduguri on two – count charge bordering on conspiracy and criminal misappropriation to the tune of N99.75million.
At the resumed hearing of the matter, Justice Fadawu recused himself and returned the case file to Borno State Chief Judge for reassignment based on the objection raised by the defence lawyer, W. Y Maikyau.
Thereafter, on Thursday, September 22, 2022, Mohammed was arraigned before Justice Aisha Kumaliya of the Borno State High Court, Maiduguri on two -count amended charges bordering on conspiracy and criminal misappropriation.
Count one reads: ”That you Kyari Mohammed being a Managing Director of Kyari and Sons Company Nigeria Limited and alter ego of Kyari and Sons Company Nigeria Limited, a company registered in Nigeria, sometimes March, 2018 at Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, did conspire among yourselves to obtained the gross sum of N99,750,000.00 (Ninety Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) only, which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences and Punishable under the same Act.”
When the charge was read to Mohammed, he pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the charge preferred against him by EFCC.
The prosecuting EFCC lawyers, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed and S.O Saka , in the course of the trial, presented three witnesses and tendered documents as exhibits before the court.
But the defence lawyer, W.Y Maikyau, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy and sentence the defendant with an option of fine “as he is a first time offender”.
Justice Kumaliya thereafter convicted and sentenced Mohammed to one year imprisonment with an option of N200, 000.00 fine. The Judge further ordered the convict to pay the sum of N99, 750,000.00 (Ninety Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) only to the petitioner or spend 10 years in the Correctiional Centre.
The convict’s journey to the Correctional Centre began when a petitioner alleged that he fraudulently collected food items amounting to N99.75million rom him, under the guise of supplying the items to a Non- Governmental Organization, NGO, with a promise to pay for the items within 45 days. Mohammed neither paid for the food items nor returned them to the supplier.
