By George Ozalla
A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Jabi has sentenced a former legislative aide and banker, Mr. Goni Yilkan, to eight years imprisonment for defrauding a petitioner of over N120 million under the guise of securing government jobs.
Justice F. E. Messiri, in a ruling delivered on Monday, found Yilkan guilty on a two-count charge of obtaining money by false pretence, contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act. He was convicted without the option of a fine.
According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which prosecuted the case, Yilkan was arraigned alongside one Mohammed Adamu in October 2023 after a petitioner alleged that he had swindled her between 2020 and 2021 by claiming he could secure employment slots in top government agencies, including the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Central Bank of Nigeria, and Niger Delta Development Commission.
The petitioner, Mrs. Hindatu Bello, told the court that she collected varying sums of money from over 60 jobseekers, amounting to N120.58 million, which she remitted to Yilkan based on his false assurances. The promised jobs never materialised, prompting her petition to the EFCC.
The prosecution, led by Cosmas Ugwu, presented six witnesses and documentary evidence, while the defence, headed by J.A. Oguche, called two witnesses, including the convict himself. After reviewing the evidence, the court acquitted Adamu but held that the EFCC had proved its case against Yilkan beyond reasonable doubt.
Justice Messiri consequently handed Yilkan an eight-year jail term without an option of fine.
