Justice Aisha Kumaliya of the Borno State High Court, Maiduguri, Borno State has convicted and sentenced Kalthum Mustapha to three years’ imprisonment.
According to a statement posted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on X, on Friday, Kalthum was first arraigned on Monday, May 13 last year on a one-count charge for scamming three men to the tune of N1.3m.
Mustapha was arrested for obtaining the money for the supply of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (a.k.a tammua packages) from her victims, but neither delivered the food package nor returned the money to them.
The charge read, “That you, Kaltum Mustapha, sometime in June, 2022, at Maiduguri, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, dishonestly induced the duos of Muhammad Lawan Sani, Abubakar Umar, and Yusuf Jafar to deliver to you the sum of N 1,350.000.00 for the supply of RUTF which you are yet to pay and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 320 (a) and punishable under Section 322 of the Penal Code Cap 102 Laws of Borno State.”
The defendant pleaded not guilty, and as the matter proceeded for trial, counsel for the prosecution, Mukhtar Ahmed, and Faruku Muhammad presented witnesses and tendered several documents as exhibits.
Justice Kumaliya in her judgment convicted and sentenced her with an option of fine in the sum of N50,000 or, in default, to serve a six-month jail term.
The judge further ordered the convict to pay the sum of N635,000 to her victims or to serve an additional two years’ imprisonment.
