Justice A.Y Yakubu of Gombe State High Court sitting in Gombe, Gombe State on July 31, 2024 convicted and sentenced the duo of Vanna Henry Nguna and Morgak Peter to two years imprisonment for fraud.
Nguna (a.k.a.Emily Enoch) and Peter were prosecuted on one-count separate charges of personation by the Gombe Zonal Directorate of the EFCC.
The charges against Vanna Henry Nguna reads: “That you Vanna Henry Nguna sometimes between January and February, 2024 at Gombe, Gombe State within the jurisdiction of this honourable court dishonestly impersonate a female American national by operating a fake account ( Emily Enoch ) and a fake Gmail account ( emily00795@gmail.com) and by using same to defraud unsuspecting individuals mostly men, foreign nationals and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 and punishable under Section 324 of the Penal Code Law.”
The charge against Morgak Peter reads: “That you Morgak Peter sometimes between January and February 2024 at Gombe , Gombe State within the jurisdiction of this honourable court dishonestly impersonate some foreign nationals by pretending to be an online gamer and vendor operating fake Facebook account (help zone criss Ty and TJ field) and Instagram account ( nunji- 000) and in the process gained to your advantage the sum of N40,000 and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 and punishable under Section 324 of the penal code Law.”
Upon arraignment , the defendants pleaded guilty to their respective charges prompting the prosecution counsel , AB Kware to urge the court to convict and sentence the defendants as charged. However, counsel to the defendants, Jimoh.K and Yusuf. Ali pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy as the defendants were first -time offenders who are remorseful of their actions.
Justice Yakubu convicted and sentenced Nguna and Peter to two years imprisonment or a fine of N40,000( Forty Thousand Naira) each.
In addition, Peter restituted the sum of N40,000 to the victim of crime and the Samsung phones recovered from the two convicts in the course of investigation, being instruments of crime, forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria .
The convicts were arrested in May , 202 for internet fraud, charged to court and convicted.
In another development, the EFCC on July 31, 2023 arraigned one Mohammed Abubakar before Justice AY Yakubu of the State High Court sitting in Gombe , Gombe State.
He was arraigned on two- count charges of obtaining by false pretences by the Gombe Zonal Directorate of the EFCC.
One of the charges reads: “That you Muhammed Abubakar sometimes between May, 2023 to July 2023 at Gombe, Gombe State within the jurisdiction of this honourable court fraudulently induced one Hassan Shuaibu Kada to deliver to you the cumulative sum of N2,070,000 (Two Million Seventy Thousand Naira) under the pretence that the money was for investment in grains which you never did and thereby Committed an offence contrary to Section 320(a) of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 322 of the same law.”
He pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him by the EFCC, prompting prosecution counsel A.B. Kware to ask the court for a date for trial.
However, counsel to the defendant, Ishaku David moved an oral motion for bail stating that the defendant shall offer himself for trial when needed.
Justice Yakubu granted Abubakar bail in the sum of N2,000,000 (Two Million Naira) with two sureties in like sum who shall be men of good standing in the society and shall own landed properties in the state.
The judge thereafter adjourned the case to October 21,2024 for hearing.
