Mustapha Mohammed and Tijjani Goni, two National Assembly staffers, were convicted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission for their roles in an N4.8 million job fraud.
Justice B.M. Bassi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja convicted the two of deceiving two individuals when they were claiming to be able to get jobs with the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Central Bank of Nigeria, as reported by the ICPC.
Yesterday, ICPC spokeswoman Demola Bakare made a statement explaining that the victims, Saifudeen Yakub and Aminu Abubakar, had petitioned for this matter to be brought to light.
The petition explained how the defendants and another person still on the run used N4.8 million to set up phony job offers.
Mustapha Mohammed posed as an employee of the National Assembly with ties to the CBN and FIRS, according to the investigation. The complainants were promised that their appointment letters would be released by April 27, 2021, but he insisted on paying them N4 million apiece.
“The petitioners later paid N3 million into an account held by one of the defendants at Zenith Bank. They were then asked to pay an extra N300,000 each for what was supposed to be medical screening. They paid the sum into another account at Access Bank,” the statement stated in part.
The interrogations led to the ICPC charging the individuals with five counts of conspiracy, forgery, and receiving funds by deceit, in violation of the Penal Code and the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006, as well as other relevant statutes.
Prosecutor Fatima Bardi informed the court that the accused individuals deceived their victims by forging employment papers that were supposedly given by the CBN and FIRS.
Nevertheless, the defendants entered a guilty plea to an amended one count of making false statements, according to Section 25 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, in accordance with Section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, which permits plea bargaining.
They paid a fine of N100,000 each and returned the full N4.8 million to the ICPC Recovery Account as conditions of their plea deal.
The ICPC cautioned Nigerians to exercise caution when receiving employment offers and urged them to confirm any claims through appropriate means. It also restated its commitment to promote accountability and integrity in public service.
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