A Borno State High Court sitting in Maiduguri has convicted Aisha Wakil, widely known as “Mama Boko Haram”, and two others to a combined 15 years in prison over their involvement in a N6 million car fraud.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) announced the conviction on Monday, revealing that Wakil, along with Tahiru Saidu Daura, the Programme Manager of her Complete Care and Aid Foundation, and Lawal Shoyode, the Country Director, were found guilty of fraudulently obtaining a Toyota Camry 2012 model from a petitioner under false pretenses.
The defendants were re-arraigned on September 2020, facing four counts of conspiracy, cheating, and providing false information, to which they initially pleaded not guilty. However, after extensive proceedings, Justice Aisha Kumaliya sentenced each of the defendants to five years imprisonment on Thursday, with no option for a fine.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered the trio to pay a restitution of N3.5 million to the petitioner. Justice Kumaliya further warned that failure to comply with the restitution order would result in an additional five years behind bars for each defendant.
The EFCC’s statement explained that the defendants had failed to purchase the car as agreed or return it to the petitioner, leading to their conviction. During the trial, the prosecution, represented by Mukhtar Ahmed and Shamsudeeb Saka, presented three witnesses and several key documents, which helped secure the guilty verdict.
