A High Court sitting in Maiduguri has sentenced Shehu Saleh to two years in prison for fraud involving ₦22 million.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Aisha Kumaliya after the defendant was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on charges of misappropriating funds.
According to the charge brought before the court, Saleh unlawfully diverted money entrusted to him for a contract. The charge read:
“That you, Shehu Saleh, sometime in 2024, at Maiduguri, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, converted to your own use the gross sum of N22,000,000 (twenty-two million naira) belonging to one Zara Betra Aliyu on your instruction via your account numbers domiciled with GT Bank and First Bank, respectively, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 296 and punishable under Section 297 of the Penal Code Law of Borno State.”
When the charge was read, the defendant admitted guilt. Following his plea, the prosecution counsel, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed, urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.
In her ruling, Justice Kumaliya sentenced Saleh to two years’ imprisonment, with an option of a ₦100,000 fine. The court further ordered that failure to pay the fine would result in an additional six months’ imprisonment.
The case stemmed from a transaction in which ₦22 million was paid into Saleh’s account for the execution of a contract with an international organisation. Instead of carrying out the assignment, he diverted the funds for personal use.
