Three security officers, including two policemen and one immigration officer, have been sent to jail for seven years each for collecting money from people under false promises of giving them jobs.
The officers are Yusuf AbdulKarim Bature and Musa Philip (both policemen) and Nasiru Mohammed (an immigration officer). They were found guilty of collecting ₦1,640,000 from their victims without providing the jobs they promised.
The case was brought to the Federal High Court in Gombe, where Justice T.G. Ringin handled it. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accused the three officers of fraud.
Yusuf Bature and Musa Philip were charged with collecting ₦970,000 from one person, Asabe Hamed, in 2022. They promised to get her a job in the Nigerian Police Force, which was false.
Nasiru Mohammed, an immigration officer, was charged with collecting ₦670,000 from two people, Abdul Rahman Abubakar and Akwalo Adamu. He promised to get them jobs in the Nigerian Immigration Service, but this was also a lie.
These actions violated Nigeria’s Advance Fee Fraud Act.
When the case went to court, all three officers admitted they were guilty. Their lawyers pleaded for mercy, saying they were first-time offenders and were sorry for their actions.
Justice Ringin sentenced each of them to seven years in prison. However, the court gave them an option to pay a fine of ₦50,000 each instead of going to jail. The judge also ordered the officers to:
Refund the ₦1,640,000 they collected from their victims.
Sign a promise to behave well in the future.
The case began in February 2024 when the victims reported the officers to the EFCC. The officers had collected money from their victims in 2022 but failed to provide the jobs they promised or return the money.