A Borno State High Court sitting in Maiduguri has sentenced controversial activist, Aisha Alkali Wakil, popularly known as Mama Boko Haram, to another 14 years imprisonment over an N11 million contract scam.
Wakil, along with Tahiru Saidu Daura and Prince Lawal Shoyode, was convicted on Wednesday by Justice Aisha Kumaliya, who found them guilty of two counts of conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretence.
The trio, who operated under the non-governmental organisation Complete Care and Aid Foundation, was initially arraigned on September 14, 2020, by the Maiduguri Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to the EFCC, the defendants fraudulently obtained N11 million from one Muhammed Ambare, under the guise of executing a bogus contract for the supply and installation of two X-Ray machines (Model 1800).
The court heard that the transaction occurred in July 2018 and the contract was never fulfilled. The prosecution revealed that the money was transferred to a third-party account belonging to Saidu Mukhtar, who remains at large.
Despite pleading not guilty, the court proceeded to a full trial, during which the EFCC called one witness and tendered documentary evidence to establish the fraudulent transaction.
In her ruling, Justice Kumaliya handed each defendant seven years on each count to run concurrently and ordered that the convicts jointly refund N8 million to the victim or serve an additional seven-year term.
The judgment marks yet another fall from grace for Wakil, who had previously enjoyed public attention for claiming to have access to the Boko Haram insurgents. However, her recent years have been marred by multiple fraud cases.
In November 2024, Wakil was sentenced to five years imprisonment in another case involving a N6 million fraud. In that instance, she was found guilty of luring a businessman to deliver a Toyota Camry under the pretense of a fake contract.
EFCC spokespersons say the agency remains committed to ensuring that fraudsters, regardless of their social status or public image, are brought to justice.
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