Court jails two for selling fake Patience Jonathan’s gold in Maiduguri

The Maiduguri Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) successfully prosecuted Goni Muhammad and Seidu Seriki Hamani, securing a conviction that led to a seven-year imprisonment term. The charges were related to their involvement in selling counterfeit gold purported to be the possession of former First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan.

The duo faced trial after being arraigned on May 16, 2022, before Justice Aisha Kumaliya of the Borno State High Court, Maiduguri. The charges included counts of conspiracy and obtaining funds under false pretenses, amounting to N26,492,000 (Twenty-Six Million, Four Hundred and Ninety-Two Thousand Naira).

One of the charges stated: “That Goni Mohammad and Seidu Seriki Hamman, in January 2020 at Maiduguri, Borno State, with the intent to defraud, obtained 2 grams of gold amounting to N26,492,000.00 allegedly belonging to the wife of the former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan under false pretenses, an offense contrary to Section 1(1) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

Both defendants initially pleaded ‘not guilty.’ However, the EFCC Counsel, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed, presented three witnesses and multiple documents as evidence during the proceedings. The defense counsel, H. Waziri, appealed to the court for leniency, highlighting their inability to secure bail after the arraignment.

Justice Kumaliya rendered the judgment, finding them guilty on count one of conspiracy and count two of obtaining funds under false pretenses. They were sentenced to seven years imprisonment for each offense, with the jail terms running concurrently from their first arraignment.

Additionally, the Judge ordered Muhammad to compensate the victim by paying the remaining balance of N16,492,000.00 or face an additional seven years of imprisonment.

The convictions were a result of their arrest by EFCC operatives, who uncovered their scheme of defrauding victims by falsely claiming to sell gold on behalf of former First Lady, Mrs. Patience Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. Subsequently, they were charged, tried, and convicted in court.