Justice Aisha Kumaliya of a Borno State High Court sitting in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, has again sentenced, for the fourth time, Aisha Alkali Wakil popularly called ‘Mama Boko Haram’ to seven years imprisonment for fraud.

The Maiduguri Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, secured the conviction of Mama Boko Haaram and two others; Tahiru Alhaji Saidu Daura and Prince Lawal Shoyode.

The defendants were prosecuted on a-three count charge of conspiracy and cheating to the tune of N34, 593,000 (Thirty-Four Million, Five Hundred and Ninety-Three Thousand Naira only).

Delivering judgment, Justice Kumaliya found the defendants guilty on the three counts and convicted them accordingly.

“On count one for the offence of conspiracy, the court hereby sentenced you, Aisha Alkali Wakil, Tahiru Saidu Daura and Prince Lawal Shoyode to five years imprisonment each without an option of fine.

“While on count two and three of the charge, Aisha Alkali Wakil and Tahiru Saidu Daura are to go to prison for seven years each without an option of fine”.

In addition, the court ordered Wakil to pay the sum of N25, 805, 000.00 (Twenty-Five Million Eight Hundred and Five Thousand Naira) or go to prison for seven years, while. Daura was ordered to pay the sum of N8, 788,000.00 (Eight Million, Seven Hundred and Eighty-eight Thousand Naira) or to go to jail for seven years.

“Wakil and Daura are to jointly pay the sum of N 7,184,250 for the items supplied to their office or to go to jail for three years each”.

This is the fourth time Mama Boko Haram would be convicted in the last four months.

On September 29, Justice Kumaliya sentenced Sakil, Tahiru Alhaji, Daura and Shoyode to seven years imprisonment each, for the offences of conspiracy and another seven years for obtaining money by false pretences.

The defendants were first arraigned on September 14, 2020 before Justice Kumaliya on two count charges for the offences of conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence to the tune of N 15,000,000.00 (Fifteen Million Naira).

The convicts made their ways to the Correctional Centers when they falsely obtained the sum of N15 million from a petitioner, in the guise of providing solar energy for his use. They neither offered the service nor returned his money to him.

In August, the trio of ‘Mama Boko Haram’, Daura and Shoyode were convicted on a N66m Fraud

The trio, as promoters and managers of a Non-governmental organization, Complete Care and Aids Foundation on September 7, 2018 induced one Ali Tijjani, and his company, AMTMAT Global Ventures to supply N51million worth of processed maize grain also known as ‘biski’ for which they refused to pay.

AMTMAT Global Ventures further processed and funded the trip of the trio to Morocco to the tune of N15 Million, a cost they refused to defray.

Delivering her judgment, Justice Kumaliya said the prosecution proved the charge against the defendants and pronounced them guilty as charged.

The Judge sentenced Wakil, Daura and Shoyede to seven years imprisonment for the offence of conspiracy without option of fine and seven years on the count of cheating also without option of fine.

On the second count of cheating the court sentenced the convicts to seven years imprisonment each without an option of fine.

In addition, the court ordered the defendants to pay the sum of N51m to Ali Tijjani or in default serve fifteen years imprisonment.

In addition, the first, second and third defendants are to each pay the sum of N3, 750,000.00 (Three Million Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) to Ali Tijjani or in default serve five years imprisonment each.

The court ordered that ‘the sentence is to start running at the expiration of any sentence that this court or any other court had awarded the convicted persons before this judgment.’

In June, the three accused persons were also sentenced to five years imprisonment over a fraud of N71.4m.

The were sentenced by Justice Kumaliya without option of fine.

The judgment was the climax of a process that commenced since 2020 when the defendants were re-arraigned on a two-count charge of conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence to the tune of N71, 400, 000 (Seventy-One Million, Four Hundred Thousand Naira) only.