Court Sends Two Fraudsters To Jail in Gombe

Justice D.S. Sikkam of the Gombe State High Court sitting in Gombe has convicted and sentenced two fraudsters: Mark Madiya and Joel Jonah to two years, five months imprisonment for criminal misappropriation.

They were convicted on Thursday, June 9, 2022 after pleading guilty to three-count charges bordering on criminal misappropriation, upon being arraigned by the Gombe Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

One of the count charges read: “that you, Mark Madiya and Joel Jonah sometime between 2019 and 2020 at Gombe, Gombe State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did conspire among yourselves to commit an offence to wit: criminal misappropriation and thereby commit an offence contrary to the provision of Section 96 and punishable under Section 97(2) of the Penal Code.”

The defendants pleaded guilty to the three count charges when they were read to them.

Based on their pleas, Justice Sikkam convicted and sentenced them accordingly.   Madiya and Jonah were sentenced to three  months imprisonment with an option of  fine of  N20,000.00 ( Twenty Thousand Naira)  on count one, two years imprisonment with an option of N30,000.00 ( Thirty Thousand Naira)  on count two and two months imprisonment with an option of  fine  of N20,000.00 ( Twenty Thousand Naira)  on count three. The jail terms are to run concurrently.

The convicts’ journey to the Correctional Centre began when a petitioner alleged that they defaulted in payments due to him from his motor cycle business which he offered them to handle.  They were arrested, investigated and prosecuted.