Court jails fake American, 2 others in Kaduna

The Kaduna State High Court sitting in Kaduna has convicted and sentenced a fake American, Stephen Thomas, to five years imprisonment.

Thomas was jailed on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, after pleading guilty to one-count charge bordering on impersonation by the Kaduna Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

His charge read: “That you, Stephen Thomas (a.k.a Rolanda Collins), male, sometimes in February,  2024 at Narayi Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court fraudulently impersonated one Rolando Collins (an American citizen) on Facebook and in such assumed character, cheated one Kate Stewarton (an American citizen) the sum of $100 and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 308 and punishable under Section 309 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law 2017.”

He pleaded “guilty” to the charge when it was read to him which prompted the prosecution counsel, M. J. Arugungu, to urge the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.

The presiding judge, Justice A.A Isiaka, thereafter convicted and sentenced the defendant to five years imprisonment or to pay a fine of 150,000.

The convict also forfeited his Infinix X mobile phone and the sum of $100 to the federal government.

In another development, the Kaduna Zonal Command of the EFCC arraigned Bashiru Adamu and Yushau Mohammed Ahmed before Justices Isiaka of the State High Court and Hawau Buhari of the Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna, respectively.

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They were docked for failure to declare assets, criminal breach of trust, and obtaining money by false pretence.

One of Adamu’s charges read: “That you, Bashiru Adamu (M), sometime in 2021 at Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, fraudulently obtained the total sum of N25,000,000.00 from one Brigadier General JA Faransa (Rtd.), when you falsely represented yourself as being capable of securing and delivering to him a Toyota Hilux vehicle, which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

Both defendants pleaded “not guilty” to their charges when they were read to them.

Consequently, the prosecution counsel, M.U Gadaka and M. E. Eimonye, prayed the court for a trial commencement date and for the defandants to be remanded in a correctional centre. However, counsel for Ahmed, K. Mustapha, prayed the court to allow him continue to enjoy an existing bail granted him by Justice Hadiza in 2023 before she was elevated to the Court of Appeal.

After listening to both counsels, Justice Isiaka remanded Adamu in the Kaduna Correctional Centre and adjourned the case for hearing of the bail application and commencement of trial, respectively.

Justice Buhari, on the other hand, adjourned Ahmed’s case till June 5, 2024, for the commencement of trial and granted that the defendant continued to enjoy his earlier bail.

The Star