Woman convicted for ₦3.5m fake Qatar job fraud

A Borno State High Court in Maiduguri has convicted and sentenced Yagana Musa Mohammed to six months’ imprisonment for defrauding a job seeker of ₦3.5 million under the pretext of securing employment in Qatar.

Justice B.T. Zannah delivered the judgment on Wednesday after the defendant pleaded guilty to a one-count amended charge of criminal misappropriation brought against her by the Maiduguri Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The charge stated that Mohammed dishonestly converted ₦3.5 million belonging to Mohammed Tukur Yaji to her personal use, an offence punishable under the Penal Code Law.

Following her guilty plea, prosecution counsel A.D. Abdulmalik urged the court to convict her, while defence counsel H.A. Aliyu pleaded for leniency, noting that the defendant had shown remorse and refunded the victim’s money.

Justice Zannah sentenced the convict to six months in prison with an option of a ₦50,000 fine.

According to the EFCC, Mohammed collected the money in 2025 after falsely promising to secure a job for the victim in the State of Qatar.

However, she failed to provide the promised employment and did not refund the money until the matter was reported to the anti-graft agency for investigation.