By Ayomide Otitoju
Justice Aisha Kumaliya of the Borno State High Court, sitting in Maiduguri, has convicted and sentenced Aisha Alkali Wakil, popularly known as Mama Boko Haram, along with Tahiru Saidu Daura and Prince Lawal Shoyode, to 14 years imprisonment each for conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretence to the tune of ₦11 million.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) disclosed the sentencing in a statement issued on Wednesday by its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale.
The trio, all officials of Complete Care and Aids Foundation (CCAF) — with Wakil serving as Chief Executive Officer, Daura as Programme Manager, and Shoyode as Country Director — were arraigned on September 14, 2020, on a two-count charge of conspiracy and fraud.
“That you, Aisha Alkali Wakil, Tahiru Saidu Daura, Prince Lawal Shoyode… and Saidu Mukhtar (now at large) sometime in July 2018 at Maiduguri, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of ₦11 million from one Muhammed Ambare of Muhammed Ambare Ventures under the false pretence of executing a contract for the supply, installation, and servicing of two units of X-Ray Machine Model 1800, which you knew to be false…”
The defendants pleaded not guilty when the charges were read, leading to a full trial. The EFCC prosecution team, led by Mukhtar Ali Ahmed and S.O. Saka, presented one witness and tendered multiple documents in support of the case.
Delivering judgment after prolonged proceedings, Justice Kumaliya found the defendants guilty on both counts and sentenced them to seven years on each count, to run concurrently.
In addition to the prison term, the court ordered that the convicts jointly and severally restitute ₦8 million to the complainant. Failure to do so would result in an additional seven-year prison term.
According to court findings, the convicts fraudulently induced the petitioner to transfer ₦11 million to an account operated by Saidu Mukhtar — now at large — under the guise of supplying and servicing X-ray machines, a contract that was neither honoured nor refunded.
The sentencing marks another legal defeat for Wakil, who has faced multiple fraud-related prosecutions in recent years.
