JUSTICE Darius Khobo of the Kaduna High Court on Wednesday sentenced one Hamisu Yusuf to four years imprisonment over a N3.4 million job scam.
Yusuf was charged with fraud by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Kaduna Zonal Office.
The judge sentenced Yusuf after he pleaded guilty to the charge and begged for mercy.
Delivering his judgment, Khobo said the essence of sentencing the defendant was to serve as a deterrent to others.
He said that the defendant who was however remorseful of his crime should restitute the sum of N3.4 million he collected from the complainants (Adekunle Babatunde and Aisha Waziri).
Khobo also gave the convict an option of N200, 000 fine and warned him to desist from the life of crime.
Earlier, the EFCC Prosecution Counsel, Precious Onyeneho, told the court that the defendant dishonestly collected the sum of N1.7 million respectively from the complainants.
Onyeneho said that the defendant collected the said amount under the pretence of securing employment for them in a federal government agency, a claim he knew was false.
The prosecution noted that the offence contravened the Penal Code of Kaduna State, 2017.
After the now convict pleaded guilty, the prosecution adopted the facts of the case, tendered some documents that were admitted in evidence and urged the court to convict and sentence the defendant accordingly.
The defense counsel, Mr U. I. Nasir, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy.
Nasir noted that the defendant was a first-time offender and was remorseful of the crime he committed. (NAN)
