Two civil servants in the service of the Niger State government have been remanded in a correctional centre for misconduct and forgery.
NIGERIACRIME learnt that the defendants were kept in the custody by a Senior Magistrate Court over alleged four-count charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating taking gratification in aspect of official act and forgery.
The accused are Mohammed Kudu Yusuf a staff of the Ministry of Mining and a member of the State Universal Basic Education Board, Aliyu Abdullahi.
Both suspects reside in Minna, the state capital.
According to the police prosecutor, Inspector Aliyu Malami, the accused persons deceived one Aminu Adamu of the Shango area of Minna and Bala Emmanuel of the Sauka-Kahuna area also of Minna and collected the sum of N280,000 to secure appointments in their various places of work.
Malami told the court that the charges against them contravened sections 97,314,115 and 364 of the penal code law.
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The charges read,” You both jointly conspired among yourselves and breached the trust reposed on you. You intentionally deceived candidates into paying the sum of N280,000 under the pretence of offering them a provisional appointment with the Niger State Primary Health Care Development Agency and Niger State Basic Education Board, knowing full well that it is a fraudulent transaction and obtaining money under false pretence and converted same to your own personal use and issued them with forged and fake appointment letters.”
Malami added, “Upon receiving such report, the police detectives swiftly swung into action and effected the arrest of the two defendants who confessed to having committed the crime.”
The sum of N180,000 was recovered by the police and handed over to the plaintiffs during further investigation, Malami revealed.
When the charges were read to the defendants by the Presiding Senior Magistrate Ahmed Musa Aliyu, they all pleaded guilty to the offences.
Consequently, the prosecuting police officer applied for the conviction of both accused persons under summary trial in accordance with the provision of section 157 of the criminal procedure code (CPC).
However, a source said that the court lacks the jurisdiction to convict the affected workers as demanded by the prosecutor, hence they were ordered to be remanded in correctional custody pending when they would be taken to the court of competent jurisdiction for their conviction.