A Borno State High Court has convicted two men with a fine of one million naira each, for selling bags of rice meant for Internally Displaced Persons in Mafa Local Government Area of the state.
The two accused persons are Umar Ibrahim, a local politician, and Bulama Zangebe, a Supervisory Councillor in Mafa LGA.
The first defendant in the case was a former Care Taker Chairman from the same area, Shettima Maina, on whose directive the crime was carried.
The convicts were found guilty of the four count charges preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which centred on conspiring to sell and misappropriate proceeds of rice meant for IDPs in Mafa LGA.
They were charged and sentenced by Justice Fadawu Umar, who said Umar and Bulama had through the hearing, contradicted themselves in their testimonies.
The convicts told the court that the former council chairman ordered them to sell off the rice because the IDPs had complained that they were tired of eating rice every day.
They also claimed that the rice belonged to soldiers of the Nigerian Army who wanted to sell them to travel for Christmas.
The accused persons told the court that the N1.4m realised from sale of the rice was used to purchase maize for the displaced persons.
They were charged alongside Mr Maina, who was declared at large during the time of the hearing in court, as he was said to be in the custody of Operation Lafiya Dole for alleged links with Boko Haram.
“On January 5, 2017, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission received an intelligence report against the defendants that sometimes in 2016, the defendants on the instruction of the Care Taker Chairman of Mafa Local Government Area, Shittema Lawan Maina, sold 300 bags of rice meant for the Internally Displaced Persons of Mafa LGA, and misappropriated the proceed to their personal use,” a brief by the EFFCC read.
After verifying the claims, it was revealed that the 200 hundred bags of maize discovered had been in the store long before the theft and sale of the rice donated by the Danish Refugee Council.
“These lies and contradictory statements have proven beyond any reasonable doubt, that the accused have committed the crime which is punishable under Sections 308 and 309 of the Penal Code Law, and 97 of the Panel Code Cap 345 of Northern States of Nigeria, and thereby sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of one million naira,” Justice Umar said.
