EFCC convicts IT consultant Nurudeen Abdullahi over ₦113.4m fraud

On Wednesday, the Kaduna Zonal Command of the EFCC secured the conviction and sentencing of one Nurudeen Musa Abdullahi before Justice P.H Mallong of the Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna, Kaduna State for offences bordering on conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence.

Nurudeen, a consultant/software developer, began his march to prison when three oil and gas companies located in Kaduna petitioned the Commission, alleging that sometime in 2018 they received demand letters from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) asking for a settlement of the outstanding balance of various sums for products lifted by their companies from the Kaduna Depot between 2008 and 2018 without payment.

The complainants stated that in the course of inquiries, they discovered that their companies were impersonated by the defendant to defraud the NNPC. Investigations revealed that Nurudeen, being a consultant and software engineer contracted by NNPC Kaduna to develop and manage its billing software payment system regarding the lifting of petroleum products, took advantage of his office to carry out the fraud.

One of the charges against the defendant reads, “That you Nurudeen Musa Abdullahi (m) sometime between 2011 and 2014 in Kaduna within the Kaduna Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, did retain a total of N 113,490.000 ( One Hundred and Thirteen Million Four Hundred and Ninety Thousand Naira) in your account No. 2002932756 domiciled in First Bank Plc, a sum which you knew or ought to have known to be proceeds of your illegal activity to wit; criminal breach of trust and you thereby commit an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 17 (a) and (b) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 ( as amended in 2012)”.

He pleaded guilty to the charges, prompting the prosecution counsel, M. Lawal to review the case and ask the court to convict the defendant accordingly. Justice Mallong convicted and sentenced the defendant to a fine of one million Naira.
He was ordered to forfeit the following properties to the Federal Government of Nigeria: a property situated at Hassan Usman Crescent, Hayin Banki, Kaduna consisting of one unit of two-storey building; one unit of storey building consisting of six rooms, parlour, dining, theatre, library and office; one unit of three-bedroom guest chalet; one unit of six bedrooms’ boys’ quarters; one unit of one-bedroom security house, a mosque and generator house.

And the following machine tools situated at No.3 Sunny Best Road, Off Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway, Kirmington Mashi, Kaduna which include one Aluminium Melting Furnace, one Hydraulic cutting Machine, one Manual Cutting Machine, one Roller, one Ercole 360 Cutting Machine, two metal Milling Machine, two Drilling Machine, one Mitchel of Keighley Milling Machine, one Affilatrate Grinder 500S-400S Machine, one Elliot Progress Punching Machine, one Milford 12 Sharpening Machine, one general-purpose machine tools and another two sets of general-purpose machine tools were also ordered forfeited.