Nasiru Samaila and Auwal Jibrin, both employees of the Ministry of Finance in Bauchi State, conspired with two other people to fraudulently pull out a sum of N332,000 benefit of their late colleague, Jibrin Adamu who died last year December.
The scam was perfected with the aid of a cybercafe operator, Tijjani Mohammad and Faruq Mohammad Nasiru, a student of Abubakar Tatari Polytechnic (ATAP) attached to the ministry for a mandatory industrial training.
Ahmed Wakil, the spokesman for Bauchi Police Command, in a statement revealed that the suspects forged the documents of the deceased — a resident of Zalanga village in Ganjuwa local council — and wired the benefits belonging to him.
Wakil explained that the 48-year-old Samaila used his 17 years experience with the ministry and masterminded the scam which he pocketed N212,000 from. His major accomplice, Jibril, got N100,000.
Mohammed, the cybercafé operator, who played the role of a guarantor to Mohammed, who feigned a next of kin to the deceased jointly gained N20,000.
The statement partly read, “ a preliminary investigation which revealed that; one Nasiru Samaila ‘m’ aged 48yrs a staff of Bauchi State Ministry of Finance, conspired with three others namely; Auwal Jibrin ‘m’ aged 27yrs of the ministry of finance Tijjani Mohammad ‘m’ aged 27yrs of state low-cost Bauchi, Faruq Mohammad Nasiru ‘m’ aged 19yrs an IT student from ATAP Abubakar Tatari Polytechnic attached to the Ministry of Finance on industrial attachment Selfishly and mercilessly forged documents and accessed the sum of three hundred and thirty-two thousand (N332,000) naira belonging to the deceased and convert it to their personal use, share the benefit among themselves.”
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Their cover would be blown when the real next of kin to the deceased, Samira Jibrin, reported the case to the police who swiftly swung into action and “recovered the money from the suspects.”
Wakil further stated that the four suspects confessed to the crime, adding that the state’s Commissioner of Police (CP) Umar Sanda, had directed that they should be charged to court.