The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has prosecuted 20 people for various corruption-related cases in Gombe in the last five years.
WikkiTimes confirmed that a politician, a judiciary worker and three other state civil servants have been involved in the cases while other cases include private individuals.
WikkiTimes review of the Corruption Cases Database indicates that 12 of the cases have been decided by the courts while eight are still ongoing litigation.
According to the data, most of the cases are related to fraud followed by vote buying, scam, and forgery.
Decided Cases
The cases that had been decided include cases of money laundering, vote buying and fraud. According to the data, a court convicted Isiyaku Garba, a councillor in Bolari East, for fraud. The court sentenced him to one month in prison with an option of N100,000.00 as fine for count one; one month in prison on count two, with an option of N50,000.00 as fine; one month in prison on count three, with an option of N20,000.00 as fine.
Mr. Garba was alleged to have shared money at Bolari Polling Unit 0077 in Gombe State during the last concluded Presidential and National Assembly Elections in 2023.
The prison terms are to run consecutively. The court further ordered that the sum of N295,000.00 recovered from the convict should be forfeited to the Federal Government.
The review also indicates that Usman Muhammad Dajji, a staff of the Gombe state Shariah Court of Appeal, has been sentenced to six months imprisonment for two-count charge.
Dajji was accused of defrauding a party in a contract award for the supply of 3,000 units of laptops to a cooperative society on an agreement that the sum of N500,000 must be paid as commitment and processing fee before the execution of the contract.
In his judgement, the trial judge pronounced the accused person guilty as charged, convicted and sentenced him to six months imprisonment for the charges with an option of N30, 000 as fine.
In another case, Atiku Muazu Bayum, the Chairman, former Gombe State Board of Internal Revenue was arraigned alongside 3 others accused of conspiring and obtaining the sum of N25, 060,000 from the coffers of the State Government using several fake payment vouchers and converted same to their personal use.
They were convicted on a 2-count charge and were sentenced the defendants to pay fine of N100,000 each and ordered them to restitute the remaining amount to Gombe State Government within six months.
On another case, Umar Ahmad and one other person were sentenced to three months in prison with an option of N10,000.00 as fine each in respect of count one, and on count two, one year in prison with an option of N30,000.00 as fine. The sentences are to run concurrently. The convicts were also ordered to make restitution with their victim.
They were arraigned for fraudulently obtaining the sum of by N700, 000, by inducing one Sa’ad Abba Hassan to deliver to them the said amount for the purpose of purchasing a plot of land.
In another case of fraud, one Sule Raymond, was convicted for defrauding one Daniel Solomon, a farmer, the sum of N155, 000 in the guise that he would help his son gain employment into the Nigerian Army.
The trial judge sentenced the accused to 3 months in prison, with an option of N40,000.00 fine. The judge also ordered that the money in question be recovered from the convict and returned to his victim.
A petitioner alleged that sometime in March 2018, at an ATM point belonging to a branch of First Bank Nigeria Plc in Gombe, one Isah Amir Muhammad had volunteered to assist her, when unknown to her, he swapped her ATM card for another, and used it to transfer the sum of N293, 000 from her account to his.
After considering the plea of guilty by the defence, the trial judge convicted and sentenced the defendant to one year in prison, with an option of N100,000 as fine.
In another case, Umar Aji, he pleaded “guilty” in a Madrid Timber business in Taraba State which he instructed that money be paid through a Fidelity Bank account of one Iliyasu Bello with an agreement of profit-sharing ratio of two-third for the partner, and one-third for Aji.
The trial judge convicted and sentenced the Defendant to three (3) years imprisonment with an option of N100,000.00 fine. Additionally, he was ordered to make restitution of N7,700,000.00 to the complainant through the EFCC.
In a case of forgery, one Babangida Mohammed was accused of allegedly presenting a forged West African Examination Council (WAEC) Certificate to a Verification Committee, constituted by Gombe State Government. The trial judge found the accused guilty and sentenced him to two months imprisonment with an option of N50,000.00 as fine.
Ukasha Saidu in a case of fraud allegedly adulterated 11 containers of processed palm oil product using a red substance known as (JAWA) without the knowledge and consent of purchaser(s). The accused was convicted and ordered to pay N50,000 fine to serve as deterrence to others.
Abullahi Bello Kuloku allegedly presented himself as a Globacom sim pack card vendor and approached his victim and informed him that ‘he sells sim packs as well as Glo data which converts airtime into data. The victim allegedly showed interest and gave his phone to him for conversion. Shockingly, fund was instead fraudulently transferred from the victim’s First Bank account into a Guaranty Trust Bank account of one Daniel Sunday Kuloku.
In his judgment, the judge pronounced the accused guilty as charged and sentenced him to one month imprisonment. The judge, however, gave an option of N10,000 as fine, in consideration of the plea by the defense counsel urging him “to temper justice with mercy as the convict was a first-time offender and a 300 Level university student”.
Kabiru Jibril allegedly defrauded one Aliyu Audu Awwal and one Mallam Hussani Kumo of their money on the pretext that the money will be used to secure Hajj seats for them. He diverted the money to his personal use. Kumo also alleged that the accused collected his Honda Accord Car 2005 model to sell it and use the proceed to secure additional Hajj seats which he never did.
In view of the plea of the accused, the trial judge after taking cognizance of the fact that the accused had paid the whole money back to the complainant, sentenced him to six years imprisonment with an option of N60,000 fine.
Cases Still on Trial
WikkiTimes analysis of the ongoing Corruption Cases in the database reveals that one of the 8 cases on trial involves one Amadu Garkuwa and one other, who were involved in vote buying at Kofar Dagaci Polling Unit, Mawadaki Area of Gombe.
They allegedly received money from one Musa Mohammed to be expended for election bribery. The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Tarkumbur G Gregory, an Adminstrative Secretary, INEC Gombe State and 2 others were arraigned for allegedly receiving the sum of N138,000,000.00 in order to influence the outcome of 2015 presidential election in the state. They pleaded not guilty.
Kabir Ismail, a former member of Gombe State Zawarawa Marriage Implementation Committee had approached one Alhaji Umar Ahmed Kunji for a business, using his capacity as a member of the same Committee. Kabir reportedly told him that they needed 1,500 bags of rice (Marori brand) each at the rate of N9,000 amounting to N8, 000,000. He diverted the money to his own use.
In another case of vote buying, Babangida Bappah Ciroma and one other person were allegedly caught red-handed busy sharing money to voters on the instruction of the second defendant who is a serving councilor, representing Waziri Ward in Dukku Local Government Area Council. They both pleaded not guilty.
In one case, Bello Isah and an accomplice were accused of deceiving a vendor into handing over luxury items—including ready-made agbada, lace materials, wrappers, native caps, perfumes, shoes, a wristwatch, recharge cards, and handsets—under the pretense of purchasing them. Allegedly, they fled with the items without payment, intending to escape with the goods valued in millions.
In another incident, Yusuf Usman and a partner reportedly targeted Abdullahi Nabunkari, the Managing Director of Jamali Trading & Construction Company Nigeria Limited in Sokoto, by luring him to Gombe under the guise of securing a government contract. The duo allegedly took Nabunkari to Bajoga Motel in Funakaye Local Government Area for an inspection and later brought him to an office where an impersonator, claiming to be a director in the Deputy Governor’s office, issued a fake contract award letter.
Additionally, Adamu Idris is alleged to have defrauded Hajiya Asabe Hussaini by persuading her to sell her house, claiming it was situated on a slope and promising a replacement in a better location. Idris facilitated the sale to Kasim Abdullahi for ₦700,000, only remitting ₦100,000 to Hussaini and failing to provide a new house or the remaining sale balance. Idris pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In a separate case, Solomon Yohanna and three others were charged with forging EFCC documents, including letters on official letterhead purportedly authorizing inspections and audits in Guyuk Local Government Area. The documents were allegedly used to pose as EFCC staff conducting audits on government projects, a charge contrary to Section 349 and punishable under Section 351 of Adamawa State’s Penal Code Law of 2018. Yohanna entered a guilty plea, while his co-defendants pleaded not guilty.
The presiding judge granted bail to the co-defendants, setting terms at ₦5 million each with one local surety. Yohanna was remanded in Yola Correctional Centre, pending trial continuation and fact review.
Hafsah Muhammed Ibrahim, from Bauchi State, is a literary enthusiast and an advocate for women’s rights. As the Editor and Lead Podcaster at WikkiTimes, she draws on her background in Sociology and Education to create compelling narratives that amplify the voices of marginalized communities.
An avid Scrabble player and tea enthusiast, Hafsah blends her passion for storytelling with a strong commitment to driving social change.
