A Kano State High Court has sentenced one Khalifa Hamza Aminu to five years in prison for defrauding a bank account holder of over ₦59.5 million. The judgment was delivered by Justice Maryam Ahmed Sabo on Friday in Kano.
According to the court ruling, Aminu unlawfully withdrew ₦59,546,540 from the account of one Yakub Mukthar without authorization. He was, however, given the option of paying a fine of ₦1 million in lieu of serving the prison term.
Prosecuting counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Barrister Zalami Muhammad, told the court that the offence contravened Section 286 and was punishable under Section 287 of the Penal Code.
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The charge sheet presented before the court read: “That you, Khalifa Hamza Aminu, between 14th January and 4th June 2025, at Kano within the judicial division of the High Court of Kano State, dishonestly took the sum of ₦59,546,540 from the possession of Yakub Mukthar without his consent, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 286 and punishable under Section 287 of the Penal Code.”
Following the defendant’s plea of guilty and the prosecution’s request, Justice Sabo ordered him to pay full compensation of ₦59,546,540 to the victim.
Delivering judgment, Justice Sabo declared: “The convict is hereby sentenced to pay a fine of ₦1 million or serve five years’ imprisonment, in addition to the compensation as applied by the prosecution. I hereby invoke the provisions of Sections 3 and 320(1) of the Kano State Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) 2019 and similarly order the convict to compensate the sum of ₦59,546,540. Failure to pay shall result in an additional two years’ imprisonment.”
The judge further directed that the order must be complied with within 90 days. She also stated that the convict reserves the right to appeal the judgment within the same period in line with Sections 20(2) and 320(2) of the ACJL 2019.
