ICPC secures conviction of two National Assembly staff over ₦4.8m job scam
Kola Oyelere, Kano
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured the conviction of two staff members of the National Assembly, Mustapha Mohammed and Tijjani Adam Goni, for their involvement in a fraudulent job recruitment scheme amounting to ₦4.8 million.
This was contained in a statement signed by the ICPC spokesperson, Demola Bakare, a copy made available to press in Kano
However ,the statement said ” The duo were found guilty of defrauding two job seekers, Saifudeen Yakub and Aminu Abubakar, under the pretense of securing employment for them at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).”
The case originated from a petition (No. ICPC/P/NC/1056/2022) filed by the victims, who alleged that sometime in May 2021, the now-convicted officials, in collaboration with one Mustapha Muhammed—currently at large—demanded ₦3 million from them as payment for job slots at the CBN. The money was deposited into a Zenith Bank account belonging to the first defendant.
Further investigation revealed that the suspects later demanded an additional ₦300,000 each from the victims, purportedly for medical screening. The funds were transferred to an Access Bank account in the name of another accomplice, Badraddin Mohammed.
Following ICPC’s investigation, the defendants were arraigned before Justice B.M. Bassi of the FCT High Court No. 55, Asokoro, on a five-count charge. The charges bordered on conspiracy, forgery, and obtaining money by false pretence, contrary to the provisions of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and the Penal Code.
Prosecution counsel, Fatima Abdullahi Bardi, informed the court that the defendants conspired to forge employment letters purportedly issued by the CBN and FIRS to deceive and extort the complainants.
However, pursuant to Section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, both defendants entered a plea bargain and pleaded guilty to a lesser one-count charge of making false statements, contrary to Section 25 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
The court consequently sentenced them to pay a fine of ₦100,000 each after they refunded the entire ₦4.8 million fraudulently obtained to the ICPC Recovery Account.
The Commission reaffirmed its commitment to clamping down on public sector corruption, especially fraudulent employment practices that exploit job seekers.