From Sola Ojo, Abuja
Justice R.M. Aikawa of the Federal High Court, sitting in Kaduna, has sentenced Sadi Zangina, Ahmed Buhari, Khalifa Muazu Aliyu, and Olasode Abdulganiu to various jail terms for fraud.
They were prosecuted by the Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count charge, bordering on money laundering, impersonation, and cybercrime.
The charge against Zangina reads: “That you, Sadi Zangina, sometime in the year 2024, at Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, did aid one Ahmad Kabir to commit an offence, to wit: retention of proceeds of criminal conduct and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 21(a) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 20(b) of the same Act.”
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That of Abdulganiu reads: “That you, Olasode Abdulganiu (a.k.a Hannah Jem Wolfie) sometime in June, 2025 in Bida, Niger State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, fraudulently impersonated one Hannah Jem Wolfie (a citizen of United Kingdom) on a Facebook chat (an online social media application) to Arabelle Raphael and in that assumed character gained advantage to yourself in the total sum of $150 USD (One Hundred and Fifty United States Dollars) from him, which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence, contrary to Section 22(2)(b)(ii) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition and Prevention Etc.) Act, 2015 and punishable under Section 22(2)(b)(iv) of the same Act.”
They all pleaded “guilty,” upon which the prosecution counsel, F.A.I. Asemebo, prayed the court to convict and sentence them accordingly, while the defence counsel pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, stating that they have become remorseful of their actions.
Justice Aikawa convicted and sentenced Zangina, Buhari, and Aliyu to four years’ imprisonment each or to pay a N200,000 fine, respectively.
In addition, Zangina forfeited N200,000, Buhari N720,000, and Aliyu N800,000, being the proceeds of their crime, to the federal government.
Abdulganiu bagged three years’ imprisonment or to pay a N300,000 fine.
In addition, he forfeited his iPhone 13 mobile phone and the sum of $150, being the tool and proceeds of his crime, respectively, to the federal government.
While Abdulganiu was arrested in Minna Local Government Area of Niger State, following intelligence that exposed his fraudulent internet activities, Zangina, Buhari, and Aliyu were among those arrested following a petition from Taj Bank, in which it alleged that the convicts perpetrated internet fraud and theft by exploiting a system glitch in the bank and transferred over N1 billion to various banks and fintech platforms through unauthorised means.
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