By Our Reporter
Justice Aisha Mahmoud of the Kano State High Court on Friday, August 28, 2020 convicted and sentenced one Ismail Nuhu to one year imprisonment for issuance of dud cheques.
The convict was prosecuted by the Kano zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission( EFCC) on five count charges of issuance of dud cheques.
The convict obtained fertilizer worth N8,700,000 (Eight Million, Seven Hundred Thousand Naira Only) from a petitioner and issued him four Diamond Bank cheques, which were returned unpaid, due to lack of funds in the account.
However, while investigation was ongoing, the convict paid the sum of N6,000,000 (Six Million Naira Only) and refused to pay the remaining sum of N2,700,000 ( Two Million, Seven Hundred Thousand Naira Only).
One of the charge read “ That you Ismail Nuhu on or about 5th day September 2017 at Kano within the jurisdiction of the Kano State High Court knowingly and fraudulently issued cheque number 34385478 dated 5th September 2017 for the sum of N3,900,000 (Three Million Nine Hundred Thousand Naira Only) payable to Continental Fertilizer Limited from your Diamond Bank account with account number 0092377270 knowing there was no sufficient funds standing in the credit of the said account and the cheque was returned unpaid when it was presented for payment thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1 (1)(b) and punishable under section 1 (1)(b)(I) of the Dishonored Cheques Offences Act Cap D11 LPN, 2004″.
Upon arraignment on March 15, 2018, the convict pleaded not guilty and the matter subsequently proceeded to full trial, during which three witnesses testified for the prosecution.
However, when the matter came up on Friday, the convict pleaded guilty to all the five count charges.
In view of his new plea, prosecution counsel Musa Isah urged the court to convict him accordingly.
Justice Mahmoud convicted the defendant according to his plea. In his judgment, the judge said: “The accused person is hereby convicted to the charge he pleaded guilty to”.
However, before sentence was passed, defence counsel, Modube Speine pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy .
Consequently, the convict was sentenced to one (1) year imprisonment or pay fine of Four Hundred Thousand Naira (N400,000) only.
Apart from his conviction, Nuhu is also standing trial in another matter, which has since been concluded and awaiting judgment before Justice Yusuf Ubale of the Kano State High Court.
