Justice Darius Khobo of the Kaduna High Court on Thursday sentenced a businessman, Aliyu Liman, to one year imprisonment after he was found guilty of N5.1 million fraud.
Liman had pleaded guilty to the allegation of cheating brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The Judge, however, gave the convict an option of N500,000 fine and warned him to desist from criminal activities.
He also ordered the convict to pay back the N5.1 million to the complainant as restitution.
Earlier, the EFCC counsel, J. M. Musa, told the court that sometime in May, 2019, the convict obtained N5.1 million from one Garba Hassan, when he fraudulently sold four plots of land located at Hayin Banki Kawo, Kaduna to him.
The counsel said the convict had claimed to be the rightful owner of the said plots of land, a claim which he knew to be false.
Musa added that after the payment, the complainant discovered that the said plot of land was encumbered by a subsisting court order.
The counsel noted that the offence contravened Section 1 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2004.
-NAN
