Funke Busari
A corps member Nazim Usman Gomna and a 400Level student of AL-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Idris Shuaibu Suleiman, were arraigned on Thursday by the Ilorin Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over offences bordering on theft to the tune of N9.1million.
One of the defendants was said to be serving at the Jigawa State House of Assembly while the other was a former student at the AL-Hikmah University, Ilorin, the school he allegedly hacked into its website with the connivance of the Corp member.
The duo were arraigned on a three count charge of conspiracy and theft before Justice Sikiru Oyinloye of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin.
The EFCC said that the defendants allegedly conspired to hack into the website of the AL-Hikmah University and diverted students’ school fees to the tune N9.1million.
Nazim, who graduated as a Computer Scientist at the AL-Hikmah University, Ilorin, and currently serving his fatherland at Jigawa State House of Assembly allegedly connived with Idris to hack the university’s website using the Idris account details to be collecting tuition fees illegally from students.
Count one of the charge reads: “That you, Nazim Usman Gomna and Idris Shuaibu Suleiman sometime between the month of March, 2020 and May, 2020 at Ilorin, Kwara State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court agreed bertween yourselves to do illegal act to wit; theft of N9,118,500.00 (Nine Million, One Hundred and Eighteen Thousand, Five Hundred Naira Only) property of the Al-Hikmah University and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 96 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 97 and 287 of the same Penal Code.”
Meanwhile, they pleaded not guilty to the three counts.
Consequently, counsel to the EFCC, Sesan Ola, asked the court for a date to commence trial and an order to remand the defendants in prison custody.
While A.T Kamaldeen and Ismail Mustapha representing Nasim and Idris respectively, in separate applications urged the court to admit their clients to bail pending trial and determination of the case.
Justice Oyinloye in a bench ruling admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N3.5million each with one surety in like sum.
According to the judge, “The surety must be resident within the jurisdiction of this court and must provide the telephone contacts, residential address, recent passport photographs to the court.”
He also ordered the defendants to submit their travel documents to the court and, not to travel without the permission of the court pending the determination of the case.
The judge further ordered the defendants to attend all court proceedings while the trial lasts or have their bail revoked.
