Computer science graduate, student use own university as guinea pig, steal N9m school fees

A serving National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member trained at the AL-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Kwara State, and a 400 Level student have opted to practice their profession using the same school as a guinea pig. They have allegedly hacked into the school’s system and stolen student school fees totalling N9.1 million.

The serving corps member at the Jigawa State House of Assembly, Nazim Usman Gomna and the 400Level student, 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.

They were arraigned on a three count charge of conspiracy and theft before Justice Sikiru Oyinloye of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin.

Nazim, who graduated as a Computer Scientist at the AL-Hikmah University, Ilorin, and currently serving at Jigawa State House of Assembly allegedly connived with Idris to hack the university’s website using the latter’s account details (Idris) to collect 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 amongst 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.”

The defendants 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.

But, 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.“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”, the judge added.  

The judge 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.  He further ordered the defendants to attend all court proceedings while the trial lasts or have their bail revoked.

In another development, the EFCC also secured the conviction of one Mohammed Abdulwahab Kelvin, who pleaded guilty to a 3-count charge of romance scam preferred against him by the anti-graft agency.

Particulars of Count one of the charge read:

“That you, Mohammed Abdulwahab Kelvin (Jessica Carmen) sometime in December, 2020, in Ilorin within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did attempt to cheat by personation, when you pretended to be one Jessica Carmen, a white female with gmail account jessicacarmen440@gmail.com via which you induced one Mert Usul to make payment to a car pick-up company while you had no intention to purchase any car and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 95 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 324 of the same Penal Code.” 

In his judgment, Justice Oyinloye opined that from the evidence before the court, the defendant engaged in online romance scam, noting that, “the defendant did not testify even when he had the opportunity to do so.”

The judge after due evaluation of the evidence placed before the court and the allocutus by the defence counsel, sentenced Mohammed to six months imprisonment on each of the counts with an option of fine of N50,000 (Fifty Thousand Naira) on each count.

The Judge further ordered that the phone and laptop used to perpetrate the crime be forfeited to the Federal Government.