The Kano State High Court has sentenced a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, Salisu Alhassan, to four years imprisonment over his involvement in financial misappropriations.
As gathered, the defendant had in 2018 converted money amounting to N7, 140.000 entrusted in his care for forex business to personal use, a development which was against the Nigerian law.
Following his successful arrest, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) arraigned Alhassan, who is the Director of Tankarawara Bureau De Chang, before Justice Nasiru Saminu of state’s High Court.
The convict was prosecuted on a two-count charge of criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of funds on Thursday.
One of the charges read, ”That you, Salisu Alhassan, being the director of Tankarawa Bureau De Change Limited, sometime in 2018 or thereabout at Kano State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did dishonestly convert to your personal use the sum of N7,140.000 (Seven Million, One Hundred and Forty Thousand Naira), property belonging to one Bala Ahmad Hamisu and that the said sum will be used in investing in forex (foreign exchange) businesses which representation you knew same to be false and thereby committed a criminal breach of trust, an offence contrary to Section 311(a) and punishable under Section 312 of Penal Code Law.”
However, Alhassan pleaded guilty to the charges, upon which prosecution counsel, Zarami Muhammad, reviewed the facts of the case and urged the court to convict him as charged.
The defence counsel Chief I.C Ekpunobi, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy as his client is a first time offender who has become remorseful and has fully restituted the victim the money collected from him.
Justice Saminu convicted and sentenced the defendant to two years imprisonment on each count with N150, 000 (One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) option of fine on each of the counts.
Besides the prison term, the convict is also to restitute the sum of N5,350,000 (Five Million Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) to his victim, failure of which he shall serve additional two years prison term.
