The Federal High Court sitting in Kano has sentenced a staff member of Taj Bank Limited, Janet Danjuma, to five years imprisonment for defrauding a customer of N22.3 million through a fictitious investment scheme.
Danjuma was sentenced after pleading guilty to a one-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), relating to obtaining money by false pretence.
The charge read: “That you, Janet Theophilus Danjuma, a staff of Taj Bank Limited, Nai’bawa Branch, sometime in October 2024, obtained the sum of N22,350,000 from Wade Bamaiyi under the false claim that the money would be invested in the bank’s CASA (Current Account Savings Account) programme.”
During the trial, the prosecution told the court that her actions contravened Section 1(1)(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and are punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
Danjuma admitted to obtaining the money under the guise of a fictitious investment scheme. Following her guilty plea, the prosecuting counsel, Sadiq Huseini, reviewed the facts of the case, explaining how the defendant exploited the name of a legitimate financial product to deceive her victim and gain his trust. He urged the court to convict her in accordance with the law.
Consequently, Justice Shuaibu convicted and sentenced Danjuma to five years imprisonment without an option of a fine.
