Beautiful Lady Poses as Katsina Governor’s Wife, Scams Victims of N197m
- A husband and wife were arraigned by the EFCC for a N197.75 million fraud scheme involving impersonation of Katsina State’s First Lady
- The defendants allegedly defrauded victims by falsely claiming to exchange dollars for naira, with funds laundered through multiple accounts
- Justice Amina Bello remanded the defendants in custody and adjourned the case to March 17, 2025, for bail application hearings
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has brought charges against a husband and wife, Baba Sule Abubakar Sadiq and Hafsat Kabir Lawal, alongside two others, Abdullahi Bala and Ladani Akindele, for their alleged involvement in a N197.75 million fraud scheme.
The defendants were arraigned before Justice Amina Bello of the Kaduna State High Court on Monday, March 10, 2025, facing six counts of obtaining money by false pretenses, money laundering, and theft.
The suspects have all pled not guilty of all charges filed against them in the court. Image: X/@officialefccSource: Twitter
The group is accused of orchestrating a sophisticated scam, which included impersonating the wife of Katsina State Governor, Fatima Dikko Radda, to deceive their victims.
DSS hands over suspects to EFCC
The defendants were initially apprehended by the Department of State Services (DSS) before being handed over to the EFCC due to the financial nature of their alleged crimes.
One of the charges detailed how Hafsat Kabir Lawal, Baba Sule Abubakar Sadiq, Abdullahi Bala, and Ladani Akindele allegedly defrauded a victim, Aminu Usman, of N89 million in December 2024.
The defendants reportedly convinced Usman to deposit the funds into a Taj Bank account belonging to Abdullahi Bala, under the false pretense of exchanging the naira equivalent for $53,300.
The charge sheet stated that the defendants knew this claim to be false, violating Section 1(1) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act, 2006.
Suspects pled not guilty to all charges
During the court proceedings, the defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Following their pleas, the prosecution counsel, Bright C. Ogbonna, requested a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendants in a correctional facility.
The suspects pled not guilty to all charges in High Court. Image: Getty ImagesSource: Facebook
However, defense lawyers for the accused, including M.S. Katu, SAN, Jazuli Mustapha, and Paul A. Okachi, informed the court that they had filed bail applications for their clients and were prepared to proceed.
Ogbonna opposed the bail requests, arguing that they were not yet ready for hearing.
In response, the defense counsel sought permission to make oral bail applications. After considering arguments from both sides, Justice Bello sided with the prosecution, ordering the defendants to be remanded in custody.
The case was adjourned to March 17, 2025, for the hearing of bail applications.
Suspect allegedly posed as state’s First Lady
Investigations revealed that Hafsat Kabir Lawal posed as the Katsina State First Lady to defraud her victims. She allegedly obtained N89 million from one petitioner and an additional N108 million from another, claiming she had $118,300 available for exchange.
Hafsat’s husband, Sadiq, reportedly facilitated the scheme by providing her with SIM cards registered under the name Fatima Dikko Radda using the True Caller app.
Sadiq also allegedly enlisted the help of Ladani Akindele, a former colleague at a new-generation bank, to obtain the contact details of Unity Bank Chairman Hafiz Bashir. Through Bashir, the defendants secured the contact information of Aminu Usman, a bureau de change operator, who became one of their primary victims.
The funds were deposited into Abdullahi Bala’s bank account and subsequently distributed among the defendants. The money was allegedly laundered through various channels, further complicating the investigation.
EFCC set to go after “Yahoo boys” in Nigeria
Meanwhile, TheTalk.NG reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it is ready to support the effort to combat internet scams.
This came after hundreds of fraudulent Nigerian Instagram and Facebook accounts were removed by Meta. The social media giant removed almost 63,000 fake accounts last summer because they were linked to the growing fraud issue.
Source: TheTalk.NG
