Court gavel.

The Gombe Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, November 30, 2020, arraigned the immediate past Director-General of the Bauchi Geographic Information Service (BAGIS), Baba Abubakar Suleiman and one Yusuf Abubakar.

The duo was arraigned before Justice A.M. Sambo of State High Court 3, Bauchi, on a seven-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery and obtaining by false pretence.

Sulaiman and his accomplice allegedly abused their office and illegally took possession of a plot of land allocated to one Kamal Ibrahim Sabo.

Sabo had some time in 2018, applied and secured an allocation of a plot of land from the Bauchi State Government. The application was allegedly approved on April 4, 2019, by the then Executive Governor of Bauchi State.

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But unknown to Sabo, Suleiman fraudulently processed for the Right of Occupancy in his name, claiming he had his instruction to do so and collected the R of O without his knowledge.

One of the charges against the defendants read, “That you, Honourable Baba Abubakar Suleiman and Yusuf Abubakar sometime in November 2019, in Bauchi, Bauchi State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did conspire among yourselves to commit an illegal act to wit; Obtaining Money Under False Pretence and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) and Punishable Under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006”.

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When the charges were read to the defendants, they pleaded not guilty.

In view of their pleas, prosecution counsel A.M. Labaran applied for a date for trial and, that the defendants be remanded in Correctional Service custody.

However, defence counsel M.A. Tsuwa informed the court of pending applications for the bail of his clients.

The court adjourned the matter till December 3, 2020, for determination of bail applications and remanded the defendants in Bauchi Correctional Centre.