A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in the Gwagwalada area of Abuja has remanded a mother of five children, Ramat Mercy Mba, for forging the signature of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff, late Abba Kyari.

The presiding judge, Justice Ibrahim Mohammad, however, deferred the sentencing of the woman till Thursday, May 16, 2024, but directed that she should be remanded in Suleja Correctional Centre.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had arraigned Mba in June 2022 on a 5-count charge bordering on cheating, fraud, and forgery contrary to Section 13 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 200 and Sections 320 (b), 366 of the Penal Code Cap 89 laws of Northern Nigeria.

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One of the counts read: “That you Ramat Mercy Mba (F) sometimes in the month of October 2019 or thereabout at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did fraudulently induce one Mr Ismail Adewole Oladipupo, an unsuspecting job seeker and collected the sum of N700,000.00 from him which sum was paid into your private account under the guise of securing employment for him at the National Space Research and Development Agency. (NASDRA), and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 320(b) and punishable under Section 322 of the Penal Code Cap 89 Laws of Northern Nigeria.”

In the course of the trial, ICPC’s prosecutor, Hamza Sani, told the court how the convict induced her victims in the guise of securing employment for them with government agencies, including Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), National Space Research Development Agency (NASRDA), and ICPC.

Sani added that the convict fraudulently forged a letterhead paper of the Office of the Chief of Staff to former President Buhari, Abba Kyari, and his signature.

According to a statement issued by the ICPC on Sunday, May 12, Justice Muhammad, while delivering judgement, convicted Mba on counts 1, 2, 3, and 5 which deal with cheating and forgery while she was discharged on count 4 which deals with felony.

The Star