Bayelsa: Pilgrims coordinator bags 28 years imprisonment over N12m scam

A Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State has convicted and sentenced one Muhammad Halim Ogbobioto to 28 years imprisonment.

It waa learnt that Ogbobioto is a self-styled coordinator of Bayelsa State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board from 2009 – 2012.

It was also affirmed that the convict was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Port Harcourt Zonal office on March 19, 2015.

EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, who said this in a statement in Abuja, added that the convict was arraigned on a 5-count charge bordering on forgery and obtaining money by false pretence to the tune of N12,130,000.00 in bogus hajj fees.

Further, it was explained that the victims were introduced to the convict by Adodo Yusuf Oristsegbubemi and they paid him a total of N12,130,000.00 for slots in the 2012 Hajj.

Oyewale added, “Trapped in Ogbobio’s fraudulent scheme, they could not make it to Saudi Arabia for the hajj exercise and all efforts to retrieve their money failed”.

One of the counts reads: “That you Muhammad Halim Ogbobio and others now at large on the 3rd day of September 2012 at Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud did obtain the sum of Six Million Seven Hundred Thousand Naira(N6,700,000.00) from one Ibrahim Abdullahi Paisa which said sum was paid into your Sky Bank account No. 1010839270 under the pretence that you are one of the Coordinators of 2012 Hajji Exercise, a pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under 1 (3)of the same Act.”

But the defendant had pleaded not guilty to the charges, signaling the commencement of full trial.

In his judgment, Presiding Justice J.E. Iyang, sentenced Ogbobio to Seven years imprisonment each on counts 2, 3, 4 and 5.

He also ordered that the sentences are to run concurrently from March 19, 2015, the date he was arraigned before the Court but was, however, acquitted on count one.