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Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto of the APC has been declared the winner of the Sokoto State Governorship polls.
According to the results released, Aliyu secured a total of 453661 votes to beat his main rival, PDP’s Saidu Umar, who polled a total of 40, 4632 votes
A Director at Sokoto State Commodity Board, Hassan Bello, was on Wednesday, November 16, sentenced to seven years imprisonment for obtaining money through a job scam.
EFCC had arraigned the convict for fraudulently obtaining about N1.3 million under the guise of offering non-existent employment to hapless job seekers.
The charges against Bello read;
“That you, Hassan Bello, Male, while being the Director Administration Sokoto State Commodity Board sometime in August 2021, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, did obtain the sum of One Million Three Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira from one Aliyu Adamu Tsaki, Yusuf Abubakar, Yahaya Salihu Mohammed and others in the presence of one Dahiru Muhammad, when you falsely represented yourself to them that you will secure employment for them in the Sokoto State Commodity Board and issued them letters of provisional appointments, a representation 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 Section 1(3) of the same Act”.
He pleaded guilty to the charge during his arraignment. Following his guilty plea, the prosecuting counsel, S.H Sa’ad, urged the court to convict and sentence the defendant accordingly.
The judge then convicted and sentenced Bello to seven years in jail with an option of N100, 000 fine. Mr Mahmud also ordered the convict to pay restitution of N850, 000 to the victims through the EFCC.
The convict would serve a two years jail term should he fail to pay the restitution within six months
A Federal High Court sitting in Sokoto on Wednesday September 28, remanded a Director at the Sokoto State Commodity Board, Hassan Bello, in a correctional centre over an alleged N1.3 million job scam.
Bello was remanded on one count-charge bordering on fraud by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). It was alleged that he committed the offence sometime in August 2021.
Prosecution Counsel, Mr Hannafi Sa’ad told the court that Bello who is a Director of Administration at the board, collected the money from Aliyu Adamu-Tsaki, Yusuf Abubakar and Yahaya Salihu in the presence of one Dahiru Muhammad in Sokoto.
Sa’ad told the court that he reportedly presented false letters to the victims which were later discovered to be fake and non-existent.
While the Defense Counsel, Mr Aminu Mustapha, filed a motion for bail on behalf of his client, the prosecution counsel sought for more time to study it before filing a counter affidavit.
Justice Ahmad Mahmud who adjourned the case to October 4, 2022 to hear the motion for bail application as well as continue the case, ordered that the accused person be remanded in a correctional center in the state until the adjourned date.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Tuesday postponed indefinitely its conference for Section of Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL) slated for Sokoto over the ongoing unrest in the state.
The NBA President, Olumide Akpata, who confirmed the development in a statement in Abuja, said the conference was postponed over concerns about the security situation in the state since last week’s gruesome of a female student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Deborah Samuel, by an angry mob for alleged blasphemy.
Samuel, a 200-level student of the college, was stoned and burnt to death by her colleagues over an alleged insulting remark against Prophet Muhammed last Thursday.
Two persons had been arrested by the police in connection with the heinous act.
A group of Muslim youths on Saturday staged violent protests in the Sokoto metropolis and demanded the release of the two suspects.
The development forced Governor Aminu Tambuwal to impose a 24-hour curfew in the state.
The NBA President, who decried the student’s murder, said Akpata, said the conference was postponed over the safety of participants.
Akpata said: “The NBA is deeply worried not just by the chilling news of the murder of Miss Deborah Yakubu, but also by the sudden and sad turn of events and the deteriorating security situation in Sokoto State.
“As such, having critically reviewed the current security condition in Sokoto, it has become apparent that we cannot guarantee the safety of our guest speakers, delegates and other stakeholders that have committed to attend the NBA-SPIDEL’s conference which was designed to put the State in the global spotlight for the duration of the conference and beyond.
“Accordingly, the executive committee of NBA-SPIDEL came to the painful decision to request, and I have approved, that the 2022 NBA-SPIDEL annual conference be postponed not only for the safety of our conferees and guests but as a mark of respect for the memory of the slain Miss Deborah Yakubu.
The NBA acknowledges the efforts put in by the Sokoto state government towards the conference which is now beset by the prevailing security situation.
“While we recognise that the Sokoto State government has imposed a curfew to stem the unrest, the NBA urges the state government to fully collaborate with the federal government to initiate measures — and where necessary deploy its coercive instruments — to restore peace and order to the state, safeguard lives and property and dissuade vandalism and impunity.”
Bandits fleeing from the ongoing military operation in Zamfara State killed six persons in Tureta local government area of Sokoto State on Thursday.
Tureta which shares a border with Zamfara is affected by the current shutdown of telecommunication services in the state.
A resident told journalists the hoodlums also abducted several people during the early morning raid on a community.
According to him, the bandits deceived the residents to come out of their homes by calling for prayer.
He said: “The residents started coming out, thinking it was a time for a dawn prayer and the bandits started shooting at them.
“They killed six, injured many, and abducted several others. The entire area is in shock and some of the residents have started relocating to other places.”
The Deputy Governor of the state, Maniru Dan’iya, had visited the area and condoled with the people on the incident.
He reaffirmed the state government’s determination to end banditry in the state.
At least 14 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have tested positive for COVID-19 in Sokoto State.
The Sokoto State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ali Inname, who disclosed this at a news conference on Tuesday, said infected members were discovered during the ongoing NYSC orientation exercise in the state.
He said the corps members had been moved to the state isolation centre for prompt treatment.
The commissioner said the state has 787 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 28 deaths.
Inname, who is also the chairman of the COVID-19 Task Force in Sokoto, said 19,557 people had been tested for the disease in the state.
Four people have been confirmed dead with 56 others hospitalised following an outbreak of diarrhea as a result of water contamination in Helele community in Sokoto North local government area of Sokoto State.
The Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr. Ali Inname, who confirmed the outbreak of the disease on Thursday, said those affected drank the contaminated water in the affected area.
Inname, however, said that the state government has taken steps to contain the spread of the disease to other parts of the state, adding that the survivors have been placed on treatment at Helele and Kofar Rini Primary Healthcare Centres as well as the Sokoto Specialist Hospital.
He blamed the water contamination on illegal connection of water pipes and poor sewage system in Helele community, while advising members of the community to desist from indiscriminate dumping of refuse and ensuring good hygiene.
Inname also stated that the government would, henceforth, punish defaulters in order to restore sanity to the affected area as investigation was still ongoing to unravel the source of the water contamination.
“Residents have been warned against indiscriminate dumping of refuse as offenders will be prosecuted,” he said.
“Governor Aminu Tambuwal has expressed sadness over the incident and condoled with the families and relations of those who lost their lives to the disease. He has also constituted a committee of experts headed by myself and the Commissioner of Environment to investigate the source of the disease and find its cure and prevention.
“He has also taken responsibility for the treatment of the victims and wished them quick recovery and safe return to their families and loved ones. He urged residents of the affected area to remain calm and to ensure good sanitation and hygiene in order to prevent the disease from spreading.”