Justice A.A Bello of the Kaduna State High Court, sitting in Kaduna, has handed down a ten-year prison sentence to Idris Musa for Automated Teller Machine (ATM) fraud. The conviction took place on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, following Musa’s guilty plea to a one-count charge of cheating during his arraignment by the Kaduna Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The one-count charge read:
“you, Idris Musa, sometimes in July 2022 in Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly induced one Idris Ismail by swapping his Zenith Bank ATM card under the guise of helping him withdraw money, an act which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 306(a) of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017, and punishable under Section 307 of the same law.”
According to a statement from the EFCC, Musa admitted guilt when the charge was read to him, prompting the prosecution counsel, M.U Gadaka, to request the court to convict him accordingly. Justice Bello subsequently sentenced and convicted Musa to a ten-year prison term or a fine of N200,000.00k (Two Hundred Thousand Naira only).
Musa’s legal troubles began when he was apprehended for swapping ATM cards of unsuspecting victims, falsely offering to assist them in using the payment machine. His arrest occurred on the premises of a bank, where he was found in possession of 48 ATM cards from various banks.
