Hassan Dauda, a former Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Giwa Local Council in Kaduna State, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in an N6.3 million Hajj fraud.
According to NAN, Dauda was accused by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) before the Kaduna State High Court for allegedly defrauding eight people of N6,342,000.
In a 16-count charge filed before Justice M. T. Aliyu, the ICPC accused Dauda of defrauding unsuspecting victims in 2013 by using his position as a Special Assistant to the Chairman of Giwa Local Council to secure Hajj seats for them, an offence punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
In his ruling, Justice Aliyu sentenced Dauda to 7 years imprisonment without an option of a fine.
Dauda was also convicted on the counts relating to abuse of office and got five years imprisonment without an option of fine, a statement from the ICPC spokesperson, Azuka Ogugua, noted.
He was discharged and acquitted on the counts relating to forgery.
Reading the sentence, the judge stated that ICPC was able to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, adding that the sentence would run concurrently.
The convict was arrested by ICPC operatives in October 2013 following a petition and was arraigned in May 2015 after the conclusion of investigations.