A Kano State High Court has sentenced Bulama Abdulrahman to seven years in prison without an option of fine for posing as an auctioneer authorized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to sell forfeited properties.
Justice Nasiru Saminu convicted Abdulrahman on one of the two charges brought against him, which involved obtaining N35 million under false pretences.
The prosecution, led by EFCC counsel Musa Isah, presented three witnesses, while Abdulrahman was the sole witness in his defence.
The court found him guilty of defrauding Safiyanu Abdullahi of Tauraro and Property Limited by falsely claiming he had the EFCC’s approval to auction a fenced, uncompleted building in Rijiyar Zaki, Kano.
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Justice Saminu sentenced him to seven years and ordered him to refund N35 million to his victim.
Failure to pay would result in an additional seven-year prison term.
Abdulrahman, a PhD student at Nasarawa State University, had previously been convicted in 2021 for a similar fraud case.
His latest conviction follows a petition received by the EFCC, detailing how he misrepresented himself to defraud unsuspecting buyers.
