A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Jikwoyi, Abuja, has convicted two men, Haruna Mamuda and Sadiq Umar, for impersonating officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a scheme to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.
Justice M. Zubairu delivered the conviction on Thursday after the defendants pleaded guilty to a five-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy, impersonation and unlawful representation.
According to a statement issued by the anti-graft agency, the two convicts, alongside Salifu Olije Mustapha, who is currently standing trial before an FCT High Court in Kubwa, allegedly conspired in March 2026 to falsely present themselves as EFCC officers.
The first charge stated: “That you, Haruna Mamuda, Sadiq Umar (a.k.a. Abubakar Hashimu Umar), and Salifu Olije Mustapha (now standing trial before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Court 21, Kubwa), sometime in March 2026, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did conspire among yourselves to commit an offence, to wit: personating a public servant by falsely presenting yourselves as officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 96 of the Penal Code Act and punishable under Section 132 of the same Act.”
Count four accused Sadiq Umar of impersonating an EFCC official and using the false identity to defraud members of the public. It reads: “That you, Sadiq Umar (a.k.a Abubakar Hashimu Umar) sometime in March 2026, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court falsely personated an officer of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and in that assumed character defrauded unsuspecting members of the public, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 132 of the Penal Code Act.”
Following the defendants’ guilty plea, prosecuting counsel, R.U. Adagba, urged the court to convict them in line with the charges.
Counsel to the first convict, Anamegbumam Innocent, appealed for leniency, arguing that his client had shown remorse, cooperated with EFCC investigators and is a family man with children.
Similarly, counsel to the second convict, Bemdo Asan, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, noting that his client had no previous criminal conviction.
In response, Adagba asked the court to impose an appropriate sentence.
“My lord, the first defendant is a dismissed member of the Nigerian Army, his sentence will serve as a deterrent to the society at large. I also want the court to factor in the judgment that they were brought in from the Department of State Security Services, DSS where they are been charged for terrorism financing and kidnapping” she said
Justice Zubairu subsequently adjourned the case until July 22, 2026, for sentencing and ordered that the two convicts remain in the custody of the EFCC pending the determination of their sentences.
