The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission today January 3, 2017 arraigned
one Sule Yusuf Saulawa, a parmanent secretary
formally attached to the office of the Deputy
Governor of Katsina State before Honourable
Justice Sanusi Tukur of the Katsina High Court
on a one count charge of Obtaining by False
Pretense contrary to section 1(1)(a) of the
Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related
Offences Act, 2006. The accused person who is
a permanent secretary in Katsina but currently
without portfolio allegedly obtained the sum of
N2,500,000 ( Two Million, Five Hundred
Thousand Naira Only) while he was attached
to the office of the Deputy Governor of Katsina
State from the complainant under the pretext
that the then Deputy Governor’s office would
award the complainant a contract for the
supply of fertilizer to all the Local Government
areas in Katsina State.
Saulawa obtained the
money under the guise that it is for the
purchase of bidding documents. It was further
alleged that after obtaining the money from the
complainant, the accused person cut contact
with the complainant.
Investigation into the alleged fraud by the
EFCC revealed through one Kabiru Dan-Asali
who disclosed in his statement that he was
present at the time the complainant, Musa
Baba gave one Nasiru who is a boy to the
complainant, the sum of N2,500,000 ( Two
Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira Only)
on behalf of the accused person. The accused
person also confirmed this in his voluntary
statement he made to the EFCC.

Despite all this, the accused person pleaded not
guilty to the charge when it was read to him in
court. In view of his plea, prosecution counsel,
Sa’ad Hanafi Sa’ad requested the court for trial
date and also asked that the accused person be
remanded in prison custody. However, cousel
representing the accused person Bashir
Mohammed, moved a bail application praying
the court to admit his client to bail pending
the determination of the case. Hanafi objected
the bail application on ground that the accused
person if granted bail, would likely jump bail
because he had once dishonored the
administrative bail granted to him by the EFCC.
He added that instead of admitting the accused
person to bail, the court shall order for a
speedy trial of the matter. The charge read that
“You Sule Yusuf Saulawa while being the
permanent secretary with the office of the
Deputy Governor, Katsina State, sometimes in
2015 in Katsina, within the Judicial Division of
the High Court of Katsina State with intent to
defraud falsely obtained from one Alhaji Musa
Baba, the Chairman of Many Agro Allied and
Chemical Company Nigeria Limited and
Diamond Fertilizer Nigeria Limited the sum of
N2,500,000 (Two Million, Five Hundred
Thousand Naira Only) by falsely representing
that the Office of the Deputy Governor of
Katsina State would award him contract for the
supply of fertilizer to all the Local Government
areas in the state and asked him to purchase a
bidding documents which would be given to
him as soon as he writes a proposal offering
best price to the State Government which he
did, but which you knew all to be false and
you thereby committed an offense 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”. Justice Tukur remanded the accused
person in prison custody and adjourned the
matter to January 6, 2017 for ruling on bail
application and commencement of trial.


http://katsinapost.com/2017/01/04/efcc-arraigns-permanent-secretary-in-katsina-for-fraud/