A chief magistrate court in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, has remanded a health worker for allegedly defrauding a top politician, Sen Ahmed Barata, of N15.5 million.
Barata, who was a House of Representatives member representing Guyuk/Shelleng Federal Constituency of Adamawa State between 1999 and 2011, was in the Senate between 2011 and 2015 for Adamawa South Zone.
The health worker, 38-year-old Abusufiyan Musa, is alleged to have induced Senator Barata to invest N17.6 million in the business of sale and supply of drugs in October 2021 but ended up diverting N15.5 million of the money.
Earlier, Senator Barata, in a criminal complaint lodged before the Adamawa State Police Command on the 23rd November 2021, alleged that he had transferred the money through two bank accounts to the accused person as pre-arranged.
He alleged that the defendant, a staff of General Hospital Uba in Borno State, did not wholly invest the money in the specified business but diverted N15.5 million to his own personal use.
When arraigned in court, the defendant pleaded not guilty.
The prosecutor, Inspector Iliya Akawu, urged the court to remand Abusufiyan in prison and adjourn the matter to enable the prosecution to complete the investigation.
Ruling on the prosecutor’s application, Magistrate Abdullahi Muhammed Digil ordered the police to go ahead with their investigation and make their case ready for hearing.
The judge remanded the defendant as prayed and adjourned the case to February 28, 2022.
