By Nkechi Eze
Justice Emmanuel Gakko of the Federal High Court sitting in Kebbi, Kebbi State, has convicted and sentenced two motor dealers, Mamuda Aliyu and Hamza Muhammad Mahuta, to various jail terms and fines for money laundering offences. The judgment was delivered on Tuesday, July 22, 2023, following their arraignment by the Sokoto Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to a statement issued by EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, the two convicts who operate under the business name Dogaro Ga Allah Motors were charged with a 10-count criminal information bordering on failure to comply with the requirements of the Money Laundering (Prohibition and Prevention) Act, 2011 (as amended).
One of the charges reads:
“That you Mamuda Aliyu and Hamza Muhammad Mahuta (trading under the name and style of Dogaro Ga Allah Motors), being a Designated Non-Financial Institution and carrying on the business of sales of vehicles at opposite new prison along Jega Road Birnin Kebbi, sometimes between 2019 and 2021 at Birnin Kebbi within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, did in contravention of Section 5(1) to (5) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011, fail to submit a declaration of your activities to wit: requirements of customer identification and the submission of returns on transactions to the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering domiciled in the EFCC and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 5(1) to (5) and punishable under Section 5(6)(a) and (b) of the same Act.”
Another count (Count Six) stated:
“That you Mamuda Aliyu and Hamza Muhammad Mahuta (trading under the name and style of Dogaro Ga Allah Motors), being a Designated Non-Financial Institution and carrying on the business of sales of vehicles along Jega Road Birnin Kebbi, on or about the 10th January 2020 at Birnin Kebbi within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, without going through a financial institution, accepted cash payment of the sum of N15,000,000 (Fifteen Million Naira) from the Ministry of Animal Health which exceeded N5,000,000 (Five Million Naira) threshold for the purpose of selling a Toyota Hilux Model with receipt no: 1098 and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 (As Amended), punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the same Act.”
Although both defendants pleaded not guilty upon arraignment, the prosecution, led by Habila Jonathan, proceeded with trial. Over the course of eight months, the EFCC presented multiple documentary evidence, which the court admitted as exhibits.
After reviewing the facts and evidence presented, Justice Gakko found both defendants guilty on all counts. He sentenced them as follows: a fine of N250,000 each on count one; another fine of N250,000 each on count two; and a fine of N100,000 on each of counts three through ten or one year imprisonment for each count in default of payment.
The court also directed the convicts to comply with the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition and Prevention) Act within two months.
Aliyu and Mahuta were initially arrested for operating in breach of key provisions of the Money Laundering Act, including failure to register with the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML) and for accepting large cash transactions above the legal threshold without reporting or channeling them through financial institutions.
The EFCC reiterated its commitment to enforcing compliance among Designated Non-Financial Institutions (DNFIs) and urged business operators to register with SCUML and adhere strictly to anti-money laundering protocols.
