By Nkechi Eze
The Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction of a former legislative aide and banker, Mr. Goni Yilkan, over offences bordering on obtaining money by false pretence to the tune of N120.5 million.
Yilkan, who hails from Nguru in Yobe State, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment by Justice F.E. Messiri of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, sitting in Jabi, Abuja, on Monday, September 22, 2025.
According to a statement signed by EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, the convict was found guilty on a two-count charge of obtaining money under false pretence, contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act. He was consequently sentenced to eight years imprisonment without an option of fine.
Yilkan was first arraigned alongside one Mohammed Adamu in October 2023, following investigations into a petition lodged against him. The petitioner, identified as Mrs. Hindatu Bello, told investigators that between 2020 and 2021, Yilkan deceived her into believing he had the capacity to secure employment slots in top government agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
On the strength of these false claims, Bello allegedly collected varying sums of money from over 60 desperate jobseekers, which amounted to a staggering N120,580,550. She then handed the total sum to Yilkan for the purported employment offers that never materialised. When it became clear that the jobs were fictitious, Bello petitioned the EFCC.
One of the charges against Yilkan read:
“That you, Mohammed Goni Yilkan, Mohammed Adamu and others at large between 3rd January 2020 and December 2021 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N120,580,550 (One Hundred and Twenty Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Naira) from Mrs. Hindatu Bello under the false pretence that you had the capacity to secure jobs for her candidates in various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
During the trial, the prosecution, led by counsel Cosmas Ugwu, called six witnesses and tendered several documentary exhibits to prove its case. The defence team, led by J.A. Oguche, presented two witnesses, including Yilkan himself.
Delivering judgment, Justice Messiri held that the prosecution had successfully proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against Yilkan, but not against his co-defendant. While Yilkan was convicted and sentenced, Adamu was discharged and acquitted.
“Yilkan’s journey to the Correctional Centre began when he collected N120.5 million from desperate job seekers in the guise of offering them employment slots. He neither offered them jobs nor returned their money to them,” the EFCC statement added.
The conviction, the Commission stressed, underscores its continued determination to pursue and secure justice against perpetrators of advance fee fraud and other financial crimes across the country.
