Farmers bag 6 months’ jail for cheating

A Minna magistrates’ court yesterday sentenced two farmers, Tanko Umaru and Mamman Aliyu, to six months imprisonment each for cheating. Magistrate Abdullahi Usman sentenced the farmers, who were arraigned on a four-count charge of breach of trust, cheating, resisting arrest and assault. The magistrate, however, gave each of the farmers an option of N25,000 fine […]

A Minna magistrates’ court yesterday sentenced two farmers, Tanko Umaru and Mamman Aliyu, to six months imprisonment each for cheating.

Magistrate Abdullahi Usman sentenced the farmers, who were arraigned on a four-count charge of breach of trust, cheating, resisting arrest and assault.

The magistrate, however, gave each of the farmers an option of N25,000 fine and ordered them to pay N400,000 as compensation to their victim.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Aliyu had pleaded guilty to all the counts while Umaru denied counts three and four and pleaded guilty to counts one and two.

The prosecutor, Cpl. Hussaini Paiko, told the court that Aliyu and Umaru sold a plot of land to Mr Suleiman Nasiru of Sabon Gari for N150,000 after selling the same plot to another person.

According to him, Nasiru had already spent N47,000 on laying a building foundation on the plot before he discovered that the duo sold the same piece of land to another person.

Paiko said that Aliyu and Umaru failed to return Nasiru’s money.

The prosecutor added that they resisted police arrest and assaulted policemen, injuring one of them on the right leg.