(Bukar Ahmed Shuwa. Photo by X.com)
A Borno State High Court sitting in Maiduguri has convicted and sentenced one Bukar Ahmed Shuwa to ten years imprisonment for defrauding a victim of ₦2,950,000 under the pretense of a cryptocurrency investment scheme.
Justice Aisha Kumaliya handed down the sentence on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, after the defendant was arraigned by the Maiduguri Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count amended charge of cheating.
According to the charge, Shuwa sometime in 2024 fraudulently persuaded one Mahmud Ali to hand over the sum of ₦2,950,000 to him under the guise of a Crypto Bitget Wallet Coin Investment, only to divert the funds to his personal use an act the court found to be in violation of Section 309 and punishable under Section 310 of the Penal Code Law and Other Matters Connected therewith Law, 2023.
When the charge was read to him in court, the defendant entered a guilty plea.
The prosecution counsel, A.D. Abdulmalik, subsequently urged the court to convict him accordingly, while the defence counsel, H. Basharu, appealed for leniency, informing the court that his client had already made full restitution of the defrauded sum to the petitioner and requesting that the sentence be accompanied by an option of fine.
Taking all submissions into consideration, Justice Kumaliya convicted Shuwa and sentenced him to ten years imprisonment, with an option to pay a fine of ₦200,000 in lieu of the custodial sentence.