Court jails ex-legislative aide eight years for employment scam

The FCT High Court in Jabi, Abuja, has sentenced a former legislative aide to eight years imprisonment for an employment scam involving N120.58 million.

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The court sentenced Goni Yilkan to prison without an option of fine after convicting him on two counts of obtaining money by false pretence.

Trial judge Frances Mesiri held in a judgement delivered on Monday that the prosecution proved its case against Mr Yilkan beyond reasonable doubt, but acquitted his co-defendant, Mohammed Adamu.

A statement from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Tuesday, said Mr Yilkan and his co-defendant were arraigned in 2023 on two counts of obtaining money by false pretence.

Although the EFCC described Mr Yilkan as a former legislative aide from Yobe State, it did not provide details of the role.

Petition to judgement

The anti-corruption agency said the charges were prompted by a petition from Hindatu Bello.

Ms Bello alleged in her petition that Mr Yilkan, a banker, duped her between 2020 and 2021 under the pretext of helping her “to secure employment slots in government agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).”

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The petitioner said she made to collect N120,580,550 from 60 jobseekers, which “she allegedly remitted to the convict,” but the “employment offers never materialised.”

Mr Yilkan and his co-defendant were charged with obtaining by false pretence under section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006. The offence was punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act,

Section 1(1)(a) of the law deals with obtaining property under a falsehood, while Section 1(3) of the same Act stipulates imprisonment of between seven to 20 years upon conviction without an option of fine.

During trial, the prosecution team led by Cosmas Ugwu called six witnesses and tendered documentary evidence to prove its case against the defendants, while the defence, led by J.A. Oguche, presented two witnesses, including Mr Yilkan himself.

In his judgment, the judge, Mr Messiri, upheld the prosecution’s evidence. But while he convicted Mr Yilkan, he discharged and acquitted his co-defendant, Mr Adamu.

The judge sentenced Mr Yilkan to eight years’ imprisonment without option of fine.

Job scam in Nigeria

This case reflects a trend in Nigeria, whereby scammers exploit desperate job seekers to defraud them by collecting money from them in exchange for promised job offers that would never come.

Due to the high unemployment rate in the country, many individuals have fallen victim to job scams.

In 2015, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) declared a federal civil servant, Grace Nwauzor, wanted for allegedly defrauding job seekers of N50 million.

In 2018, ICPC charged a deputy director of the Federal Character Commission, Ahmad Balarabe, with defrauding unsuspecting job seekers of N8.8 million.

In 2022, the FCT High Court in Gwagwalada, Abuja, sentenced a civil servant at the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation to seven years imprisonment for his involvement in an employment scam.

Similarly, in 2025, the Cross River Local Government Service Commission apprehended two alleged members of a fake employment syndicate.