Court convicts magistrate of bribery

The Gombe State High Court in Gombe, the state capital, has sentenced a magistrate, Mohammad Kumo, to two years and six months in prison for bribery.

Delivering judgement on Wednesday, the trial judge, H.H. Kereng, however gave the convict and option of N250,000 in lieu of imprisonment.

He also ordered him to pay N500,000 compensation to the victim of his crime.

The judge held that the prosecution proved its case and that the gravity of the offence warranted punishment.

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“I hereby convict you for the offence of corruption under Section 10(a)(i)(ii) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000,” the judge said, according to a statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday.

He added that a compensation order of N500,000 was justified for the cost of investigation and prosecution.

EFCC had arraigned Mr Kumo on 3 December 2025 on three counts bribery.

Jurisdictional challenge

Shortly after his arraignment, the defendant, through his lawyer, Adamu Bawa, filed a preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction.

He argued that as a judicial officer, his client ought to be disciplined by the Judicial Service Commission.

But the prosecution lawyer, A. Aliyu, opposed the application, contending that a magistrate does not fall within the category of judicial officers protected under Section 318(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

In a ruling delivered on 17 February, Mr Kereng dismissed the objection and affirmed the court’s jurisdiction to hear the case.

Charges

One of the charges stated that Mr Kumo, while serving at the Chief Magistrate Court in Pantami, received N1 million through a Zenith Bank account belonging to a court registrar, Adamu Ahmed, on or about 6 November 2024.

The charge said the payment constituted an illegal benefit, contrary to Section 10(a)(i)(ii) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.

Mr Kumo initially pleaded not guilty.

However, at the resumed hearing on Tuesday, his lawyer informed the court that the defendant wished to change his plea.

When the charges were read again, he pleaded guilty.

Following the plea, the prosecution said it had expended significant time and resources on the case and urged the court to convict the defendant and award compensation.

Sentence

In his ruling, Mr Kereng sentenced Mr Kumo to two years and six months’ imprisonment, with an option of a N250,000 fine.

He also ordered the convict to pay N500,000 as compensation to the EFCC.

The case stemmed from a petition forwarded by the Gombe State Ministry of Justice after two complainants, Abubakar Kuna and Suleiman Haruna, accused the magistrate of demanding and receiving a bribe.

The allegations prompted an EFCC investigation and subsequent prosecution.

Not the first time

The conviction adds to a pattern of anti-corruption prosecutions involving judicial officers in Nigeria.

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In April 2018, a High Court in Abuja convicted a Chief Magistrate, Mohammed Balogun, for demanding a N100,000 bribe from a litigant, Isidore Nnadi, in exchange for a favourable judgement.

The case, prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), showed that the magistrate had already received N50,000 before he was arrested in a sting operation.

Delivering judgement, the trial judge, Ishaq Bello, said the conduct brought “shame to the judiciary” and underscored ongoing reform efforts within the system.

“You are a Chief Magistrate with great responsibility to provide justice to others, but you have let yourself and the entire judiciary down,” Mr Bello noted.

He sentenced Mr Balogun to three years’ imprisonment with an option of a N500,000 fine.