By Parrot Newspaper 
Court Remands Couple for Impersonating Katsina Gov’s Wife in N197m Fraud
By Ricky Awodi
A Kaduna State High Court has ordered the remand of a couple and two accomplices for allegedly impersonating the wife of Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, and defrauding a Bureau De Change operator of N197 million.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a statement on Thursday, disclosed that Baba Sule Abubakar Sadiq and Hafsat Kabir Lawal, alongside their co-conspirators Abdullahi Bala and Ladani Akindele, were arraigned before Justice Amina Bello on six counts of fraud, money laundering, and stealing.
How the Fraud Unfolded
The suspects allegedly registered two SIM cards in the name of the Katsina governor’s wife and used them to contact the chairman of Unity Bank, posing as her. They then convinced him to provide them with the contact details of a Bureau De Change operator.
According to the EFCC, Hafsat, impersonating the governor’s wife, contacted the Bureau De Change operator, Aminu Usman, and claimed she had United States dollars to sell. She allegedly obtained N89 million and an additional N108 million under the pretense of exchanging the sum for a dollar equivalent.
Investigations revealed that Hafsat’s husband, Sadiq, provided the registered SIM cards and used the TrueCaller app to display the name “Fatima Dikko Radda.” He also contacted Ladani Akindele, a former colleague at a bank, to obtain the contact details of the chairman of Unity Bank, Hafiz Bashir, who unknowingly connected them to their victim.
Court Proceedings
Following the victim’s complaint, operatives of the Department of State Services arrested the four suspects and transferred them to the EFCC. They were subsequently arraigned on charges of fraud and money laundering.
The charge against them reads:
> “That you, Hafsat Kabir Lawal, Babasule Abubakar Sadiq, Abdullahi Bala, Ladani Akindele Ayodele, sometime in December 2024, at Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, with intent to defraud, did obtain the sum of N89,000,000 from Aminu Usman, which money you caused to be paid into the Taj Bank Plc account number 0009914725 belonging to Abdullahi Bala under the pretense that you had the sum of $53,300 to exchange for the naira equivalent, which pretense you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.”
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. The EFCC prosecution team requested their remand, while their defense lawyers applied for bail.
Court’s Decision
Justice Bello sided with the prosecution, ordering the defendants to be remanded in a correctional facility. The case was adjourned until March 17, 2025, for the hearing of bail applications.
This case highlights the growing sophistication of fraud schemes in Nigeria and the continued efforts of security agencies to bring perpetrators to justice.