Justice Muhammad Maina of the Borno State High Court, Maiduguri, has sentenced businessman Alhaji Mala Gana to three years’ imprisonment for criminal misappropriation of N2,360,000 entrusted to him by an investor, Alhaji Goni Umar, for the supply of food items.
The conviction was announced in a statement released on Monday by Mr Dele Oyewale, Head of Media and Publicity at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to the statement, Gana was initially arraigned on 19 March 2025 by the Maiduguri Zonal Directorate of the EFCC on a one-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and dishonesty.
The charge read: “That you, Alhaji Mala Gana, sometime in 2022 at Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, being entrusted with dominion over certain properties to wit: N2,360,000.00 by one Alhaji Goni Umar, as his investment for the supply of food items such as groundnut and palm oil, did dishonestly misappropriate the said sum and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 311 of the Penal Code Act Cap. 102 Laws of Borno State and punishable under Section 312 of the same law.”
Although Gana initially pleaded not guilty to the charge, the EFCC revealed that during the resumed hearing on Monday, his lawyer, A. Sale, requested that the charge be re-read to the defendant. Gana subsequently changed his plea to guilty.
The statement added that the convict had fully refunded the misappropriated sum to the complainant before the sentencing. Following this, prosecution counsel S.O. Saka asked the court to enter a conviction based on the guilty plea.
Justice Maina, after weighing the submissions, sentenced Gana to three years in prison, offering him an option of a N200,000 fine.
The EFCC’s statement concluded: “His journey to the correctional facility started when he was entrusted with N2.36 million as investment for food items and electrical appliances, but he diverted the funds for personal use.”