N861m Scam: Appeal Court Jails Borno Flour Mills Ex-GM 7 Years

The Court of Appeal sitting in Gombe has sentenced the former general manager of Maiduguri Flour Mills,  Shettima Arfo to seven years imprisonment for contract scam amounting to N86.1 million

Arfo had appealed the judgment of Borno State High court which earlier convicted him and sentenced him to 28 years imprisonment on a six-count charge by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission ( ICPC )  for offences bordering on abuse of office and conferring undue advantage on himself.

The charge read, that Arfo, while acting as the general manager of the Flour Mill, between 2014 and 2020, engaged in multiple fraud in violation of Sections 12 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, punishable under relevant sections of the same Act.

One of the counts on which he was convicted revealed that he awarded multiple contracts to Falkwat Multilinks limited, a private company where he was a director, to supply diesel and maize to Maiduguri Flour Mills.

Counsel to ICPC, Anas Mohammed Kolo told the court that the convict in October 2015, awarded a N4.9 million contract to Falkwat Multilinks Limited to supply 40,000 litres of diesel to the flour mills.

The court further heard how Arfo, while being a public servant, awarded several contracts between 2016 and 2017 to his private company to supply maize to Maiduguri Flour Mills Limited.

“He authorised the payments of N42.1m to his company in July 2016 for the supply of 386.45 metric tonnes of maize and another N23 million to the same company in March, 2016 to supply 306.94 metric tonnes of maize to the flour mills,” the council to ICPC said.

Dismissing the appeal in an unanimous judgement, the Appeal court found Arfo guilty of all the charges, but reduced his jail term from 28 to seven years Imprisonment.