A Federal High Court in Kano has sentenced a popular Kano spiritualist, Abubakar Ishaq, alias Mai-Rakumi, to 10 years in prison for possession of counterfeit currency.
The judge, Lewis Allagoa, convicted Mr Ishaq of the two-count charge.
The convict was arraigned before the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
His journey to prison started when EFCC received him from officers of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for being in possession of 176 pieces of fake United States dollars during a raid on his apartment.
At the commission, Mr Ishaq made statement under word of caution and was granted administrative bail.
Subsequently, he was arraigned by the commission at the Federal High Court, Kano where he pleaded guilty to count 1 and 2. Prior to his plea, prosecution counsel, Samuel Chime, applied to withdraw count 3 and 4 of the charge.
In view of the guilty plea entered by the convict, Mr Allagoa adjourned the matter to Thursday for judgement during which he convicted him.
Counsel for the convict, Mohammed Aliyu, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing his client. He prayed the court to give him an option of fine instead of prison term, but Mr Allagoa ignored the prayer and sentenced him to five years imprisonment on each of count one and two.
The sentences are to run concurrently. The court also ordered the counterfeit currency destroyed.
