Employment Scam Exposed: ICPC Successfully Convicts Two National Assembly Employees

Table of Contents

1. Conviction of Mustapha Mohammed and Tijjani Adam Goni
2. Fraudulent Claims and Investigation
3. Court Proceedings and Charges
4. Plea Negotiations and Sentencing

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured the conviction of Mustapha Mohammed and Tijjani Adam Goni, both affiliated with the National Assembly in Abuja, for defrauding Saifudeen Yakub and Aminu Abubakar of a total of N4,800,000. This amount was obtained through fraudulent claims of securing jobs for the petitioners at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), respectively.

The case originated from petition number ICPC/P/NC/1056/2022, submitted to the ICPC by Mr. Saifdeen Yakub and Mr. Aminu Abubakar. They reported that on May 27, 2021, the fraudulent Mustapha Mohammed, who is currently at large, claimed that the first defendant, his friend and an employee of the National Assembly in Abuja, promised to secure two job slots at the CBN for N4,000,000 each for interested candidates, with the offer letter to be released on April 27, 2021.

Mustapha Mohammed demanded N3,000,000 from the two petitioners, which was subsequently deposited into a Zenith Bank account belonging to the first defendant, with account number 1000765449.

Further investigation revealed that on April 27, 2021, the first defendant requested an additional N300,000 from each applicant for a supposed medical screening.

This amount was transferred to an Access Bank account owned by Badraddin Mohammed, with account number 0090719034.

Following thorough investigations by the ICPC, the defendants were brought before Justice B.M. Bassi of the FCT High Court No. 55, located in Asokoro.

Fatima Abdullahi Bardi, the prosecuting counsel for the ICPC, informed the court that the defendants faced a five-count charge related to fraud and obtaining by deception.

Count 1 was based on an offense in violation of Section 1(1)(a) and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006.

Counts 2 and 3 against the defendants pertained to violations of Section 363 of the Act, punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code.

Counts 2 and 3 detailed the defendants' conspiracy to forge a letter of employment dated June 28, 2021, labeled “Final Document List,” which was falsely issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria, aimed at extorting money from Saifdeen Yakub and Aminu Abubakar.

Additionally, Counts 4 and 5 related to offenses contrary to Section 363 and punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code, highlighting a forged letter of employment dated June 11, 2021, purportedly for Mustapha Mohammed from the FIRS.

Count 4 states: “That you, Ibrahim Suleiman Umar (m) and Tijjani Adam Goni (m), on or about June 2021 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court conspired to forge a letter of employment dated June 11, 2021, supposedly issued by the Federal Inland Revenue Service in favor of Mustapha Mohammed, thereby committing an offense contrary to Section 363 and punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code.”

In accordance with Section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, which outlines the terms for plea negotiations, the defendants pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and were ordered to refund the total sum of N4.8 million into the ICPC recovery account.

Furthermore, the defendants admitted guilt to a one-count amended charge of making false statements, in violation of Section 25 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act of 2000, on October 29, 2025. They were sentenced to pay a fine of N100,000 each after making the full payment into the Commission’s recovery account.