The Borno State High Court in Maiduguri has sentenced Aisha Wakil, popularly known as “Mama Boko Haram,” to five years imprisonment for fraud.
This marks yet another conviction for Ms. Wakil, alongside two other officials of her NGO, Complete Care and Aid Foundation—Programme Manager Tahiru Daura and Country Director Prince Shoyode—who also received five-year sentences each.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which prosecuted the case, disclosed that the judgment was delivered on November 28 by Justice Aisha Kumaliya. The court found the defendants guilty of defrauding Bukar Kachalla, the owner of ABKS Ventures, by deceitfully obtaining a Toyota Camry 2012 model valued at ₦6 million, which they neither paid for nor returned.
Initially arraigned on September 1, 2020, Ms. Wakil and her co-defendants faced four charges, including conspiracy, cheating involving ₦6 million, and providing false information. They pleaded not guilty, but during the trial, EFCC prosecutors presented three witnesses and submitted multiple documentary pieces of evidence.
In addition to the prison terms, the court ordered the defendants to collectively pay ₦3.5 million in restitution to the complainant. Failure to comply will result in an additional five-year sentence for each.
Ms. Wakil, once prominent for her role in peace negotiations between Boko Haram insurgents and the government, has faced numerous fraud cases in recent years. Her latest conviction is her sixth.
Previous sentences include five years in June 2022 for a ₦71 million fraud, seven years in August 2022 for ₦66 million, another seven years in September 2022 for ₦15 million, ten years in December 2022 for ₦120.5 million, and another ten years in February 2024 for a ₦40 million fraud. Despite her past prominence, her repeated convictions highlight a fall from grace.
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