Alleged N125m fraud: Ex-Rep Gebi issued me 14 dud cheques - Witness tells Court

The trial of Aliyu Ibrahim Gebi, a former member of the House of Representatives, continued on Monday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, with a prosecution witness revealing how the politician allegedly issued 14 dud cheques to cover a N125 million debt.

Testifying as the First Prosecution Witness (PW1), Mustapha Usman narrated the details of the transaction to the court presided over by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie.

Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Slyvanus Tahir, SAN, Usman explained that his relationship with the defendant began through a mutual acquaintance, Hajiya Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed, who was also a lawmaker at the time.

According to the witness, the financial engagement dates back to 2011 when Gebi approached him for a friendly loan of N125 million.

“I was there when the first defendant wrote an undertaking to repay in 60 days’ time without interest. At the expiry date of the 60 days, he did not fulfil his obligation, after which I met with the defendant for the repayment of the loan,” Usman stated.

The witness told the court that following the default, Gebi issued him a series of cheques totaling N125.5 million.

He clarified that the extra N500,000 was a separate sum he had given Gebi for a flight ticket after the defendant claimed he was expecting funds from the United States to clear the debt.

“Some of the cheques were from Craft Technology Ltd, while some were directly from the first defendant’s personal account. The cheques were issued by the first defendant in favor of my company, Musty Petroleum Limited. They were 14 in total,” he said.

Usman further testified that all attempts to cash the instruments failed.

“I presented the cheques to UBA, and they were returned unpaid… I got to know that Craft Technologies Ltd and the first defendant's personal accounts were not funded. I went back to him, and he kept on promising that he would pay. When the payment was not forthcoming, I wrote a petition to the EFCC, and at that point, he started paying.”

The witness detailed that repayment was made in sporadic installments starting with N20 million, followed by N34 million only after the anti-graft agency intervened.

He noted that the final balance was cleared only recently during the ongoing court proceedings.

“The last payment was about two weeks ago. I got a credit of N12 million. So when we came to court the last time, which was December 18, 2025, he told me he had finished paying, and I said to him that was not correct. He looked at his records and paid the outstanding N10.5 million the same day after leaving the court.”

During the proceedings, the court admitted several documents in evidence, including the letter of undertaking (Exhibit PW1a), the 14 dishonored cheques (marked PW1b to PW1xiv), and the petition to the EFCC (Exhibit PW16l).

Justice Onwuegbuzie adjourned the matter until January 21, 2026, for the continuation of the trial.
Gebi was originally arraigned on January 29, 2013, on a 13-count charge before Justice Abba Mohammed of the FCT High Court.

The case was reassigned to Justice Onwuegbuzie following Justice Mohammed’s elevation to the Court of Appeal.