An Area Court in Yola on Tuesday ordered that a sim card registration agent, Mohammed Kabiru, be remanded in the Jimeta correctional centre until March 7 for allegedly selling active sim cards to foreigners.
Kabiru, 24, is charged with resisting arrest, forgery and selling active sim cards to foreigners.
He was charged before an Area Court Judge, Abubakar Balaraba.
Balaraba, ordered that the defendant be remanded at the correctional centre, following a guilty plea to the crime.
“The case has been adjourned until Friday for further investigation, corroboration of evidence with the plea of the defendant and possible summary trial.
“Meanwhile, the defendant is hereby remanded at the correctional centre until the next adjourned date,” the Judge stated.
The defendant pleaded for forgiveness for his actions and asked for leniency.
In his confession, the defendant said:” I am a 300-level student studying computer technology in the Yola Polytechnic. This is the third time I am being arrested for this offence. I ask for leniency.
“This job is what helps me pay my tuition fees and to feed my family. I know it is wrong, because it is aiding kidnapping in the country.
“We get up to 2,000 active sim cards from different states in the Northeast and sell each for between N2,000 and N3,000 to the foreigner’s agents.
“I am ready to work with the police so that all other agents involved in the business will be arrested, I promise never to do it again.”
Earlier, the Police Prosecutor, Insp. Abraham Zirba said on February 29, at about 5p.m, a patrol team attached to the Jambutu Police Station, raided the Jambutu motor park in Yola.
Zirba told the court that the defendant and two others, now at large, were arrested for engaging in illegal sim card registration, sale and forgery of documents to foreigners.
He said the offence contravenes sections 172, 173 and 363 of the penal code law of Adamawa state 2018, as amended.
