The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned the Chief Bailiff of the Gombe State High Court, Usman Zakari, before Justice Haruna H. Kereng of the State High Court 3 over an alleged ₦9.8 million fraud.
Zakari was arraigned on a one-count charge of fraudulent conversion by the Gombe Zonal Directorate of the EFCC. According to the charge, the defendant was accused of dishonestly converting ₦9,820,000 from the proceeds of an auction conducted in October 2023, which he supervised as Chief Bailiff. The auction had generated ₦14 million, from which ₦4.18 million was paid to the judgment creditor, while the remaining balance allegedly went unremitted.
The offence is said to be in violation of Sections 308 and 309 of the Penal Code Law of Northern Nigeria.
Zakari pleaded not guilty to the charge. Prosecution counsel M. O. Tijani requested a trial date and for the defendant to be remanded in a correctional facility. However, defence counsel Yusuf A. Aliyu applied for bail.
Justice Kereng granted bail to Zakari on self-recognizance due to his status as a court official and adjourned the case to July 30, 2025, for trial.
