A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), yesterday, remanded in Suleja prison, Niger State, Project Coordinator of the North East Development Commission, Danjuma Mohammed, and his associate, Chibuike Echem, over their alleged complicity in N5 billion contract scams
Justice Keziah Ogbonna issued the remand order shortly after their arraignment on a 55-count criminal charge bordering on advance fee fraud, forgery and award of fake contracts.
Among others, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which put them on trial, accused Mohammed, Echem and another person, Aminu Alhaji, said to be at large, of defrauding one Kenneth Ejiofor Ifekudu, of N2.2 billion between May 2022 and February 2024, under the pretence of awarding him contracts from the North East Development Commission.
Ifekudu, said to be Managing Director of Diamond Leeds Ltd, was said to have been made to part way with the sum through a coordinator advance fee fraud.
In another count, the duo were said to have between January and December 2023, obtained another sum of N649.5 million from their victim using the bank account of Echem under the claim that they have the capacity to award contracts to their company from the Multi-sectoral Crisis Projects (MCRP) of the North East Development Commission.
They were also accused of collecting another N573 million from the same contractor through a Wema Bank account belonging to Echem on the same grounds.
Besides, the EFCC also accused them of obtaining, under false pretences, a total of $480,000 and $200,000 between January and December 2022, under the guise of awarding him contracts.
The two defendants were also accused of issuing fake contract papers to their victim in the name of the North East Development Commission and making him part with various sums before they were arrested by operatives of the EFCC.
However, the defendants pleaded not guilty to all the charges personally read to them by the judge, prompting the EFCC’s lawyer, Mr Olarenwaju Adeola, to plead for a date for commencement of trial.He informed the court that he had assembled seven witnesses to testify against the defendants for the anti-graft agency to establish the allegations.
However, frantic efforts by the lawyer for the two defendants, Mr Chukwuka Obidike, to argue their bail application were rejected by the court due to opposition by the EFCC.
The EFCC lawyer, while opposing the bail request, told the judge that the anti-graft agency was served with the bail application in the evening of January 26 and that he only saw it in the courtroom on January 27.
In a brief ruling, Justice Ogbonna agreed with the EFCC’s counsel that the application was not ripe for hearing, adding that allowing it to be argued would amount to a denial of fair hearing on the part of the prosecution. Consequently, the judge fixed March 25 to April 7 for the full trial of the defendants
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