EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has granted administrative bail to two men – Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu – charged with former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello for allegedly diverting the state’s funds.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed a 16 count charge against Bello and the two others, alleging criminal breach of trust to the tune of N110.4billion.

At the mention of the case on Thursday before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) prosecuting lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) told the court that his client has granted administrative bail to Oricha and Hudu.

He noted that Bello was absent despite an earlier summons issued against him. He later sought an adjournment on the grounds that the summons was yet to lapse.

Ruling, Justice Maryanne Anenih ordered the issuance of hearing notice on Bello and adjourned till November 27.

Details shortly…..

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a fundamental rights suit filed by Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The suit aims to prevent the EFCC from arresting or prosecuting Sanwo-Olu after his tenure.

The anti-graft body had dismissed the suit as speculative and a mere conjecture.

Recall that the Lagos State Government had denied any involvement in the suit, stating that Sanwo-Olu never authorized any lawyer to file it. Lawal Pedro, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, emphasized that Sanwo-Olu has nearly three years left in office and enjoys constitutional immunity, making the lawsuit unnecessary.

“We need to clarify that Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at no time, sued or briefed any legal practitioner to file a suit on his behalf concerning the above subject matter,” the statement read in part.

The EFCC filed its counter-affidavit on October 31. Ufuoma Ezire, a superintendent and litigation secretary, swore to the counter-affidavit, denying claims of harassment, threats, or investigations against Sanwo-Olu or his staff.

“That I know as a fact that the defendant invites members of the public for interview, interrogation or any engagement vide a written invitation, phone calls or text messages by any of its officers who shall introduce himself or herself by name, rank, designation, and Section to enable the invitee to trace the officer easily.

“That no officer of the defendant could have invited the plaintiff or his aides without furnishing them with such detailed particulars of himself.

“That contrary to the depositions in paragraphs 5 of the plaintiff affidavit, the defendant did not intimidate, harass or threaten the plaintiff or subject him to any trauma,” he said.

He said the agency was unaware of any threat to arrest Mr Sanwo-Olu’s aides.

He also stated that the anti-graft agency was not aware of the “accusation of maladministration or diversion of Lagos State’s funds nor is it aware of any likelihood of a breach of the applicant’s right to liberty or right to own movable and immovable properties in this case.”

“That the action of the plaintiff,, in this case is mere conjecture and speculations as there is no petition or any intel gathered before the defendant to warrant the men and officers of same to invite, threaten to arrest the plaintiff at the moment.

“That the entirety of the dispositions contained in the plaintiffs’ affidavit are not true, as the application is misconceived and brought in bad faith to mislead this honourable court.

“That the defendant is not in a position to deny or confirm the depositions in paragraphs 4 and 4(iii) as the defendant is not a party to the conversation between deponent and the plaintiff.

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), have arrested a former governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, over alleged N27bn fraud.

It was learnt that Ishaku, who left the as governor of the State in 2023 after spending 8 years, was picked up at his Abuja residence in the early hours of Friday.

Impeccable sources within the commission confided in our correspondent that the former governor was still in the anti-graft agency’s custody as at when filing this report Friday night.

One of the sources revealed that at least 15-count charges have been filed against Ishaku and he would be arraigned in court soon as evidence against him have been compiled.

“Yes, he’s in our custody right now. We have been investigating him covertly since he left as the State governor. There a lot of financial malfeasance he perpetrated,” the source told Weekend Trust.

Another source said he was detained after he could not provide satisfactory explanations to financial impropriety that happened under his watch.

When contacted, the spokesman of the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, confirmed the development to our correspondent but declined further comments.

Ishaku’s arrest is coming on the heels of ongoing face-off between the commission and the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, who was said to have stolen N80.2bn.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared a 26-year-old man, Ibrahim Mohammed wanted for stealing the commission’s vehicle.

The commission disclosed this in a short post signed by its Spokesman, Dele Oyewale, with a picture of the suspect on its page.

According to the EFCC, Mohammed is an indigene of Jada Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

The post did not state whether the suspect is a staff of the anti-graft agency.

It did not, also state how the suspect stole the vehicle.

It asked members of the public with useful information as to his whereabouts to contact the EFCC or the nearest police station.

The Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) has arraigned one Ibrahim Shuaibu before Justice Darius Khobo of the Kaduna State High Court, sitting in Kaduna State for fraud.

Shuaibu is being prosecuted on a seven-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of ₦100 million.

Count one of his charges reads: “That you, Nuhu Ibrahim Shuaibu (a.k.a Ishaku Abdulrazak) (M) and lIya Garba (now deceased) sometime in 2017 in Kaduna within the judicial division of this honourable court did conspire between yourselves to do an illegal act, to wit: obtaining money under false pretence and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

Another reads: “That you, Nuhu Ibrahim Shuaibu (a.k.a Ishaku Abdulrazak)(M) sometime in 2018 at Kaduna within the judicial division of this honourable court, with intent to defraud, obtained the total sum of N47,050,000.00 (Forty-Seven Million and Fifty Thousand Naira) from one Faisal Safiyanu, when you claimed to supply him petroleum products, which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offenses Act 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

He pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges when they were read to him, prompting the prosecution counsel, M. Lawal to urge the court to fix a trial date. His counsel, AbdulKareem Audu failed to file a bail application.

Justice Khobo afterwards ordered the defendant to be remanded in the custody of the EFCC. Shuaibu’s journey to prosecution started sometime in 2017 when he presented himself to his victim as NNPCL’s Group Executive Director and promised to assist him procure over 2000 litres of petroleum products for which the victim transferred the agreed cost to his bank accounts in tranches.

Shuaibu failed to fulfil his own part of the bargain after receiving payment and failed to refund his victim his money.