A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, on Tuesday remanded in Suleja prison, Niger State, the Project Coordinator of the Northeast Development Commission, Danjuma Mohammed and his associate, Prince Chibuike Echem over their alleged complicity in N5bn contract scams
Justice Keziah Ogbonna, issued the remand order shortly after their arraignment on a 55 criminal count 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 alleged that Mohammed, Echem and another person, Aminu Alhaji said to be at large, after defrauding one Kenneth Ejiofor Ifekudu, a whopping sum of N2.2 billion between May 2022 and February 2024, under the pretense of awarding him contracts from the Northeast Development Commission.
Ifekudu, said to be Managing Director of Diamond Leeds Ltd, was said to have been made to part ways with the sum through a coordinated 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 Prince Echem under the claim that they have capacity to award to his company contracts from the Multi-sectoral Crisis Projects (MCRP), of the Northeast 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 ground.
Besides, the EFCC also accused them of obtaining under false pretenses a sum of $480, 000 and $200, 000 between January to 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 North East Developrment Commission and made him to 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 has assembled seven witnesses to testify against the defendants for the EFCC to establish the allegations.
However, frantic efforts by lawyer to the two defendants, Mr Chukwuka Obidike, to argue their bail application were rejected by 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.
Adeola insisted that bail application wàs not ripe for hearing because he needed to file a counter affidavit to legally object to the request.
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 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.
Part of the charge read, Count One; That you Alhajl Danjuma Mohammed being the National Coordinator of Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project (MCRP) North East Development Commission, Prince Chibuike Echem and Aminu Alhaji, (still at large) between May, 2022 and February, 2024 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory conspired amongst yourselves to do an illegal act, to wit; obtaining by false pretences the cumulative sum of (N2, 280,000,000.00 )Tvwo Billion, Two Hundred and Eighty Million Naira from one Kenneth Ejiofor Ifekudu the Managing Director of Diamond Leeds Limited and Diamond Leeds Limited 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.
Count 2; That you Alhaji Danjuma Mohammed being the National Coordinator of Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovey Project Project (MCRP North East Developrment Commission, Prince Chibuike Echem and Aminu Alhaji(still at large) sometime between 1st JanUary, 2023 and 31st December 2023 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did with intent to defraud, obtained the aggregate sum of (N649,500,000.00) Six Hundred and Forty Nine Thousand Naira from one Kenneth Ejlofor lfekudu of Dianond Leeds Bank account No 0735565731 of Prince Chibuike Echem under the the capacity to award Contracts to Kenneth Ejofor Ifekudu’s Companies from the Multi-Sectoral Crisis Project( MCRP) for the North East and the North East Recovery and Stability Program(NERSP) under the North East Development Commission (NEDC) and execute said contract which pretense you knew to be false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) and Punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006.
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