The Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Atiku Abubakar Kigo, and five others have been ordered by a judge to be remanded in Kuje Prison pending the hearing of their bail application. The six public officers are accussed of illegally diverting N32.8billion from the Nigeria Police Pension funds for their personal benefit.
Atiku Abubakar Kigo and the five others - Esai Dangabar, Ahmed Inuwa Wada, John Yakubu Yusufu, Mrs Veronica Ulonma Onyegbula and Sani Habila Zira - are accused of withdrawing and sharing money from the Police Pension fund.
One of the accused is also charged with collecting N18million from a bank as compensation for retaining the Police Pension Account with the bank. Their offences are punishable under Sections 97, 115 (ii), 119, 309 and 315 of the Penal Code Act Cap. 532 Laws of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria 2007, with 14 years in prison, if convicted. They all pleaded not guilty to the 16-count charge of criminal breach of trust brought against them by the by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
After their plea, the prosecuting counsel asked the court to remand the accused in the custody of the EFCC while he studied their application for bail, saying “My Lord, the accused persons just served me with their advanced bail applications. I will be asking for a date next week to enable me to study them and file the necessary processes.” The opposing counsel argued for the bail application to be heard in one day since the suspects are presumed innocent until found guilty, and the bail application had already been filed and served.
However the judge said “There is no law permitting the remand of an accused person in any other place apart from prison custody. Therefore, having entered their plea, the appropriate order for me to make at this juncture is that they should be remanded in prison custody pending the determination of their bail applications”.
The judge then fixed Tuesday, April 3, as the date to hear their bail applications,, and adjourned the trial to May 28.
The charges against the accused read: “That you Esai Abubakar Inuwa Wada, John Yakubu Yusufu, Atiku Abubakar Kigo, Mrs Veronica Ulonma Onyegbula and Sani Habila Zira, between January 2009 and June 2011 at Abuja Division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory agreed to do an illegal act, to wit: criminal breach of trust by public officers in respect of the sum of N14,518,567,724.36 (Fourteen billion, five hundred and eighteen million, five hundred and sixty-seven thousand, seven hundred and twenty-four naira and thirty-six Kobo) and that the same act was done in pursuance of the agreement among you and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code Cap. 532, Laws of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria 2007”.
“That you Esai Dangabar, John Yakubu Yusufu, Mrs. Veronica Ulonma Onyegbula and Sani Habila Zira, between January and December 2009, at Abuja, in the Abuja Division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, being public officers in the service of the government of the federal, and in such capacity entrusted with certain property, to wit: the sum of N8,920,371,822.24 (Eight billion, nine hundred and twenty million, three hundred and seventy-one thousand, eight hundred and twenty-two naira and twenty-four Kobo) which sum formed part of Nigeria Police Pension funds in the account domiciled at the First Bank of Nigeria Plc, committed criminal breach of trust in respect of the said property, and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 315 of the Penal Code Act, Cap. 532, Laws of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria 2007”.
“That you, Atiku Abubakar Kigo, John Yakubu Yusufu, Mrs. Veronica Uloma Onyegbula and Sani Habila Zira between January 2010 and February 2011 at Abuja in the Abuja Division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, being public officers in the service of the Government of the Federal Government and in such capacity entrusted with certain property, to wit: the sum of N4, 739,894.896.06 ( Four billion, seven hundred and thirty-nine million, eight hundred and ninety-four thousand, eight hundred and ninety-six naira and six kobo) which sum formed part of the Nigerian Police Pension funds in the account domiciled at the First Bank of Nigeria Plc, committed criminal breach of trust in respect of the said property, and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 315 of the Penal Code Act. Cap. 532, Laws of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria 2007.
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curtis jougboh accra, Ghana April 01, 2012
I hope this will not be another story at the back yard. we are waiting to see the outcome how they will be bailed or jailed if they are truly Nigerian Permanent thieves in the Ministry.
EFCC I trust you >I hope there will be no compromise? Do your job
