N25m fraud: EFCC arraigns ex- Ebonyi council chair
(Nigeria) The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned Mr Ugwuocha Okoroafor former Coordinator of Afikpo South Local Government Development Centre of Ebonyi State and two others on charges of fraud.
Mr Wilson Uwujaren, Head, Media and Publicity, EFCC, made
the disclosure on Thursday in Abuja in a statement.
He said that Okoroafor and the two others were arraigned on
Thursday on a 15-count charge of conspiracy and stealing public funds of more
than N25 million.
He said that the two others arraigned were Okoroafor’s
treasurer, Christian Chukwu Owo, and the administrative officer, Mrs Anne Eke
Agwu.
He said that the accused were bought before Justice E.A.
Ngene of the State High Court, Afikpo
According to the EFCC spokesman, Okoroafor and his alleged
accomplices were reported to have at various times between 2013 and 2015 raised
vouchers for payments.
He said that the payments were supposedly for contract
awards, salaries and Independence Day celebrations in the names of staff of the
council, who denied receiving such funds.
``Investigation revealed that the accused persons padded
their salaries and that of other staff in connivance with a staff of the bank
where the local government’s account is domiciled.
``The investigation showed that the sum of N16 million and
eight million naira were at different times traced to the accused person’s
account which their income profile could not justify,’’ he said.
Uwujaren said that when the charges were read to accused,
they pleaded not guilty.
He said that counsel to the accused persons; M.O. Njoko and
B.O Igwenyi, SAN, asked the court to release their clients on bail.
The court granted bail to each of the accused persons in the
sum of N500,000 and one surety each in like sum.
The judge ruled that the surety must be a resident of the
state, who has a landed property within the jurisdiction and must present an evidence
of three years of tax payment and adjourned the case till Sept. 21 for
commencement of trial.
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