The conviction of former Governor
Orji Kalu of Abia State for fraud to the tune of N7.6bn has boosted the morale
of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies, especially that of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission.
Kalu’s case, which lasted in
court for 12 years, came to a dramatic end a few days ago with Justice Mohammed
Idris sentencing him to 12 years in prison.
Legal luminaries opine that the
case was able to move on without hindrances from 2015 to 2019 because of the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act that was signed into law by former
President Goodluck Jonathan.
In a nutshell, the ACJA makes it
difficult for parties in a criminal case to unnecessarily delay the court
proceedings as was done through preliminary objections and interlocutory
appeals in the past.
Since the signing of the ACJA
into law, four former governors have been convicted in the last four years.
They include: Bala Ngilari of Adamawa State, whose conviction was later
upturned by the Court of Appeal; former Governor Jolly Nyame of Taraba State;
ex-Governor Joshua Dariye of Plateau State and Kalu.
There is, however, a long list of
former governors who may end up behind bars.
Sule Lamido
Lamido, who was governor of
Jigawa state from 2007 to 2015, is currently standing trial with two of his
sons – Aminu and Mustapha – before a Federal High Court in Abuja for alleged
N1.35bn fraud.
According to the EFCC, N1,
356,223,854.28 and N583, 785, 81.14, were transferred from the state
government’s account to Lamido’s personal account on December 11, 2012 and
December 18, 2009 respectively. Other such payments include, N206, 463,210.14
and N6288, 947.17 made on February 6, 2013.
The commission said on April 18,
2008, two cheques to the tune of N14, 079,595 and N10, 377,310 respectively
were transferred in favour of a company, Speeds International in which Lamido
is signatory. The exhibits have been tendered in court.
Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu has
adjourned the matter till February 18, 19 and 20, 2020, for continuation of
trial.
Murtala Nyako
Nyako was Governor of Adamawa
State from 2007 until his impeachment in 2014. He is also a former Chief of
Naval Staff and ex-military administrator of Niger State.
Married to Justice Binta Nyako of
a Federal High Court in Abuja, Nyako and eight others, including his son,
Senator Abdul-Aziz Nyako, are facing 37 counts of criminal conspiracy,
stealing, abuse of office and money laundering preferred against them by the EFCC
Five companies that allegedly
served as conduit for the alleged diversion of the funds were equally charged.
They are facing trial before
Justice Okon Abang for alleged money laundering to the tune of N29bn.
The EFCC had on November 5, 2019,
called its last witness, Mr. Kobis, who testified via a video link from London.
Ayodele Fayose
Fayose was governor of Ekiti
State from 2003 until his impeachment in 2006. He subsequently came under
investigation by the EFCC and was charged before a Federal High Court for
allegedly diverting N860m meant for poultry projects.
While the matter was still
ongoing, Fayose again won election as the governor in 2014 which conferred on
him immunity from prosecution.
However, on the day his tenure
ended on October 16, 2018, he was again arrested by the EFCC for allegedly
receiving N6.9bn from a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu
Obanikoro, during the run-up to the 2014 governorship election.
The sum was said to have emanated
from the account of the Office of the National Security Adviser under the
leadership of Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.).
The EFCC arraigned Fayose and his
companies before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court sitting in
Lagos on 11 counts bordering on money laundering and stealing to the tune of
N6.9bn.
Saminu Turaki
Turaki was Governor of Jigawa
State from 1999 to 2007. The EFCC accused the former governor of fraud to the
tune of N36bn and levelled 32 charges against him before a Dutse, Jigawa State
Division of the Federal High Court, in 2011.
He was, however, re-arraigned
alongside three companies before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of a Federal High Court
sitting in Abuja in 2017.
Jonah Jang
Jang, who is a former Governor of
Plateau State and ex-senator, is facing trial for alleged fraud to the tune of
N6.3bn.
The former governor is standing
trial before Justice Daniel Longji of Plateau State High Court alongside a
former cashier in the office of the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Yusuf
Pam.
The EFCC slammed 12 counts
bordering on misappropriation of funds.
At the last hearing on November
4, 2019, an EFCC witness, Musa Sunday, narrated to the court how a cashier at
the Plateau State Government House delivered the sum of N750m to Jang while he
was governor.
Babangida Aliyu
Aliyu was governor of Niger State
from 2007 to 2015 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Aliyu, who preferred to be called
the ‘chief servant’ of Niger State during his time as governor, is facing trial
for alleged N2bn fraud.
The former governor is being
prosecuted before Justice Mikailu Abdullahi of a Niger State High Court by the
EFCC along with his then Chief of Staff, Umar Nasko, and the Chairman of the
PDP in Niger State, Tanko Beji, on seven counts bordering on criminal breach of
trust.
The case last came up on November
7, 2019.
Gabriel Suswam
Suswam was Governor of Benue
State from 2007 to 2015. The former governor is standing trial alongside his
Commissioner for Finance, Omadachi Oklobi; on N3.1bn money laundering charges.
Suswam, who is now the senator
representing Benue North East, and his co-defendant, are facing nine counts
before Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The former governor was first
arraigned in 2015 before Justice Ahmed Mohammed in the same Abuja division of
the court but Justice Mohammed withdrew from the case in July 2019 following a
Sahara Reporter’s story accusing him of unethical practices in respect of the
case.
Suswam and his ex-commissioner
were subsequently re-arraigned before Justice Abang on September 30, 2019.
Trial began on October 29.
Gbenga Daniel
A former governor of Ogun State,
Daniel is currently standing trial for alleged fraud to the tune of N200m
before Justice Olarenwaju Mabekoje of the Ogun State High Court sitting in
Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Daniel, who was governor from
2003 to 2011, was arraigned in October 2011 on 16 counts bordering on stealing
and misappropriation of funds.
In 2012, a key EFCC witness,
Adeluola Babatunde, a Business Manager with Skye Bank (now Polaris Bank), told
the court that Daniel wanted to kill him and he had been sending threat
messages to him, an allegation which the court ordered the police to
investigate.
Daniel had his no case submission
dismissed by the judge on May 17, 2019 with the judge asking him to open his
defence.
Adebayo Alao-Akala
Alao-Akala, a former Governor of
Oyo State, is also facing corruption charges for alleged N11.5bn fraud before
Justice Olalekan Owolabi of a state High Court sitting in Ibadan.
The former governor was first
arraigned before Justice Moshood Abass on October 11, 2011.
He is standing trial along with
his then Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Hosea
Agboola, and an Ibadan-based businessman, Femi Babalola for 11 counts preferred
against them by the EFCC.
The charge against them borders
on “conspiracy, awarding contract without budgetary provision, obtaining by
false pretence, acquiring property with money derived from an illegal act and
concealing the ownership of such property”.
Alao-Akala is alleged to have
awarded a road contract worth about N8.5bn between 2007 and 2009 without
budgetary provision, to Pentagon Engineering Services, a company traced to
Babalola.
The said contract was executed on
behalf of the 33 local governments in the state.
Ikedi Ohakim
Ohakim, who was Governor of Imo
State from 2007 to 2011, is standing trial before Justice Babatunde Quadri of a
Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
He was first arraigned on July 8,
2015 before Justice Adeniyi Ademola. However, with the compulsory retirement of
Justice Ademola, by the National Judicial Council, the case started de novo
before Justice Quadri.
The EFCC slammed three charges
against Ohakim, accusing him of purchasing a parcel of land at 60 Kwame Nkrumah
Street, Asokoro, Abuja, with $2.2m in contravention of the Money Laundering
(Prohibition) Act.
culled: Punch
culled: Punch
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com