EFCC arraigns false Atiku’s aide for N100m campaign fraud

…gifts evidence against Borno Perm Sec
Adelani Adepegba, Abuja
The Kaduna zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Price has arraigned one Alhaji Modu Kotoko for prison breach of have faith, obtaining by unsuitable pretences and cheating sooner than Justice Mohammed Tukur of the Kaduna Snarl High Court.
Kotoko’s toddle to the court docket began when the anti-graft company got a petition from the Managing Director, Waram Nigeria Miniature, Abdullahi Wuroji.
The complainant alleged that in 2018, the defendant offered himself as an aide to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and lured him to provide him 13 mark unique autos, sneakers and clothes price N65.6m and N34.4m on the pretext that Atiku requested the autos and cash to prosecute 2019 presidential election.
The complainant extra alleged that he released the 13 mark unique autos and items price N100.4m to the suspect, adding that the defendant bolted after receiving the objects and cash.
The appearing EFCC spokesman, Tony Orilade, explained in an announcement in Abuja on Tuesday, that investigations revealed that Atiku never requested for the autos and cash from Kotoko.
Kotoko pleaded no longer guilty to the price.
The counsel for the EFCC, Y. Matiyak, asked the court docket to repair a date for the graduation of trial and prayed that the defendant be remanded within the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service.
The counsel for the defendant, Sule Shuaibu, alternatively, pleaded with the court docket to grant his client bail to enable him to put together for his trial, but the prosecution antagonistic the applying basing his argument on the magnitude of the offence.
Justice Tukur adjourned the case till March 25 (nowadays) for ruling on the bail application.
Meanwhile, the EFCC has presented three witnesses against a Eternal Secretary on the Borno Snarl Aspect road Upkeep Company, Abba Yusuf.
Yusuf goes by amended 36 counts sooner than Justice Aisha Kumaliya of the Borno Snarl High Court, Maiduguri.
He is being prosecuted alongside a transport officer, Mustapha Kura, and a cashier, Abubakar Mustapha, for prison conspiracy, forgery, obtaining cash by unsuitable pretences, misappropriation and diversion of public funds.
This used to be contained in a separate assertion in Abuja on Tuesday by Orilade.
Testifying because the predominant prosecution idea, Mustapha Muhammad narrated how transactions made by Kura and the predominant defendant did not conform to financial laws.
Led in evidence by the EFCC counsel, Mukhtar Ahmed, the idea said he used to be in court docket thanks to a petition he wrote to the EFCC in respect of a financial transaction that took articulate while he used to be the manager accountant of BORMA.
He said, “On June 20, 2011, I used to be known as by Abba Yusuf, who told me that over N400m used to be released to BORMA and he directed me to jot down a cheque amounting to N75m.
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“I asked him to jot down an approval to that compose and he said it used to be an emergency and that he would oblige me with the approval later.
“I wrote a cheque for N20m, N25m and N30m, respectively, and handed over the the same to Yusuf as requested by him. Even if it’s my accountability to cash cash from the financial institution, Yusuf, being amongst the signatories, could additionally lift out that.
“After insisting and making an effort to gain acclaim for the said funds in give away to purchase a voucher, I used to be transferred out of the company.”
The appearing Chief Accountant of BORMA, Muhammad Shuaibu, while testifying because the 2nd idea, told the court docket that in 2011, he used to be posted to care for the financial data of the company, but used to be invited and puzzled by the EFCC in respect of the price vouchers he up up to now.
He said, “I used to be confirmed some vouchers and asked about their authenticity and I answered within the affirmative, since the complete vouchers had been linked with approvals.
“Even though the vouchers had been supposed to be raised by the PW1, he did not lift out so. Around June 2011, the PW1 used to be transferred from the company and I took over from him. For the period of that point, I raised the vouchers for N10m, N25m and N30m, respectively.”
Justice Kumaliya admitted and marked as reveals the petition written against the defendant and seven price vouchers.
The case used to be adjourned till March 25 (nowadays).