Get Guardian on GoogleThe Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has expanded its prosecution of Adeniyi Adeyemi, the man accused of posing as Director-General of a non-existent federal agency, by naming four additional suspects and increasing the charges from 22 to 36.
The four new defendants are Aminu Abdullahi, Harry Ogaba, Florence Omameh and Patricia Akhigbe, officials linked to different federal government offices.
They are from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
The development marks a widening of the case, which centres on allegations that Adeyemi fraudulently presented the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) as a recognised government institution.
At the resumed proceedings on Monday, prosecution counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, informed the FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, that the commission had filed fresh amended charges, bringing the total number of defendants to five.
The prosecution alleged that the newly named defendants played various roles in facilitating the operations of the purported agency and securing its inclusion in the federal budget.
The amended charges also contain allegations bordering on official corruption, abuse of office, gratification and criminal conspiracy.
However, the planned arraignment could not proceed following the absence of the fourth defendant, Florence Omameh, who was reportedly hospitalised.
Tahir informed the court that her medical condition prevented the prosecution from taking the pleas of all five defendants in the joint trial and requested an adjournment.
Counsel to Adeyemi, Ibrahim Angulu, also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, did not oppose the application but drew the court’s attention to his client’s prolonged detention.
Justice Halilu Yusuf subsequently adjourned the matter until November 18 for the arraignment of the five defendants.
The judge also directed that Adeyemi be returned to the Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja, while the other defendants were ordered to return to the ICPC detention facility.
Adeyemi had earlier been arraigned on 22 counts bordering on forgery, impersonation and alleged attempts to obtain billions of naira in government funding for the purported council.
The ICPC accused him of using forged official documents, including a purported appointment letter bearing the authority of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, to establish himself as the council’s Director-General.
The commission also alleged that he sought more than N27 billion as a take-off grant for the purported agency and another N3.8 billion for personnel costs.
Other allegations included attempts to secure government office facilities, official vehicles and recognition within the government’s financial reporting structure.
The case was initially instituted by the Nigeria Police Force before the ICPC took over the prosecution and subsequently amended the charges.
Adeyemi had pleaded not guilty to the earlier charges. The allegations against all the defendants remain subject to determination by the court.
