EFCC to re-arraign NLNG Co-operative Society’s former president, vice, over alleged N207 billion scam

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), said it has concluded arrangements to re-arraign former president of NLNG Staff Bonny Co-operative Investment and Credit Society Limited, Julius Ola Peters and his Vice, Emeka Iloegbulam, before an Abuja court on the charges of defrauding the cooperative members to the tune of N207 billion.

Information from the commission’s spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, indicate that the duo, alongside three other persons are to be docked on September 15 before Justice Ishaq U. Bello of Federal Capital Territory High Court Maitama on a 12-count charge bordering on forgery and obtaining money under false pretences to the tune of N207 billion.

Other accused persons in the case are Ijeoma David Alanza, Jonathan Wallang and Dinijocs Nigeria Limited. They were said to have fleeced members of the cooperative under various guises.

“For instance, they allegedly drew the sum of N1.2 billion from the NLNG Cooperatives account purportedly to purchase a 643398 hectares of land in the Idu-Sabo District, Cadastral Zone D04 of the Federal Capital Territory as against the actual price of N830 million”, Uwujaren said.

The accused persons had pleaded not guilty on May 26, 2015 when they were first arraigned, while the court adjourned to June 30, 2015 for trial. But EFCC counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, who was not present in court at the time, after a review of the arraignment, faulted the procedure adopted, that allowed the accused persons to take their plea outside the courtroom and consequently applied to the court for proper arraignment.
The accused persons were supposed to take fresh pleas on Tuesday but the proceedings were stalled owing to the absence of the trial judge who sent words that he was involved in other engagements.

Consequently, the parties were asked to take new dates, and settled for September 15, 2015.

In a related case, Justice Abubakar Talba of the Federal Capital Territory High Court yesterday rejected a plea bargain proposal mooted by persons accused of complicity in stealing pension funds.

The suspects, Ibrahim Ahmed Mazangari, Muhammed Sani Suleiman, Hajiya Fatima Mazangari, Saleh Yerima Tsojon and Xangee Technologies Limited were to be arraigned by the EFCC on a 29-count charge bordering on stealing and obtaining by false pretence. The third accused, Fatimah Mazangari, was absent as the counsel, Ibrahim Salau, claimed she is very sick.

He consequently pleaded for a short adjournment to allow his client recover and be present in court to take her plea.

But before the court adjourned proceedings to September 15, 2015, Salau (representing the 1st and 5th accused) informed the court that his clients had opened plea bargain discussion with the prosecution.

But, Justice Talba forbade him from broaching the subject of plea bargain in his court.

“Don’t mention plea bargain here. I don’t want to hear about it”, the judge declared.
The accused persons, who were offered a biometric contract by a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Steve Oronsaye, to regularize names of pensioners on the pensions’ payroll, allegedly smuggled in names of fake pensioners, and collected unearned pension.

The accused are alleged to have obtained N1.2 billion from the Federal Government in pension funds by false pretence and with intent to defraud, purporting same to be monthly pension payable to M, S. Suleiman, Saleh Yerima, Tsojon, Isah U. Adamu, Daniel Mikano, Abdulahi Garba Musa who were falsely held out at pensioners of the Federal Government by inserting their names in the pensioners’ payroll.