DEPUTY Speaker of the Kaduna State
House of Assembly, Dr. Mato Dogara MyNaij | News | Weather | Forums | Nightout | Classified Ads | web naij.com Kaduna Dep Speaker, Six Others
Arraigned for N30m Fraud 15.01.2013, 7:14 Local Deputy Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Dr. Mato Dogara, and six former officials of Lere Local Government, Kaduna State, were on Monday arraigned before Federal High Court, Kaduna for alleged conspiracy and fraud amounting to N30m.
The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission arraigned the accused
before Justice Marcellous
Awokulehin, alleging that the
accused defrauded the state
government of N30m through fraudulent award of contracts
between May 2011 and March 2012.
Those arraigned along with Dogara
were Kabiru Tahir, former interim
committee Chairman of the council;
Ahmed Yahya, former Director of
Finance, and Billy Graham, former
Director of Works. Others were Yushau Aboki, ex-
Director of Personnel; Hannatu Iliya,
Head of Health, and Eric Alhassan,
former acting Chairman. All the accused pleaded not guilty to
the counts in the charge tagged PHC/
KD/3C/2013. Awokulehin ordered that they be
remanded in the custody of the EFCC
pending the court's hearing of their
bail application scheduled for
January 29. The EFCC had charged the accused
following a petition against them by
unnamed persons from the local
government. Counsel for the EFCC, Sa'ad Hannafi,
told the court that the accused
persons were charged on six counts
of conspiracy and fraud. According to him, the accused's
alleged offences violate Sections 1(2)
(c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act
2004, and 1(1)a of the Advance Free
Fraud and Other Fraud Related
Offences Act 2006. The charge stated that the accused,
"with intent to defraud, obtained via
fraudulent award of contract for
the renovation of Government Lodge
Saminaka the sum of N17m, the
property of Kaduna State Government which you knew to be
false and thereby committed an
offence contrary to section 1(1) of
the Advance Fee Fraud and other
Fraud Related Offences, Act, 2006
and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act". The judge fixed January 24, 28 and
29 for further hearing in the case. Meanwhile, the EFCC's Acting Head,
Media and Publicity, Mr. Wilson
Uwujaren, stated on Monday that
the anti-graft agency had arrested
aide to Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija, Chief
Executive Officer, The Rose of Sharon, a Non-Governmental Organisation,
Mr Vincent Ayewah and six others for
alleged N3m fraud. They were George Ehizibolo,
Onwuwa David, Okonkwo Chikadibia,
Emmanuel Ayewah, Florence Ayewah
and Chinyere Awanah.
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