ICPC to arraign N'Delta ministry directors for #605m fraud

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission has charged five directors of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs with offences of defrauding the ministry to the tune of N605m


between July 2013 and October 2014. The anti-graft agency filed 46 counts of fraud against the accused persons before Justice Husseini Baba of the Federal Capital Territory
High Court in Maitama, Abuja on July 7, 2015. The accused persons, who were at various times Directors of Finance and Deputy Directors of Finance in the Niger Delta Ministry, allegedly siphoned the money from the Constituency Project account of the ministry under fraudulent claims.
They are Yusuf Agabi (Director of Finance and Account), Akpore Okeroghene (Deputy Director of Finance), Abibu Ayinla (Director of
Finance), Idowu Adewale (Deputy Director, Accounts) and Ngozi James (Deputy Director, Accounts).
ICPC’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Ahmed, who signed the charges, alleged that the accused persons fraudulently withdrew the total sum of N605m from the Constituency Project
account of the ministry without authorisation.
The prosecution alleged that the accused
persons perpetrated the fraud using fictitious claims through payment vouchers containing false information.
Some of them were said to have used the
proceeds to build private houses.
Justice Baba has fixed September 16 for the arraignment of the accused persons.