The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on April 3, 2012, arraigned three staff of the Federal Civil Service Commission before Justice Maryann Anennih of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT High Court on a 12 count charge bordering on fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, forgery and fraudulent conversion of funds of the Commission to the tune of over N109 million.
The accused persons: Hassan Mohammed Tukur, Babatunde Abisuga and Mohammed Ndakupe (all Account staff of the Federal Civil Service Commission) pleaded not guilty to all the 12 charges preferred against them by the EFCC.
Prosecution counsel, Sylvannus Tahir, then asked the court for a date for the commencement of trial while urging the court to remand the accused persons in prison as EFCC detention facilities were no longer available.
Counsel to the accused persons, M.A. Ebuka prayed the court to grant the accused persons bail on lenient terms as they have been on EFCC’s administrative bail and that bail was discretionary.
In her ruling, Justice Anennih directed that the bail application for the accused persons be heard on Thursday April 5, 2012; and remanded them in Kuje prison.
Count One of the 12 count charge reads: That you Hassan Mohammed Tukur, Babatunde Abisuga and Mohammed Ndakupe, being officials of the Accounts Department of the Federal Civil Service Commission, sometime between October and November 2010 at Abuja in the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, did conspire amongst yourselves to do an illegal act, to wit: conspired to take dishonestly the sum of N109,952,171.61 (One Hundred and Nine Million, Nine Hundred and Fifty Two Thousand, One Hundred and Seventy One Naira and Sixty One Kobo) only from First Bank of Nigeria Plc Account No. 4062040010584, property of the Federal Civil Service Commission without its consent and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990.
