Court Remands Ex-AGF, Others To Prison Over N109bn Scam

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Friday, July 22nd, 2022

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Justice Adeyemi Ajayi of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on Friday remanded a former Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, and two others in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Kuje.

Justice Ajayi ordered that Idris and his co-defendants be kept in Kuje Correctional pending the hearing of their bail applications on July 27.

The remand order followed the arraignment of the former AGF by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The other defendants were Godfrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Kudu Usman and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Ltd.

The defendants are being prosecuted on a 14-count charge of stealing and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N109, 485,572,691.9.

The EFCC alleged that Ahmed Idris between February and December, 2021 at Abuja, being a public servant by virtue of his position as the AGF accepted from Olusegun Akindele, a gratification in the aggregate sum of N15.1billion

which sum was converted to the United States Dollars by the said Olusegun Akindele and which sum did not form part of his lawful remuneration but as a motive for accelerating the payment of 13 per cent derivation to the nine oil producing states through the office of the AGF.

The offence contravenes Section 155 of the Penal Code Act Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 and punishable under the same Section.

Count eight reads, “That you, Ahmed Idris while being the Accountant General of the Federation and Godfrey Olusegun Akindele while being the Technical Assistant to the Accountant General of the Federation between February and November, 2021, at Abuja in the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of the Federal Capital

Territory, in such capacity, entrusted with certain property, to wit: N84,390,000,000, committed criminal breach of trust in respect of the said property, when you dishonestly received the said sum from the Federal Government of Nigeria through Godfrey Olusegun Akindele trading under the name and style of Olusegun Akindele & Co.”

The offence, the anti-graft agency said, was punishable under Section 315 of the Penal Code Act Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990.
While Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) stood in for EFCC, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), represented the 1st defendant (Idris).