Justice O.O. Abike-Fadipe of a Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, has adjourned the N1.3 billion fraud trial of one Okpalugo Ifeoma, a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police; Olumide Odumosu; Helen Nwafor, and Sule Yusuf Tegina, till Thursday, April 18, 2024.
The agency in a statement issued Friday said four are standing trial alongside two companies, Olu Osmond Nigeria Limited (a firm linked to Odumosu) and Jemmy Yus Investment Nigeria Limited, on 14- count charges bordering on conspiracy to steal, and stealing to the tune of N1,301,334,108.00.
It said they were alleged to have diverted the said sum belonging to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for their personal use.
They were initially arraigned before Justice Sherifat Solebo of a Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos on November 7, 2018, but the trial could not be concluded before the retirement of the trial judge in 2022, prompting the reassignment of the case file to Justice Abike-Fadipe.
They pleaded “not guilty” to the counts when they were re-arraigned before Justice Abike-Fadipe on October 17, 2023.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, February 19, 2024 presented its first witness, Chukwuma Orji, an investigative officer with the EFCC.
Orji, who was led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, A.O. Muhammed, narrated how investigation exposed their various roles in the alleged fraud.
He said: “In investigating the allegation against them, we wrote a letter to the Ministry of Finance with respect to the account in First Bank that received the flow of money for Police personnel, and they provided us with the documents for the credit to the account.”
He testified further that investigation showed that money meant for Police personnel in the South-West was transferred to an account of the Police in the then Skye Bank from which the money was transferred to the Lagos Command.
Orji added: “The defendants opened two accounts with Zenith Bank, and from the Skye Bank account, they moved money monthly to the Zenith Bank accounts. From the Zenith Bank accounts, sometimes they made cash withdrawals, and also transferred to themselves as well as the two companies in which the first and second defendants represent.”
At the resumed sitting on February 20, 2024 the prosecution sought to tender the various documents in evidence against the defendants, but the defence, led by A.A. Malik, SAN, raised objections to the admissibility of the documents.
Thereafter, Justice Abike-Fadipe adjourned till April 18, 2024 to deliver ruling on the admissibility of the documents