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Multi-million naira NDIC fraud:
Ogunleye, 5 others have case to answer –Court
From MURPHY GANAGANA, Abuja
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
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•Photo:
Sun News Publishing |
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An Abuja High Court on Tuesday ruled that the Managing Director
of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Mr. Ganiyu Ogunleye,
and five other key officials of the agency accused of conspiracy
and criminal breach of trust in an alleged multi-million naira fraud
have a case to answer.
Ruling on two separate preliminary objections filed by Ogunleye
and three of his co-accused, challenging their arraignment by the
police before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, as
well as the charges preferred against them, the presiding Judge,
Honourable Justice Ugochukwu Ogakwu, held that from the proof of
evidence attached to the charge, it is indisputably clear that the
accused persons have a prima facie case of conspiracy and criminal
breach of trust to answer as contained in counts one and four of
the charge sheet.
In the same vein, counts two and three were quashed by the
court for failure of the prosecution to seek and obtain sanction
from the immediate past minister of finance, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman,
before preferring the charges against the accused persons as required
by Section 140 sub-section one of the Penal Code.
However, the court held that the offences of conspiracy,
stealing and fraudulent conversion of funds contained in counts
5, 6 and 7, were allegedly committed in Lagos, a place outside the
jurisdiction of the FCT High Court, and as such, the court could
not adjudicate over them. Consequently, counts 5, 6 and 7 were accordingly
struck out to enable the prosecution file the appropriate charge
in respect of the offences in counts 5, 6 and 7 in Lagos if it so
wishes.
The case was eventually adjourned to January 28, 2010.
for the accused persons including the NDIC managing director, Ganiyu
Ogunleye, the Executive Director Operations, Professor Peter Umoh,
as well as Dr. Joe Emerson and Innocent Ilozumba, both CBN Interim
Committee Members for the defunct Fortune Bank, and two others to
be arraigned in court for their plea to be taken in commencement
of trial.
The ruling followed preliminary objections file by Ogunleye, Umoh,
Emerson and Ilozumba, challenging their arraignment by the police
on charges bordering on fraud, and well as the competence of the
court to adjudicate on the case. Specifically, the grounds
of objection was that the charge did not disclose any prima facie
offence against the accused persons; that the prosecution did not
seek and obtain the sanction of the then finance minister before
preferring the charges against the accused persons, and that the
court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the the charge since the offences
allegedly committed by the accused persons were committed in Lagos.
It would be recalled that the police had slammed a 7-Count charge
on Ogunleye and five others at an Abuja High Court over alleged
conspiracy, stealing and conversion of funds, including illegal
60 per cent waiver of the accrued interest on a loan totaling #500million,
and receiving a sum of #1,058,658,065.60, being payment of loan
on Karu International Market from Nasarawa state government, an
amount which is part of depositors’ fund at the defunct Fortune
Bank Plc.
ENDS
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