Romanus Okoye
The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja will on June 30 commence the trial of Kenny Martins and others over alleged N7.74bn Police Equipment Fund, PEF, fraud.
Justice Modupe Adebiyi of the court had earlier scheduled Tuesday, April 28, for the trial of the defendants but the date was not feasible in the light of the shutdown of courts over Covid-19 pandemic by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Martins, as the coordinator of the Police Equipment Fund, for allegedly conniving with three others to perpetrate the alleged fraud.
Justice Mohammed Talba, then of FCT High Court, Gudu, Abuja, now elevated to the Court of Appeal bench, had in a judgment on November 24, 2009, discharged Martins and his co-defendants in the no-case submission filed by them. But the EFCC appealed the judgment. The Court of Appeal in Abuja on June 28, 2012, upheld EFCC’s appeal.
The court, in its lead judgment read by Justice Regina Nwodo, held that Justice Talba of the FCT High Court erred by discharging the defendants and ordered the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court to reassign the case to another judge for re-trial.
Not satisfied, the defendants appealed to the Supreme Court. The apex court, in its judgment on March 23, 2018 affirmed the Court of Appeal’s verdict and ordered the re-trial of the case.
The EFCC subsequently amended and filed three count charge in Charge No: CR/267/18 at the FCT High Court. Three others charged along with Martins are: Ibrahim Dumuje, Yero Gella and Nigerstalg Limited.
One of counts filed on behalf of the Commission by John Anietor of Festus Keyamo’s Chambers reads: “That you, Kenny Martins, “M”; Ibrahim Dumuje, “M”; Yero Gella “M”, and Nigerstalg Limited on or about 18th of May, 2007 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, being entrusted with the sum of N7, 740, 000, 000. 00 (seven billion, seven hundred and forty million naira) property of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, and the Federal Government, dishonestly converted to your own use the sum of N59, 000, 000 (Fifty nine million naira) of the said sum of N7, 740, 000, 000. 00 in violation of the agreement between you on one hand and the said Association of Local Government of Nigeria, and Federal Government of Nigeria on the other, that the entire said sum of N7, 740, 000, 000. 00 should be used to procure equipment for to the Nigerian Police Force, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 312 of the Penal Code Act Cap. 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990”.