Godwin Tsa, Abuja

The Abuja division of the Federal High Court, yesterday, issued a bench warrant for the arrest of former Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Abdullahi Inde Dikko, over his continued failure to attend court.

Dikko is standing trial before Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu in a fraud charge filed against him and two others by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC).

Justice Ojukwu in her ruling noted, that his lawyer, Solomon Akuma (SAN) who, on the last adjourned date, undertook to ensure that his client attend court today, only turned around to present a medical report, claiming Dikko was critically ill and on admission in London.

The ICPC  will on Thursday next week arraign a former Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Abdullahi Dikko, and two others for allegedly stealing more than N1 billion.

In a suit marked  FHC/ABJ/CR/21/2019-FRN v Abdullahi Inde Dikko & Ors, a former Assistant Comptroller-General of the agency in charge of Finance, Administration and Technical Services, Garba Makarfi, and Umar Hussaini, a lawyer and owner of Capital Law Office, are also listed as defendants in the suit.

According to the charge sheet, the defendants are accused of inducing the Managing Director of Cambial Limited, Yemi Obadeyi, to pay N1.1 billion  into the account of Capital Law Office as a refundable “completion security deposit” for the purchase of 120 units of duplexes as residential accommodation for officers of the Nigeria Customs Service.

The ICPC accuses Messrs Dikko and Makarfi of using the bank account of Mr Hussaini’s firm’s to illegally receive the money. The anti-graft agency further alleged that Mr Hussaini within the same period between April 6 and December 2010 shared the money into various accounts.

Mr Makarfi was accused of receiving $3 million between April and December 2010, apparently as part of the proceeds of corruption.

ICPC’s legal officer, Ephraim Otti, in his affidavit sworn to on January 25, 2019 at the Federal High Court in Abuja, said the defendants were investigated for alleged violation of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000; Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006, and Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended).

According to Mr Otti, evidence from the investigation established a prima facie case against the accused.