Court remands two REA staff members in prison

Justice Emeka Nwite of the Abuja Federal High Court, on Thursday, ordered two staff of the Account and Finance Department of the Nigeria Rural Electrification Agency to be remanded in Kuje prison over their involvement in a N1.853 billion fraud.

Justice Nwite had last week issued a warrant for the arrest of three REA officials, who are defendants in four separate criminal charges brought against them by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.

The judge ruled that the officials, identified as Emmanuel Pada, Umar Laraye and Henrietta Okojie, should be arrested for failing to appear in court for their scheduled arraignment.

The judge gave the order after ICPC lawyer, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, moved an oral application to the effect.

Afterwards, Justice Nwite adjourned the matter for ICPC to produce Laraye and Pada in court today, while Okojie’s case was fixed for June 14.

At today’s proceedings, the two officials, Laraye and Pada, were present for their arraignment.

ICPC counsel, Akponimisingha, told the court that the matters are for the defendants to take their plea.

Akponimisingha also asked the court to vacate the June 6 bench warrant issued against the defendants given that they have made themselves available in court to take their plea.

Justice Nwite granted the request.

The defendants were docked and the separate four-count charges read to them. They, however, pleaded not guilty to all charges.

After the duo took their plea, Justice Nwite ordered that they be remanded in prison pending their bail.

The defendants’ counsel, Idoko Alhassan, who appeared for the duo, informed the court that he had already filed a bail application on behalf of his client dated June 11.

He claimed the application was duly served on the prosecution on Tuesday.

Responding, Akponimisingha said he was yet to receive the copy of the bail application.
The judge however held that the prosecution was still within time to respond to the application.

Akponimisingha applied for commencement of trial and date.

Justice Nwite adjourned the matter until June 20 for a hearing of the bail application and fixed July 10 for trial.

All four defendants are facing a four-count charge bordering on misappropriation of public funds meant for the provision of electricity to rural communities across the country.

In the first charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/204/24, where Pada, is the sole defendant, ICPC accused him of defrauding the REA to the tune of N261m.

The ICPC said he received the funds in different tranches under the “false pretence of project supervision” in violation of the Advance Fraud and Other Related Offences Act of 2006.

According to the proof of evidence attached to the charges, the monies were “illegally paid out to the defendants from the Government Integrated Financial Management System without requisite approvals.”

In the second charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/202/24, which has Karaye, as a defendant, the anti graft-agency, accused him of N165m fraud. The anti-graft agency alleged that he moved the funds out of government coffers through the GIFMIS payment platform being payment for “project supervision” in March 2023.

Okojie, in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/203/24, was accused of cornering N342m “under the guise of project supervision” in breach of the Advance Fraud and Other Related Offences Act of 2006.

Recall that the fourth defendant, Usman Kwakwa, was arraigned on June 6, before Justice Nwite, on a four-count charge bordering on fraud.

Kwakwa also pleaded not guilty to the charge brought against him.

He appealed to the court to grant him bail which was granted.

Justice Nwite granted him bail in the sum of N50 million.