Project Coordinator with the North East Development Commission (NEDC), Alhaji Danjuma Mohammed, has been remanded in the Correctional Centre over an alleged N5 billion contract fraud.
Justice Keziah Ogbonna of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court also remanded Mohammed’s associate, Chibuike Echem, at the Suleja Correctional Centre pending trial.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned them before the court on 55 counts, including advance fee fraud, forgery, and the alleged award of fictitious contracts.
Mohammed, Echem, and another suspect, identified as Aminu Alhaji, who is currently at large, according to the EFCC, allegedly defrauded the Managing Director of Diamond Leeds Ltd, Kenneth Ifekudu, of N2.28 billion between May 2022 and February 2024.
Prosecutors told the court that the money was obtained through advance-fee fraud, on the promise of securing contracts with the NEDC.
The prosecution stated that the suspects issued fake NEDC contract documents to persuade the victim to release the funds.
In one of the charges, they reportedly claimed authority to award contracts under the NEDC’s Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project.
The EFCC alleged that the defendants collected N649.5 million from the victim between January and December 2023 through a bank account belonging to Echem.
The commission further alleged that an additional N573 million was paid into another account linked to Echem at Wema Bank under the same claim.
The defendants were also accused of collecting 480,000 dollars and 200,000 dollars from the victim between January and December 2022, again on the promise of contract awards.
Both Mohammed and Echem pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Following the plea, EFCC counsel, Olarenwaju Adeola, asked the court to fix a trial date, noting that the prosecution intended to call seven witnesses.
Defence counsel, Chukwuka Obidike, attempted to move a bail application, but the EFCC opposed it.
Adeola told the court that the prosecution had just been served with the application and had not yet filed a response.
Justice Ogbonna agreed with the EFCC and ruled that hearing the bail application at that stage would deny the prosecution a fair hearing.
The judge adjourned the case to March 25 for the commencement of the trial.
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