Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court Abuja issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for three officials of Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency.
The trial judge ordered the arrest of Emmanuel Titus, Umar Karaye, and Henrietta Okojie for refusing to appear in court on Thursday for their scheduled arraignment.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, in separate charges filed against the trio, charged the defendants with four counts of criminal charge bordering on theft of public funds meant to provide electricity to rural communities across the country.
The prosecution counsel, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, an Assistant Chief Legal Officer at the ICPC, told the judge that Titus, Karaye, and Okojie were served with copies of the charges and duly informed of today’s proceedings but chose to avoid what he termed “by their own volition.”
He informed the court that the defendants were on administrative bail.
However, he asked the court to issue a bench warrant for their arrests because they were absent for their scheduled arraignment.
The prosecution lawyer cited Sections 114, 124, and 184 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act in praying the court to order their arrest.
In a short ruling, Justice Nwite ordered their arrest.
“The defendants decided not to come to court. I am convinced that the defendants deliberately absented themselves from the court,” Mr Nwite said.
He proceeded to order ICPC to arrest and produce all three defendants before the court on the next adjourned date.
Justice Nwite adjourned Titus and Karaye’s arraignment for June 13 and Okojie’s till June 14.
Meanwhile, Usman Kwakwa was present in court today for his arraignment.
Kwakwa, charged with the same offences in a separate suit, was docked before the court for his involvement in N1.853bn fraud.
After the charge was read to him, he pleaded not guilty to all four counts charge.
Justice Nwite granted Kwakwa N50 million bail following Akponimisingha’s non-objection to his bail request.
Part of the four-count charge against Titus stated that he defrauded the REA of N261 million.
The ICPC said the defendant received the funds in different tranches through his First Bank account in March 2023 under the “false pretence of project supervision,” violating 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.”
As for Karaye’s four-count charge bordering on his involvement in an N165 million fraud, ICPC stated that the stolen funds were moved out of government coffers through the GIFMIS payment platform as payment for “project supervision” in March 2023.
On Okojie’s part, the Commission accused her of cornering N342 million through her Access Bank account under the guise of project supervision in breach of the Advance Fraud and Other Related Offences Act of 2006.
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