The suspects – Esai Dangabar; a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Niger Delta, Atiku Abubakar Kigo; Ahmed Inuwa Wada; John Yakubu Yusufu; Veronica Uloma Onyegbula and Sani Habila Zira – were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on 16 counts of conspiracy and criminal breach of trust.
The charge sheet read to the suspects in the court indicated that between January 2009 and June 2011, in Abuja, the accused persons, being public officers, allegedly diverted the sum of N14.5bn from the police pension funds domiciled in First Bank of Nigeria Plc, an offence punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, laws of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria 2007.
They were also accused of stealing N8.9bn between January and December 2009; N4.7bn between January 2010 and February 2011; N858.3m between February 2011 and June 2011; N656.5m on or about January 31, 2011; N462.9m on or about March 24, 2009; and N407.3m on or about December 14, 2010.
They were also accused of stealing the sum of N400.2m on or about December 30, 2010; N18m between February 2011 and June 2011; N8.9bn between January 2009 and December 2009; and N4.7bn between January 2010 and February 2011, among others.
At the two-hour court sitting, Justice Ababakar Talba ordered the suspects remanded in prison.
The defence counsel led by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) and Mr. J. N. Egwuonu had pleaded with the court to return the suspects to the custody of the EFCC, from where they were brought to court, pending the determination of their bail application.
However, Talba refused the prayer and instead, ordered that the suspects be remanded in prison.
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