A Federal High Court has remanded the National Coordinator of the Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project (MCRP) of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), Alhaji Mohammed Danjuma, at the Suleja Correctional Centre over an alleged N2.2 billion fraud.
The remand order was made on Tuesday by Justice Keziah Ogbonnaya following Danjuma’s arraignment alongside Prince Chibuike Echem on multiple criminal counts.
The case, instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), centres on allegations of false pretence, forgery, and inducement linked to purported MCRP contracts in the North East.
The defendants were arraigned on a 55-count charge and pleaded not guilty to all allegations.
At the resumed proceedings, the EFCC counsel, Olanrewaju Adeola applied for leave of court to read the charges to the defendants, a request that was not opposed by defence counsel.
According to the charges, “Alhaji Danjuma Mohammed, being the National Coordinator of the Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project (MCRP), North East Development Commission, alongside Prince Chibuike Echem and Aminu Alhaji (still at large), between May 2022 and February 2024 in Abuja, allegedly conspired to obtain by false pretence the cumulative sum of N2,280,000,000 from Kenneth Ejiofor Ifekudu, the Managing Director of Diamond Leeds Limited, and the company itself.”
The alleged offence is said to contravene Section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and is punishable under the same Act.
The defendants also obtained aggregate sums of N649,500,000 and N573,500,000 under the guise of having the capacity to award contracts under the Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project for the North East, the charges partly added.
Following the reading of the charges, the defendants pleaded not guilty, after which the EFCC urged the court to remand them pending the hearing of the case.
The defence, however, asked the court to grant bail in the interest of justice, a request opposed by the prosecution on procedural grounds.
The court ruled that the prosecution must be allowed to formally respond to the bail applications before any determination is made.
The court subsequently fixed March 25 to April 2 for trial, ordering an accelerated hearing while the defendants remain in custody pending the determination of their bail applications.
… Court Remands NEDC Project Coordinator Over Alleged ₦2.2bn Fraud … Naijaonpoint.