ICPC arraigns NDDC director, FCT official for fraud

The NDDC director, Solomon Okpa Ita, was arraigned for allegedly diverting N45 million.

News Agency of Nigeria • September 27, 2022

ICPC Headquarters, Abuja. (Photo credit: ICPC Website)

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), on Tuesday, arraigned a director with Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Solomon Okpa Ita, for an alleged diversion of N45 million.

The ICPC also arraigned Gabriel Nathaniel, a staff in the accounts department of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), over allegations bordering on the diversion of about N3 billion from his office.

They were arraigned separately before Justice Zainab Abubakar of the Abuja Federal High Court and pleaded not guilty to the charge preferred against them.

Mr Ita, a director in the Department of Community and Rural Development of NDDC, was arraigned on a four-count charge, while Mr Nathaniel was arraigned on a 14-count charge.

In the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/110/2022, filed by the ICPC, through its lawyer, Osuobeni Akponimsingha, Mr Ita was said to have diverted part of the funds paid for a contract awarded to a group, Radiant Women Association.

In count one, Mr Ita was alleged to have, in September 2018 or thereabout, indirectly taken possession of N22,400,000, through his First City Monument Bank (FCMB) account number: 0542393012, received from the Zenith Bank account of one Solomon Eyarebe & Ebikebina.

The money was said to form part of the payment of the N45,000,000 made to Radiant Women Association for a purported contract to wit, “Workshop for Youth Restiveness in Cross River State”, awarded by NDDC through the Department of Community & Rural Development was done.

In the count, he was alleged to have committed an offence contrary to section 15 (2)(d) and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended).

Also, in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/CR/168/2022 filed against Mr Nathaniel, he was accused of committing the alleged offence between 2015 and 2019.

After their not guilty plea, the judge granted N50million bail to Mr Ita with one surety who must own a property within Abuja.

The judge ruled that the certificate of occupancy of the property, which the registrar should verify, would be deposited at the court registry.

Ms Abubakar ordered that Mr Ita be remanded in the custody of the ICPC pending when he meets the bail condition and adjourned the matter until October 25 for trial.

However, the judge fixed the hearing of Mr Nathaniel’s bail plea for Wednesday and ordered him to be remanded in the commission’s custody.

(NAN)

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