Alleged N2.2bn Contract Fraud: NEDC Project Coordinator, Another Remanded in Suleja Facility

Alex Enumah in Abuja

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Tuesday ordered the remand of a national coordinator of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), Alhaji Danjuma Mohammed and his associate, Chibuike Echem, at the Suleja prison, Niger State, pending the commencement of their alleged fraud trial.

Justice Kezaiah Ogbonna, issued the remand order shortly after the arraignment of the defendants on a 55-count criminal charge bordering on advance fee fraud, forgery, and award of fake contracts to the tune of over N2.2 billion.

The prosecution, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in the charge marked: CR/708/25, alleged that Mohammed, Echem and another person, Aminu Alhaji said to be at large, defrauded one Kenneth Ejiofor Ifekudu, a whopping sum of N2.2 billion between May 2022 and February 2024, under the pretence of awarding him contract from the Northeast Development Commission.

Ifekudu, said to be the Managing Director of Diamond Leeds Ltd, was said to have been made to part with the said sums through a coordinated advance fee fraud.

In another count, Mohammed, who is the National Coordinator, Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project (MCRP), and Echem were said to have between January and December 2023, obtained another sum of N649.5 million from their victim using the bank account of Echem under the claim that they have the capacity to award to his company contracts from the multi-sectoral crisis projects (MCRP), of the NEDC.

The defendants were in another charge accused of collecting another N573 million from the same contractor through a Wema Bank account belonging to Echem on the pretense of awarding him contracts.

Besides, the EFCC in another count alleged that the defendants fraudulently obtained from the contractor the sums of $480, 000 and $200,000 between January to December 2022.

However, the defendants pleaded not guilty to all the charge read against them by the judge, prompting the EFCC’s lawyer, Olarenwaju Adeola, to plead for a date for commencement of trial.

Responding, the defendants’ lawyer, Chukwuka Obidike, attempted to argue the bail application of his clients but was resisted by the prosecution.

In opposing the move, Adeola told the court that he was served with the bail application in the evening of January 26 and that he only saw it in the courtroom on January 27.

He insisted that the bail application was not ripe for hearing because he needed to file a counter-affidavit to legally object to the request.

In a brief ruling, Justice Ogbonna agreed with the EFCC’s counsel that the application was not ripe for hearing, adding that allowing it to be argued would amount to denial of fair hearing on the part of the prosecution.

Consequently, the judge fixed March 25 to April 7 for trial.