Zamfara State Government has disclosed that plans had been concluded to probe the N37 billion refunds on Federal Government projects executed by the state allegedly missing from the government account.

It explained that security agencies had been informed and given clearance to track the missing funds in line with Governor Bello Matawalle-led administration’s transparency drive. 

The state’s Commissioner for Finance, Rabiu Garba, alleged that the immediate past administration led by former governor, Abdulaziz Yari, might have misappropriated the money.

Briefing newsmen yesterday in Gusau, the commissioner claimed that the amount was initially quoted at over N47 billion as the funds used by the former administration for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of 14 federal roads in the state.

He claimed that the apex government confirmed that the said amount had been repayed fully to the state when the current administration approached the central government.

“We understood that the cost of the verified projects at the Federal Ministry of Works stood at over N37 billion. But when we asked for refunds of the said amount, it was confirmed by both the Federal Ministry of Works and the Debt Management Office that the amount had been paid fully.

“On further investigation, we gathered that the money was collected by the Director-General of Nigerian Governors’ Forum and one lady who also worked in the same place on instructions from former Zamfara government. We wonder how people who are not indigenes of the state nor have they ever worked for the state should collect such a colossal amount on behalf of the government and people of Zamfara,’’ the commissioner said.

He assured that the present administration under Gov. Bello Matawalle would do everything possible to recover the money “so that we can use it in the development of the state’’.

Meanwhile, the former Commissioner of Finance during the Yari-led government, Muktar Idris, exonerated the administration from any wrongdoing and financial misappropriations of the N37 billion refunds on federal government projects executed by the state.

Reacting to the allegations on Wednesday during an interview newsmen, claimed that the immediate past administration constructed the roads at the cost of over N60 billion and claimed the same amount from the central government.

According to him, the federal government verification committee only approved N37.4 billion refunds which was on completed projects.

“Due to dearth of funds to repay such projects to about 23 states, which stood at over N500 billion, it was agreed at the governors’ forum that the states would collect the refunds in two tranches via promissory notes that would mature in three years.

“The states were to receive 40 per cent in the first instalment, in which Zamfara’s due amount stood at N14.9 billion. All the affected state governors also agreed that the director-general of the Governors’ Forum should collect for them.

“I still have the documents with me where we put over N10 billion as discounted from N14.9 billion into our joint account because we needed the money. So, we discounted and collected the amount through the Debt Management Office,” Idris said.

He explained further that the second promissory note was for N22 billion which was also discounted to a little over N17 billion.

“All the money had been deposited into the state government’s accounts. Zamfara people are free to check and verify these facts,’’ he said.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Gombe Zonal Office arraigned a fake Army Lieutenant, Eze Ugochukwu, to court for allegedly defrauding members of the public

It was gathered that the suspect was a student of Computer Science, Bauchi State Polytechnic, was arrested by officers of the  33 Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Shadawanka Barracks, for defrauding members of the public by posing as a Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army.

His arrest was occasioned following a complaint lodged by one Dorcas Oni, that the suspect presented himself to her as a lieutenant in the Nigerian Army and told her that he would assist her in securing admission for her son into the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA, for which he made her transfer the sum of N400, 000.00 (Four Hundred Thousand Naira) to his account.

Ugochukwu, an indigene of Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, was discovered to have defrauded some other victims to the tune of N1, 455,000.00 (One Million, Four Hundred and Fifty-Five Thousand Naira), using the same military bait.

In a statement made available on the commission’s official page, it revealed that all the proceeds of crime were paid into the suspect’s two bank accounts domiciled in FCMB and STANBIC IBTC, between December 2019 and July 2020.

It further stated that the suspect succeeded in making his victims believe he was a military officer by photo-shopping military officers’ uniforms and superimposing the image of his face on them, complementing the fraud by attaching his name tag on the uniforms.

He was also discovered to have forged military documents that he passed off to his victims as genuine in a bid to convince them that he would secure NDA admission for them.

Justice Mikail Abdullahi of the Niger State High court on Monday, September 21, 2020, set up October 14, 2020,  for the pre-trial date in the relisted money laundering case involving the former Governor of the state, Muazu Babangida Aliyu.

Aliyu is facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alongside his then-chief of staff, Umar Nasko and the chairman, Niger State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Barrister Tanko Beji on an amended seven-count charge, bordering on money laundering and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N2billion.

In a statement made available on the commission’s page disclosed that the ex-governor’s case was relisted for hearing on September 14, 2020, and the defendants re-arraigned on the same date, with the matter adjourned till Monday, September 21, 2020, for the commencement of trial.

The relisting was sought by EFCC following the striking out of the case by the court in favour of the defendants on February 10, 2020.

However, the prosecution counsel, Faruk Abdullahi, has informed the court that the prosecution was ready for trial as approved by the court on the arraignment date of  September 14, 2020, which was opposed by counsel to the third defendant, Mamman Mike Osman, SAN, on the ground that Section 14 of the EFCC Establishment Act, provides for a pre-trial protocol as a pre-condition for the hearing of the Commission’s cases, adding that the failure to submit pre-trial evidence made the trial unripe for hearing.

The defence lawyer further argued that in pre-hearing, the defence would need to identify the prosecution witnesses and reach out to its own witnesses and identify the nature of their testimonies and prepare questions for cross-examination.

Abdullahi, however, expressed dismay that the defence counsel challenged the trial commencement, reminding the court that the case was adjourned for trial, today, September 21, 2020, following the arraignment of the defendants on September 14, 2020. He further noted that the court with the consent of all the counsels on that date urged the prosecution to open its case.

Abdullahi, therefore, urged the court to go ahead with the hearing of the case as agreed by all the counsels on September 14, 2020.

According to him, the defendants are entitled to know the witnesses and to have an idea of the document tendered. The prosecution has furnished the defendants’ copies of materials in volumes of the document to rely on, also the list of witnesses, a summary of their statements and extrajudicial statements.

The justice of the case demands that they proceed with the trial, the spirit of the trial protocol has been approved by the court, and the court set the case down for trial and adjourned the matter till October 14, 2020, for pre-trial.