Culled from Sahara Reporters
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC, on Monday, June 3, 2013, told Justice E.N. Kpojime of the Benue
State High Court, Makurdi how the quartet of Mark Gbaa (alias Nasiru
Nasamu), Ezekiel Ajik Azi, Bulus Ashom Agwom and Nuhu Bawa Atangs
conspired to impersonate officials of the Commission in an attempt to
swindle Governor Gabriel Suswan of Benue State of US $3million.
At the resumed hearing of the case on June 3, 2013, Julius
Donmo, a member of the Police Mobile force; Aliu Dikko, orderly to
Governor Suswan and a senior DSS officer were led in evidence by counsel
to EFCC Joseph Uzor. They gave a detailed account of how the accused
persons attempted to deceive Suswan into believing that they were
Operatives of EFCC investigating a non- existent fraud perpetrated by
his Commissioner for Finance.
Donmo, narrated how he was contacted by the first accused person,
Mike Gbaa claiming to be a high level officer from EFCC wishing to see
the governor to help stop investigation of fraud against his government.
He revealed how after series of calls and text messages, Bulus Ashom
Agwom and Nuhu Bawa Atangs were arrested when they came to collect the
agreed sum of $3million by operatives of the Department of State
Security. The 1st accused was later arrested through his phone.
In his testimony, Dikko identified the accused persons as the
suspects arrested and brought to him by his operatives for an alleged
crime of personation and fraud.
He disclosed that they were subsequently interrogated asked and made statements under caution.
As the statements were to be tendered, the defence counsel, J.B.
Damboi, opposed the admissibility of the documents on the grounds that
they were allegedly obtained under duress.
The development prompted the prosecution counsel to ask for a trial
within trial to ascertain the veracity of the defence claim. The trial
judge thereafter adjourned to July 2, 2013 for trial within trial.
The accused persons are facing a six count charge of impersonation,
forgery and criminal conspiracy to obtain the sum of three million US
Dollars from Governor Gabriel Suswan of Benue State.
They were alleged to have conspired to falsely present themselves as
officers of EFCC who are investigating the accounts of Benue State
Local Government and had sought for the sum of three million US Dollars
to “kill” the case.
In a bid to actualize the scheme, one of them, Bulus Ashom Agwom,
who was dismissed from the Nigerian Police Force in June 2012, was
alleged to have forged a Nigerian Police warrant of arrest card no 35231
which he presented to the governor.
Thereafter, Governor Suswan alerted the Department of State Security, DSS which arrested and handed them over to the EFCC.
Count one of the six count charge reads: “That you Mark Gbaa, alias
Nasiru Nasamu, Ezekiel Ajik Azi, Bulus Ashom Agwom and Nuhu Bawa Atangs
between January and February 2013, at Makurdi, within the jurisdiction
of the High Court of Benue State with intent to defraud, conspired to
obtain the sum of three million United States Dollars ($3,000,000) from
one Hon. Gabriel Suswan, the Executive Governor of Benue State, when you
falsely presented yourselves as officers of Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission, who were investigating the Benue State Local
Government Account and other pending cases which representation you knew
to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8 (a)
of the Advance Fee Fraud Act and other related offences Act no 14 of
2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same act”.
Wilson Uwujaren
Ag. Head, Media & Publicity
4th June, 2013
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