The dread Nigeria EFCC has arraigned Ex-Minister of Health and others including the daughter of the disgraced former President Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo on a 56-Count Criminal Charge of Fraud and Embezzlement of public funds. However Obasanjo's daughter Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, pictured here left is on the run from justice; the whole wide world is by this notice implored by "Icheoku" to be on a red alert for her. Please report any sighting of her to the nearest law enforcement agency available and/or EFCC-Nigeria accordingly. We at "Icheoku" approve this message as our contribution to the war on corruption in Nigeria; Viva EFCC!
For four and a half hours, two former Ministers of Health, Prof. Adenike Grange and Gabriel Aduku who recently resigned from the cabinet on allegation of fraud stood in the dock at the Federal Capital Territory High Court along nine other co-accused as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) reeled out 56-count charge against them.Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello who is one of the accused persons in the case of corrupt practices levelled against the ex-ministers was not in court yesterday. The prosecution said she was "at large" but count 56 on the charge sheet were specifically listed against her.The only count against Obasanjo-Bello reads as follows:“That you, Iyabo Bello (now at large) sometimes between December 2007 and March 2008 at Abuja within the jurisdiction of the high court of the Federal Capital Territory while serving as the chairperson, Senate Committee on Health in the National Assembly, dishonestly retained the sum of N10, 000,000 belonging to Federal Government of Nigeria, having reason to believe same to be stolen property thereby committed an offence punishable under section 317 of the Penal Code cap 352, Law of Federation of Nigeria (Abuja)1990.” The prosecutor, James Binang said as far as the anti-graft agency was concerned, Iyabo was on the run and all legal machinery would be used to bring her to justice. Others charged with the ex-ministers were; Prof. Samuel Ogandi, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Oyedepo H.B, Hanafi Moham-med, Donald Ekanem, Donatus Inyang, Olomo J.A, Obanla Emmanuel Olatunbosun, Henry Onyeagwalam and Edem Augustine Bassey.The accused were brought to court around 12pm and they all pleaded not guilty to the 56-count charge preferred against them by the Federal Government.The charge reads thus: That you (1) Professor Adenike Grange, (2) Gabriel Aduku, (3) Professor Samuel Ogandi, (4) Oyedepo H.B, and (5) Hanafi Mohammed, sometimes in December 2007 in Abuja, within the Abuja division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, while being public servants in the Federal Ministry of Health, with intent to defraud, conspired among yourselves to do an illegal act to wit: criminalbreach of trust by public servant; thereby committed an offence punishable under section 97 of the Penal Code Act Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990.Various sums of money were said to have been paid into Professor Grange’s Oceanic Account NO 1301005284.Looking depressed in the dock, the former Minister shook her head intermittently as the charge was read out to her while others bowed their heads continually.While Grange had her name mentioned in 13 counts on the charge sheet, Aduku was fingered in about 13 counts, while Obasanjo-Bello had two counts hanging on her.Immediately after the charge was read to the accused persons, they all pleaded not guilty and their lawyers individually moved application for bail.Counsel to Grange, Alex Izinyon (SAN), argued that his client should be granted bail on self-recognitionwhile Aduku said as an internationalfigure having made his mark in architecture, he was ready to stand trial and would not jump bail.The trial Judge, Justice Salisu Garba, fixed Friday for ruling in the bail application.The two ex-ministers and other accused persons were said to have shared a balance of N300 million remaining from last year's budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Health. President Umaru Yar'Adua had directed ministers and head of parastatals to return all unspent funds from last year's budget to the federal purse.The ex-ministers had been forced to resign from the cabinet following the allegations against them.However, the senate has asked Senator Obasanjo-Bello to explain the circumstances surrounding the involvement of the committee on heath which she headed in the sharing of the N300 million unspent vote of the ministry of Health in the 2007 budget.The Senate Committee had admitted receiving N10 million-support from the Ministry of Health to fund a retreat in Ghana on the National Health Bill. Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Information, Senator Ayogu Eze confirmed yesterday that the Senate had demanded explanation from Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello and other members of the Committee that attended the Ghana retreat.He said further, “When the Senate gets the explanation, I shall come back to brief you. We will also take the necessary steps. But I can assure you that from what we have so far when it is has not been unusual for Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDAs) to facilitate the work of committees that oversee them.”Eze said that “when they sent that money, they never told them that it was from an illegal source, that it was the money that the Presidency told them to return but they did not return.“The information we have so far (from the Committee is) that the source of that money was not disclosed to them at the time it was remitted to them and we are trying to take care of that by making sure we provide adequately for all the committees in the 2008 budget.“When they tell you that the budget of the National assembly is up a bit beyond what it was last year, there is an explanation for that; we want to make sure that every committee that has an assignment to do will have no reason to say we could not do the work because we were waiting for facilitation because we would have provided enough resources”, he said.
For four and a half hours, two former Ministers of Health, Prof. Adenike Grange and Gabriel Aduku who recently resigned from the cabinet on allegation of fraud stood in the dock at the Federal Capital Territory High Court along nine other co-accused as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) reeled out 56-count charge against them.Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello who is one of the accused persons in the case of corrupt practices levelled against the ex-ministers was not in court yesterday. The prosecution said she was "at large" but count 56 on the charge sheet were specifically listed against her.The only count against Obasanjo-Bello reads as follows:“That you, Iyabo Bello (now at large) sometimes between December 2007 and March 2008 at Abuja within the jurisdiction of the high court of the Federal Capital Territory while serving as the chairperson, Senate Committee on Health in the National Assembly, dishonestly retained the sum of N10, 000,000 belonging to Federal Government of Nigeria, having reason to believe same to be stolen property thereby committed an offence punishable under section 317 of the Penal Code cap 352, Law of Federation of Nigeria (Abuja)1990.” The prosecutor, James Binang said as far as the anti-graft agency was concerned, Iyabo was on the run and all legal machinery would be used to bring her to justice. Others charged with the ex-ministers were; Prof. Samuel Ogandi, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Oyedepo H.B, Hanafi Moham-med, Donald Ekanem, Donatus Inyang, Olomo J.A, Obanla Emmanuel Olatunbosun, Henry Onyeagwalam and Edem Augustine Bassey.The accused were brought to court around 12pm and they all pleaded not guilty to the 56-count charge preferred against them by the Federal Government.The charge reads thus: That you (1) Professor Adenike Grange, (2) Gabriel Aduku, (3) Professor Samuel Ogandi, (4) Oyedepo H.B, and (5) Hanafi Mohammed, sometimes in December 2007 in Abuja, within the Abuja division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, while being public servants in the Federal Ministry of Health, with intent to defraud, conspired among yourselves to do an illegal act to wit: criminalbreach of trust by public servant; thereby committed an offence punishable under section 97 of the Penal Code Act Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990.Various sums of money were said to have been paid into Professor Grange’s Oceanic Account NO 1301005284.Looking depressed in the dock, the former Minister shook her head intermittently as the charge was read out to her while others bowed their heads continually.While Grange had her name mentioned in 13 counts on the charge sheet, Aduku was fingered in about 13 counts, while Obasanjo-Bello had two counts hanging on her.Immediately after the charge was read to the accused persons, they all pleaded not guilty and their lawyers individually moved application for bail.Counsel to Grange, Alex Izinyon (SAN), argued that his client should be granted bail on self-recognitionwhile Aduku said as an internationalfigure having made his mark in architecture, he was ready to stand trial and would not jump bail.The trial Judge, Justice Salisu Garba, fixed Friday for ruling in the bail application.The two ex-ministers and other accused persons were said to have shared a balance of N300 million remaining from last year's budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Health. President Umaru Yar'Adua had directed ministers and head of parastatals to return all unspent funds from last year's budget to the federal purse.The ex-ministers had been forced to resign from the cabinet following the allegations against them.However, the senate has asked Senator Obasanjo-Bello to explain the circumstances surrounding the involvement of the committee on heath which she headed in the sharing of the N300 million unspent vote of the ministry of Health in the 2007 budget.The Senate Committee had admitted receiving N10 million-support from the Ministry of Health to fund a retreat in Ghana on the National Health Bill. Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Information, Senator Ayogu Eze confirmed yesterday that the Senate had demanded explanation from Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello and other members of the Committee that attended the Ghana retreat.He said further, “When the Senate gets the explanation, I shall come back to brief you. We will also take the necessary steps. But I can assure you that from what we have so far when it is has not been unusual for Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDAs) to facilitate the work of committees that oversee them.”Eze said that “when they sent that money, they never told them that it was from an illegal source, that it was the money that the Presidency told them to return but they did not return.“The information we have so far (from the Committee is) that the source of that money was not disclosed to them at the time it was remitted to them and we are trying to take care of that by making sure we provide adequately for all the committees in the 2008 budget.“When they tell you that the budget of the National assembly is up a bit beyond what it was last year, there is an explanation for that; we want to make sure that every committee that has an assignment to do will have no reason to say we could not do the work because we were waiting for facilitation because we would have provided enough resources”, he said.
This news report is courtesy of Thisday newspapers.
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Christy 'Apena' Essien-Igbokwe , the wife of Jegede Shokoya of the New Masquerade and Nigeria's lady of songs is dead; she was 51years old. Although her family claimed that "brief Illness" killed her like so many Nigerians; Icheoku retorts that it was most likely AKwa Ibom voodoo and remote control that was used to arrest her. It is on record that she had fallen out with the governor of her native Akwa Ibiom State and have been having a relentless war for political turf with the governor? So who knows whether she was sacrificed to Ekpe cult or even Alusi-Okija as an offal; afterall African science is still very much alive and portent. May her soul rest in peace.
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