Justice
Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has adjourned the
trial of a former Head of Service, HoS, Stephen Oronsaye, who is being
prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for a
N2 billion fraud to November 25, 2015.
This
followed the amendment of the 24 count charge earlier preferred against
the accused persons by the EFCC. The amended charge contains 35 counts
bordering on stealing and obtaining money by false pretence.
It
was gathered that further investigation into the fraud had necessitated
a need to amend the 24-count charge initially brought against Oronsaye,
on July 13, 2015, in which along with his co-accused, Osarenkhoe Afe,
and Fredrick Hamilton Global Services Limited, he is alleged to have
been complicit in several biometric contract awards during his tenure as
HoS.
At the resumed sitting on November 3, 2015, prosecuting
counsel, Adebisi Adeniyi, told the court that three additional
defendants that are corporate bodies had been included.
He
gave the names as: Cluster Logistic Limited, Kangolo Dynamic Cleaning
Limited and Drew Investment and Construction Company Limited.
“We
attempted to serve Cluster Logistic Limited with the amended charges,
but observed that the address at the location of the head office did not
correspond with the particulars we had,” he said.
He further told the court that efforts were being made to get the charges across to the company and the other two defendants.
He therefore requested the court for a new date, in order for the accused persons to be served.
Justice Kolawole in acceding to his request adjourned till November 25, 2015.
In
one of the counts in the amended charge dated November 2, 2015,
Oronsaye is alleged to have in connivance with Abdulrasheed Abdullahi
Maina (now at large), Osarenkhoe Afe and Fredrick Hamilton Global
Services Limited in July 2010 “collaborated in disguising genuine nature
of the sum of N161,472,000 derived from an illegal act to wit
conducting procurement fraud by means of fraudulent and corrupt act on
the contract extension of biometric enrolment purportedly awarded to
Innovative Solutions Limited by the Office of the Head of Service of the
Federation, without following due process, an offence punishable under
Section 14 (1) (b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004”.
Cluster
Logistic Limited and Kangolo Dynamic Cleaning Limited, were also
alleged to have connived with Maina (alias Abdullahi A. Faizal now at
large) in February 2014 to “transfer the sum of N33, 800,000 to West
Waves Bureau De Change from the account of Cluster Logistic Limited
maintained by Maina.”
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