A former Inspector General of Police, Sunday
Ehindero, was on Thursday re-arraigned alongside a former police commissioner,
John Obaniyi, on a six-count charge for alleged fraud.
The defendants were arraigned at an Apo
District High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
They were accused of misusing N578 million
(N557,995,065) donated by the Bayelsa State Government for the purchase of
arms.
According to the charge, the fund was diverted
into separate accounts owned by the defendants, where it generated an interest
of N16,412,315.
The generated interest was allegedly used for
the defendant’s personal objectives.
The charge also alleged that the defendants
lied to officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related
offences Commission, ICPC, when they told two of the commission’s staff upon
enquiry about the diverted funds, that the generated interest was used for
official purposes.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the
charge.
Messrs Ehindero and Obaniyi were first
arraigned in 2012 by the ICPC for the alleged offences.
They, however, filed a preliminary objection,
challenging the competence of the charge against them and asked the trial court
to suspend their trial pending the determination of the appeal at the higher
court.
Following an order of the Supreme Court in
December, however, the defendants were told to return to the trial court and
face the charge against them.
After taking their pleas, the court admitted
the defendants on bail, based on the previous conditions and adjourned the
matter to June 19.
- Premium Times
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