N207bn Scam: EFCC to re-arraign former President of NLNG Cooperatives

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC will on September 15, 2015 re-arraign Julius Ola Peters, Emeka Iloegbunam, Ijeoma David Alanza, Jonathan Wallang and Dinijocs Nigeria Limited before Justice Ishaq U. Bello of Federal Capital Territory High Court Maitama on a twelve count charge bordering on forgery and obtaining money under false pretences to the tune of N207, 000, 000,000 (two hundred and seven billion naira).

Ola Peters and Iloegbunam, former President and Vice President respectively of the NLNG Staff Bonny Co-operative Investment and Credit Society Limited, alongside Ijeoma David Alanza and Dinijocs Nigeria Limited, fleeced members of the Cooperatives under various guises. For instance, they allegedly drew the sum of N1, 220,000,000.00 (one billion, two hundred and twenty two million naira) from the NLNG Cooperatives account purportedly to purchase a 643398 hectares of land in the Idu-Sabo District, Cadastral Zone D04 of the Federal Capital Territory as against the actual price of N830,000,000.00 (eight hundred and thirty million naira).
One of the counts reads:  “That you Julius Ola Peters, Emeka Iloegbunam being the former president and vice president respectively of the NLNG Staff Bonny Cooperative Investment and Credit Society Limited, Ijeoma David Alanza and Dinijocs Nigeria Limited sometime between August, 2011 and January 2012 in Abuja within the Jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N1,220,000,000.00 (One billion, two hundred and twenty million) naira by false pretences in excess of the actual purchase price of N830,000,000.00 (eight hundred and thirty million) naira only from the NLNG Staff Bonny Cooperative Investment and Credit Society Limited under the pretext that same was consideration for buying a plot of land viz: plot No.1, Idu-Sabo District, Cadastral Zone D04, measuring 643398 Hectares covered by file no: MISC 106282 from Larix Company Limited for the benefit and on behalf of members of the NLNG Staff Bonny Cooperative Investment and Credit Society Limited and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act”.

 

The accused persons had pleaded not guilty on May 26, 2015 when they were first arraigned, while the court adjourned to June 30, 2015 for trial. But EFCC counsel, Sylvanus Tahir who was not present in court at the time, after a review of the arraignment, faulted the procedure adopted, that allowed the accused persons to take their plea outside the court room and consequently applied to the court for proper arraignment.

The accused persons were supposed to take fresh pleas today but the proceedings were stalled owing to the absence of the trial judge who sent words that he was involved in other engagements. Consequently, the parties were asked to take new dates, and settled for September 15, 2015.

 

Wilson Uwujaren

Head, Media & Publicity

30^th June, 2015