Nigeria: N19.5 Billion Aviation Fund - EFCC After Borishade, Fani-Kayode, Iyayi

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Vanguard (Lagos)

6 September 2008
Posted to the web 6 September 2008

Ise-Oluwa Ige

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday approached an Abuja high court sitting in Zone 5, Wuse seeking an order to re-arrest two former Ministers of Aviation - Prof. Babalola Borishade and Chief Femi Fani-Kayode.

Also pencilled down for re-arrest was former Managing Director of the Nigeria Airspace Management Authority (NAMA), Captain Iyayi.

The fresh arrest is to enable the commission to prefer fresh criminal charges against them over their alleged misappropria-tion of N19.5 billion public fund.

The fund was meant for the renovation of four international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano.

Saturday Vanguard reliably gathered yesterday that the EFCC's move followed the outcome of a thorough investigation it conducted abroad on the award of contracts to upgrade facilities at four airports in the country.

A source told Saturday Vanguard that the arrest would have been carried out after conclusion of the investigations but for the commission's respect for due process and rule of law.

It would be recalled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had earlier arraigned the two ex-ministers and Iyayi.

At the time, the commission had told the court it had sent its operatives abroad in furtherance of investigations on the award of contracts by them to upgrade facilities at four airports in the country.

It had asked the court for an order detaining them pending the outcome of the investigation.

But the court had refused and had granted them bail.

In fact, the trial chief magistrate almost threw out the case on the ground that he had no jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

He had to suo motu ask both parties in the case to address him on the issue of jurisdiction but they did not as they all conceded that he had legal powers to try the charge preferred against the trio.

But weeks after they were granted bail, EFCC came before the vacation judge of the Abuja high court sitting at Zone 5, Wuse, Justice Goodluck Banjoko, seeking for its permission to prefer fresh criminal charge against them.

The application was filed by Mr Steve Ehi Odiase and scheduled to be heard yesterday.

Odiase is a Senior Detective Superintendent with the EFCC.

Odiase only brought the application for leave to prefer additional charge.

He gave no idea as to what the additional charge was all about.

But the trial judge had reportedly declined to entertain the application on the ground that granting it would mean re-arresting the two ex-ministers for arraignment.

The judge was said to have reasoned that it would make no sense taking the pleas of the accused persons and possibly detain them when she might not be the one to hear the main case when court resumes from vacation

She had however adjourned hearing in the application till September 22 when the legal year would have commenced and when the Chief Judge, Justice Lawal Gummi would have gone through the case file to determine which judge would hear the case.

The trio of Borishade, Fani-Kayode and Iyayi were earlier arraigned before an Abuja Chief Magistrate Court sitting at Life Camp over the same matter.

They were slammed with a multiple charge of criminal conspiracy, breach of official trust, breach of trust, forgery and misappropriation of N19.5 billion public fund meant for intervention in the aviation industry

They were all arrested at the National Assembly on a Monday moments after testifying before the Senate Committee on Aviation.

The multiple charge preferred against them were contained in the First Information Report (FIR) filed by one Odiase.

Chief Magistrate Lamido Mohammed Kabir, who reluctantly assumed jurisdiction on the matter later granted them bail.

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