N8.5bn Fraud: EFCC Re-arraigns Army General, Atewe, Akpobolokemi, Others

• EFCC Re-arraigns Army General, Atewe, Akpobolokemi, Others

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Friday, for the third time, re-arraigned a former Commander of the Military Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield, in the Niger Delta, Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Atewe (retd.), for an alleged fraud of N8.5bn.

Atewe was re-arraigned before Justice A.O. Faji of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

Re-arraigned with him was a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Patrick Akpobolokemi, and two others – Kime Engonzu and Josephine Otuaga.

The defendants were re-arraigned on 22 counts.

Atewe, Akpobolokemi, Engonzu and Otuaga had earlier been arraigned twice before Justice Saliu Saidu.

They were first arraigned on June 3, 2016, on 11 counts.

Six months after, the EFCC amended the charge sheet by increasing the counts from 11 to 22 and then re-arraigned the defendants on December 5, 2016, before Justice Saidu.

Their Friday re-arraignment before Justice Faji followed the transfer of Justice Saidu from Lagos to the Port Harcourt division of the Federal High Court.

The defendants were accused of defrauding NIMASA of N8.5bn between September 5, 2014, and May 20, 2015.

The EFCC alleged that they used six companies to divert the money from the coffers of NIMASA.

The six companies were listed as: Jagan Ltd; Jagan Trading Company Ltd; Jagan Global Services Ltd; Al-Nald Ltd; Paper Warehouse Ltd; Eastpoint Integrated Services Ltd and De-Newlink Integrated Services Ltd.

The offence is said to be contrary to the provisions of Section 18(a) of Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012.