EFCC Arraigns Katsina Perm Sec for Fraud
Adetokunbo Fakeye
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday arraigned one Sule Yusuf Saulawa, a permanent secretary in the Katsina State civil service before Justice Sanusi Tukur of the Katsina High Court on one count charge of obtaining by false pretense contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
The accused person allegedly obtained the sum of N2,500,000 ( Two Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira Only) while he was attached to the office of the Deputy Governor of Katsina State from the complainant on the pretext that it was required for bidding documents that would enable the office award the complainant a contract to supply fertilizer to all the local government areas in the state.
The accused person however pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to him in court.
In view of his plea, prosecution counsel, Sa’ad Hanafi Sa’ad requested the court for trial date and also asked that the accused person be remanded in prison custody. However, counsel representing the accused person Bashir Mohammed moved a bail application praying the court to admit his client to bail pending the determination of the case.
Hanafi objected the bail application on the grounds that the accused person if granted bail, would likely jump bail because he had once violated the terms of the administrative bail granted to him by the Commission.
Justice Tukur remanded the accused person in prison custody and adjourned the matter to January 6, 2017 for ruling on bail application and commencement of trial.
The charge read that,”You Sule Yusuf Saulawa while being the permanent secretary with the office of the Deputy Governor, Katsina State, sometime in 2015 in Katsina, within the Judicial Division of the High Court of Katsina State with intent to defraud falsely obtained from one Alhaji Musa Baba, the Chairman of Many Agro Allied and Chemical Company Nigeria Limited and Diamond Fertilizer Nigeria Limited the sum of N2,500,000 (Two Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira Only) by falsely representing that the Office of the Deputy Governor of Katsina State would award him contract for the supply of fertilizer to all the Local Government Areas in the state and asked him to purchase a bidding documents which would be given to him as soon as he writes a proposal offering best price to the State Government which he did, but which you knew to be false and you thereby committed an offense contrary to Section 1 (1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act”.
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