The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, arraigned five persons before Justice O.O. Goodluck of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, sitting Maitama, on a six count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy, forgery and embezzlement of funds.
The defendants – Abimbola Abioye, Wuraola Adebayo, Zubairu Ibrahim, Faturiti Jacob and Azeez Aderemi were implicated in the fraudulent diversion of about $4 million of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Nigeria.
It will be recalled that The Global Fund had in March 2016 suspended payments to Nigeria’s AIDS agency, over the diversion of about $3.8 million allegedly stolen by workers and consultants. The grant was also to ensure the establishment of a National Health Information System, a service that could have aided delivery of quality health care services in Nigeria.
The Global Fund had petitioned the EFCC alleging that, “during a recent routine check by the Office of the Inspector General, Global Fund, it was discovered that from 2010 to 2014, the suspects who are employees of Department of Planning, Research and Statistics (DPRS) Federal Ministry of Health conspired among themselves to receive and systematically embezzle the sum amount through the use of fictitious invoices, receipts of hotel stays, air flight tickets and other instruments to access and divert the fund for their own personal gains”.
They all pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
Prosecuting counsel, J.A. Bwala, thereafter, urged the court to fix a date for the commencement of their trial.
Counsel to the first, fourth and fifth defendants, O. Odumosun, made an oral application for their bail, and adopted his seven-paragraph affidavit to back his application.