The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, October 8, 2020, arraigned one Lawan Abubakar before Honourable Justice Zuwaira Yusuf of Kano State High Court, Ungogo, on one-count charge of criminal breach of trust.
The charge read: ”That you Lawan Abubakar on or about January, 2018 at Kano, within the judicial division of the High Court of Kano State, while being entrusted with the sale certain property at Ogere, Ogun State to wit: Four (4) trucks of Madrik/Koso wood ” the wood ” worth N16, 400, 000 (Sixteen Million Four Hundred Thousand Naira), property belonging to one Bello Musa, dishonestly misappropriated the sum of N6,400,000 balance of the sale of the wood and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 311 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 312 of the same Act.โ
He pleaded not guilty to the charge following which prosecution counsel, Michael Ojo asked the court for a commencement date of trial and for him to be remanded in the custody of Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS), while defence counsel S.I.Haruna made an oral application for his bail.
Justice Yusuf granted the defendant bail in the sum of N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) with two reliable sureties, one of whom shall be his father or a blood relation. He adjourned the matter till November 12, 2020 for commencement of trial.
The petitioner had alleged that he supplied four trucks of Madrik/Koso wood, worth N16,400,000.00 (Sixteen Million Four Hundred Thousand Naira), sometime in December, 2017 and January, 2018 to the defendant, who was also his manager.
After the sale, the defendant he said, ended up transferring only N10 million to him, leaving out a balance of N6,400,000.00 (Six Million Four Hundred Thousand Naira), which he discovered with time was diverted by the defendant into his own account.
Following intense pressure from the petitioner, the defendant made a written promise to pay the balance but disappeared without traces since 2018.
