N2.5bn Fraud: You have a Case to Answer, Court tells Kawu
A Federal High Court, Abuja, has ordered the suspended Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Ishaq Modibbo Kawu, to defend his alleged involvement in the N2.5bn Digital Switch-Over (DSO) fraud.
Kawu, the late Chairman of Pinnacle Communications Ltd, Mr. Lucky Omoluwa, and the Chief Operating Officer of the same company, Mr. Dipo Onifade, were jointly charged before Justice Folashade Ogunbanjo-Giwa, by ICPC for allegedly misapplying N2.5b seed grant released to NBC by FG
ICPC, in a 12-count charge, accused them of abuse of office, money laundering and misleading a public officer with the intent to defraud the federal govt., in contravention of Section 26 (1) (c) of the ICPC Act, 2000 and punishable under Section 19 of the same law.
ICPC Arrests Woman Offering New Naira Notes for Sale
ICPC has today, 1st of February 2023, arrested a woman, Omoseyin Oluwadarasimi Esther, with the Twitter handle of Lala, offering new naira notes for sale on social media.
The arrest was as a result of intelligence received which led the ICPC operatives to seek out and promptly arrest the suspect.
It is believed she is in collusion with key elements in the financial services sector diverting the newly released notes away from banking halls ...
...and payment channels into a “ black market”
She is currently in ICPC detention and is helping the Commission with its findings on the criminal trading of the naira and the attendant scarcity and negative economic outcomes being caused by the action.
ICPC Clarifies Chairman's Speech on N2.7Billion School Feeding Diverted
The attention of ICPC has been drawn to some reports making the rounds on a segment of the speech delivered by the ICPC Chairman, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, ...
... yesterday, Monday, 28th September 2020 at its 2nd National Submit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Sector. The said reports erroneously implied that the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs diverted monies meant for Home-Grown School Feeding Programme.
In the speech, Prof. Owasanoye stated inter alia, ‘’... we discovered payments to some federal colleges (secondary schools) for school feeding in the sum of N2.67b during the lockdown when the children were not in school, and some of the money ended up in personal accounts.
2/ The Commission has in the last 20 years recorded a number of milestones. It has treated over 20,000 petitions, found over 5000 worthy of investigation and prosecuted about 1000 of such cases. - Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, ICPC Chairman.
3/ Within the same period we have conducted 47 full System Study and Reviews, 582 reviews comprising personnel and capital budget utilization, review of open treasury portal entries and implementation of some recommendations from AuGF on MDAs. - ICPC Chairman
ICPC in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation is organising the 2nd National Submit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Sector as part of activities to mark its 20th Anniversary. #TogetherAgainstCorruptionicpc.gov.ng/2020/09/26/2nd…
Highlights of the event, which will be declared opened by President Muhammadu Buhari, include:
- Presidential Launch of the National Ethics and Integrity Policy
- Recognition of Winners of the Public Sector Integrity Awards, Music and Essay Competitions
- Presentation of ICPC @20 Legacy Book and the Report of the Nigeria Corruption Index, and
- Panel discussions featuring notable Nigerians.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC), at its (2020) 20th meeting, held Wednesday, 19th August, 2020, has approved the National Ethics and Integrity Policy. The Policy, which is the brainchild of ICPC was was co-sponsored by ...
... the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) and National Orientation Agency (NOA).
The Policy was approved for the good and ethical conduct of the Nigerian citizenry.
The Policy, according to ICPC Chairman, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, is “a befitting follow-up to the National Values Curriculum initiative”, adding that, “the policy coming at ICPC’s 20th Anniversary and Nigeria’s 60th year of nationhood is timely”.
ICPC has quizzed top management staff of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), over allegations of various acts of corruption such as diversion of funds, procurement fraud and misappropriation of the agency’s Covid-19 funds.
Some directors of NDDC were interrogated at the Commission’s headquarters recently, after months of intelligence gathering, following the receipt of petitions from Nigerians on the alleged illegalities and contracts fraud by some officials of the agency.
Top officials of the agency are being investigated for their complicity in an alleged diversion of N5.474 billion meant for the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health workers handling the Covid-19 pandemic in the nine states of NDDC.