The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) on Tuesday, arraigned one Ngozi Oboh before an FCT High Court, Kubwa, in Abuja for allegedly defrauding four jobseekers of N2, 697, 000.
Oboh, a Superintendent with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDS) is facing a one count charge bordering on fraud.
Mr Pius Fadia, an investigator with the ICPC, told the court how Oboh defrauded the jobseekers of their money at the resumed trial of the matter.
Fadia, who was cross examined by the prosecutor, Suleiman Abdulkareem told the court that two petitions written by lawyers on behalf of their clients were forwarded to the commission on June 2016.
He said the petitions were assigned to his team and in the course of investigations; four suspects including the defendant were interviewed and volunteered their statements.
“The defendant initiated one Mrs Nkechi Adesegun to collect money from applicants and remit to her which she further remitted to her accomplice one Ngozi Nwogu at large, in pretence to provide jobs at the Nigerian Prison Service.
“Adesegun collected N400, 000 from one Lawrence Okafor and N1.5milion from one Chigozie Okorie and two others, all job seekers and sent a total of N1.9 million to the defendant’s Zenith Bank account.
The defendant however, paid N1million from the said amount into Nwogu’s Fidelity bank account and instructed Adesegun to pay another N800, 000 directly into the account.
“A letter of appointment was given to Okafor and he went to Nigerian Prisons Training School Lagos with it but discovered the letter was different from others.
“He informed Adesegun and the defendant and the defendant instructed him to return back to Abuja where she wrote an agreement to refund the N1.9 million she collected from him which was not fulfilled hence the petition against her,” he said.
Fadia also said Adesegun took the defendant to Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Abuja where she paid N270, 000 out of the N1.9 million adding that she paid N320, 000 into the ICPC Recovery Account.
He said investigations also revealed that the defendant was standing trial at Upper Area Court, Gwagwalada for collecting money from the three other job seekers who reported to the police at Gwagwalada.
“The ICPC gave the defendant almost eight months to refund the money she collected to no avail and even though the defendant gave us Nwogu’s phone number, efforts made to track her failed because the number is not registered and unavailable, “he said.
The photocopies of two petitions written to the commission, fake appointment letter of Nigerian Prison’s Service, Undertaken written in July, 2015 by the defendant to pay the money back and Original copies of Bank statements were admitted as exhibits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
The defence counsel, Okere Chamberlain applied for the bail of the defendant pending the determination of the charge against her with an eight paragraph affidavit with written addresses saying that he was informed the defendant was pregnant.
The prosecutor did not oppose the bail saying she did not jump Administrative Bail granted to her by the ICPC but applied for reliable sureties in other for her not to evade trial.
Justice Kezziah Ogbonnaya however, granted the defendant bail with one reliable surety, resident within the court’s jurisdiction and a public servant from Grade Level 15.
She said the surety must show affidavit of means of landed property and declaration of account details in a bank with not less than N3 million.
Ogbonnaya adjourned the matter until July 10 and 11 for hearing.
