Court Remands Three INEC Staff In Prison For N177.3m Fraud

The defendants, were alleged to have received a cash payment of a sum of N177, 300,000 from a former Minister of Petroleum Resources.

Three staffs of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, have been remanded in prison for N177.3 million fraud.

The Lagos Zonal office of EFCC on Wednesday, August 1, 2018, arraigned the trio of Gbadegun Isaiah Abiodun, Oladipo Oladapo and Afolabi Peter Albert, before Justice Chuka Obiozor of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of N177, 300,000.

The defendants, who are staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Osun State, were alleged to have conspired amongst themselves to receive a cash payment of a sum of N177, 300,000 from a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke, on the eve of the 2015 general election, without going through a financial institution.

One of the counts reads:

“That you, Gbadegun Isaiah Abiodun, Oladipo Oladapo and Afolabi Peter Albert and others at large, on or about the 30th day of March 2015 in Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to accept a cash payment of the sum of N177,300,000( One Hundred and Seventy- seven Million, Three Hundred Thousand Naira Only), which exceeded the N5,000,000.00( Five Million Naira) Limit, without going through a financial institution, contrary to Section 18 and punishable under Section 16(2) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 (as amended by the Act NO.1 2012 ).”

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge preferred against them. Justice Obiozor adjourned the case to August 7, 2018 for hearing of the bail application and ordered the defendants to be remanded in Ikoyi prison.