Buhari nominee Alanamu remanded in prison for alleged N182m fraud

One of the 23 persons whose name President Muhammadu Buhari sent to the Senate as nominees for the National Population Commission (NPC) last week, Dr. Saadu Alanamu, has been remanded in prison custody over an alleged fraud involving N182, 369, 625.00.

He was reminded in prison by Kwara State High Court 7, Ilorin, presided over by Justice Mahmud Gafar, following charges leveled against him before the court by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Alanamu, a former chairman of the Governing Council of Kwara State Polytechnic, was arraigned by the ICPC along with the Chief Executive Director of Namylas Nig. Ltd., Salman Sulaiman. They were accused of collecting the money as bribe from a contractor.

In the course of trial, the defence counsel alleged that the accused was “forced, harassed, intimidated and coerced” into making his statement to the commission’s investigators and therefore prayed that the statement should not be admitted in evidence.

Consequently, Justice Gafar ordered a trial-within-trial, which commenced the same day. This, he said was for the court to determine whether the statement was made voluntarily or not.

While delivering his ruling on the trial-within-trial, Justice Gafar overruled the objection of the defence and admitted the 1st defendant’s confessional statement in evidence. The trial judge also went on to revoke the bail of Dr. Alanamu for abuse of bail conditions.

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Recall that Alanamu was also some time ago nominated into the board of the ICPC by the then acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, despite being under probe by the same agency.

But his name was withdrawn by Osinbajo following public outcry that greeted his nomination.

 

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