EFCC arraigns former Bauchi Accountant General, another over alleged N258m fraud

A former Accountant General of Bauchi State, Yusuf Gokaru has been arraigned before a Bauchi High Court by the Gombe Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over an alleged N258m fraud.

He was arraigned before Justice A. H. Suleiman alongside one Ibrahim Lele, an official of the state Treasury Department on Wednesday.

They were charged with 40 counts bordering on obtaining money under false pretences and also concealing property belonging to the state government.

According to the EFCC prosecutor, the offences were contrary to Section 7 Sub 1 (a) (ii) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under Section 7 Sub 2 of the same Act.

After the charges were read to the defendants, Justice Suleiman asked if they understood the charges and they said they did. They however pleaded not guilty, while their counsel, Babangida Mohammed, requested bail for the accused on health grounds.

Justice Suleiman obliged by granting them bail.

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Ahmed Muntaka, counsel for the EFCC, asked for adjournment so he could bring witnesses since the accused person pleaded not guilty.

The judge then adjourned the case till April 28 for the commencement of trial.

While speaking with journalists after the day’s proceedings, Muntaka said the case was filed on March 4.

He said: “The World Bank, as part of the assistance it offers certain states gave the Bauchi State Government a huge amount of money and out of the money, N258m, as contained in the charges, was diverted by the persons before the court in various trenches.

“They raised some mandates and kept withdrawing those mandates, and at the same time trying to remove the money from where it was lodged into a different account, thereby concealing the source of the money in order to perpetrate their own fraud.”

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