Osinbajo’s ex-nominee for ICPC board arraigned for N182m fraud

A person recently nominated by the Presidency to be a member of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) board, Saadu Alanamu, has been arraigned in court for alleged N182 million fraud.

Alanamu was nominated by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, as acting President of the country in August as a member of the ICPC board, where he would have had the opportunity of being part of the present government’s active anti-corruption campaigners.

He was however later dropped by Osinbajo on reasons that was not disclosed but believed to have been bad reports about him.

Just less than two months after that nomination, ICPC, the same agency he would have been part of its board members, last week arraigned Alanamu on eight count-charge before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court 7, Ilorin, on allegation bordering on N182 million fraud.

ICPC which disclosed this in a statement by its spokesperson, Mrs. Rasheedat Okoduwa, added that Alanamu, a former chairman of the Governing Council of the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, was arraigned along the Chief Executive Director (CEO) of Namylas Nigeria Limited, Salman Sulaiman.

ICPC in its charge sheet alleged that Alanamu, who was also the chairman of the Kwara State Polytechnic Tenders Board, collected N5 million bribe from a contractor, Salman Sulaiman, as a kickback for the award of a contract.

According ICPC’s lawyer, Sunny Ezeana, Alanamu received the bribe through his First Bank account on February 11, 2015 from Namylas Nigeria Limited, a company owned by Sulaiman, who is also his friend.

The lawyer explained to the court how Alanamu made sure that the contract for the construction and furnishing of an auditorium in Kwara State Polytechnic, at the cost of N182, 369, 625.00, was awarded to Namylas Nigeria Limited despite the clear evidence that the company was not skilled to carry out the contract.

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The other defendant, Sulaiman, was accused of bribing a government official when he paid N5 million to Alanamu as a reward for the award of contract to his company, an offence contrary to Section 9(1) (a) and punishable under Section 9(1) (b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

ICPC claimed that the defendants offences were also in violation of Sections 8 (1) (a), 10(a) (i), 18 (b), 19 and 22(1) (a) (i) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under the aforementioned sections.
Alanamu and Sulaiman both pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to them. Consequently, the trial judge granted them bail in the sum of N2 million with two sureties in like sum each while one of the sureties each must have a landed property in Ilorin.

The judge adjourned the matter till October 12, 2017 for pre-trial hearing in line with Section 3 of the Kwara State High Court Practice Direction, 2013, after which a new date for trial would be set

 

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