A Nigerian civil servant has been arrested and arraigned by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, for buying a $140,000 US property. The director in the Federal Ministry of Education, Victor Igboanugo, who was also accused of taking kickbacks worth millions of naira, was arraigned before before Justice V. B. Ashi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja.
The
suspect who was accused of using his office and position to also commit
fraud worth N162m, allegedly bought the property in the US whose cost
was above his legitimate income as a Deputy Director of Procurement at
the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. It was alleged that while being the
Secretary of the Ministerial Tenders’ Board at the Ministry of
Environment, he facilitated the award of multiple contracts to private
companies where he held personal interests.
“He was further
accused of receiving N20m kickback through one of his companies,
Phinavic Ventures Limited, from the Chief Executive Officer of Lufem
Engineering Limited, Mr Asiwaju Adekanbi, after the award of a contract
for the construction of a skills acquisition centre.”
The
defendant who pleaded not guilty to the charges, was granted bail in the
sum of N2m with one surety in like sum, who must be an officer not
below Grade Level 14 in the Federal Civil Service. The case was
adjourned till June 19, 2019, for trial.
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