N3.2bn Fraud: Court Admits Documentary Evidence Tendered By EFCC Against Kalu, Others
Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday admitted in evidence, several bank documents allegedly used by Slok Nigeria Limited, a company belonging to former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, to perpetuate a N3.2 billion fraud.
Justice Idris admitted the exhibits after they were tendered by an Investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), John Ejim, at the ongoing trial of the former governor and two others.
Some of the documentary evidence tendered by the witness include, statements of Kalu, Senator Thoedore Orji, Udeh Jones Udeogu, Michael Akpan Udoh and Madu Romanus.
Other documents include: EFCC letters to eight banks and the banks’ responses.
The defence lawyers: Awa Kalu, Chief Solomon Akume, Chief K. C. Uwofo, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) did not oppose the admissibility of the documents.
Kalu, his Commissioner for Finance, Udeogu, and his company, Slok Nigeria Limited are being tried before the Court, by the anti-graft agency on an amended 34 count charge of N3.2 billion fraud.
They were alleged to have used the following banks to perpetrate the alleged fraud, Manny Bank, Spring Bank Plc,( now Heritage Bank), the defunct Standard Trust Bank, now United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) and Fin Land Bank, now First City Monument Bank (FCMB).
They however all pleaded not guilty to the charge.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Tuesday, the witness, who was led-in-evidence by the prosecutor, Rotimi Jacobs, informed the court that in the cause of investigations, Jones Udeogu told the commission that the first defendant, Kalu, used government money to purchase fairly used clothes popularly called ‘okrika’.
Ejim also informed the court that the investigation commenced after the anti-graft agency received a petition written by a pressure group from Abia state, ‘Abia Leader Forum’.
The witness said: “sometimes in September 2005, a petition dated September 7, 2005, written by Abia Leader Forum, was forwarded to the EFCC. The petition was assigned to my team which was led by Mrs. Funke Adetayo for investigation.
“Prior to the petition, EFCC was already building intelligence on some state governors, and the commission had already zeroed in on those who allegedly diverting public funds belonging to their states.
“It was on this basis that my team was asked to handle the issue of Abia state”.
The EFCC investigator further told the court how his commission wrote letters to some banks that were identified by intelligence information.
Some of these banks, he said, are: Hallmark bank, Standard Trust Bank (now UBA) Citizen bank (now Spring Bank), Inland Bank (now FCMB) and some others.
Ajim further told the court that a search was conducted with a duly signed search warrant at the Slok Nigeria Limited offices in Victoria Island and Apapa, Lagos, where several documents were recovered.
The witness also told the court that some principal officers of Abia State Government House, including the Chief of Staff to Kalu, Thoedore Orji, who later became the governor of the state, and now a senator; the director of finance, Udeh Jones Udeogu, who is the second accused person in the case, two cashiers of the Government House, Romanus Madu and Michael Akpan Udoh, were invited for interrogation.
The prosecution witness who is the sixth to be called in the case, further told the court that in the course of the investigation, his team discovered cheques raised on Abia State Government account in the name of serving officers.
He added that the said cheques were used to buy drafts from the Inland bank in the name of Slok Nigeria Limited and pay same into the company’s account with the bank.
He further claimed that investigation revealed that a payment was made to purchase ‘Okrika’ from Cotonou, republic of Benin. This, he said, was revealed by Udeh Jones Udeogu, the second defendant in the case.
Ejim, however maintained that when they asked for contractual record between the Abia State government and Slok Nigeria Limited on the purchase, it was discovered that there was no record to that effect.
The witness also stated that his agency extended its investigation on the identity of individuals that have interest in Slok group, which includes, Slok Pharmacy, Slok Air, Slok trading, Slok properties limited, General Ventures International and others.
The matter has been adjourned till Wednesday, for continuation of trial.