The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) has arraigned a businessman, Alexander Adeniran Babarinde, over his
alleged involvement in a contract scam, obtaining money under false pretense
and forgery.
Babarinde was arraigned by the EFCC, alongside
his company, Ajays Engineering Limited and one Suleiman Muhammed, (who is
currently at large) before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Kari State High
Court in Ilorin, the state capital, on eight–count charges bordering on
obtaining under false pretense on Monday, February 5, 2024.
The EFCC said the defendants allegedly obtained
several amounts of money from the complainant under the guise of funding and
executing some Federal Government contracts.
It stated that the petitioner alleged that
Babarinde brought some contract awards letters from the Ecological Fund
Management Committee Office of the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Development, Ministry of Niger
Delta Affairs, Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina Universal Basic
Education Commission, and the National Research Institute for Chemical
Technology.
The anti-graft agency said its findings revealed
that the letters were forged and never emanated from the said government
agencies.
The EFCC noted that the defendants obtained money
to the tune of N170 million from the petitioner as capital to execute the
non-existent contracts, adding that all attempts to recover the money proved
abortive.
The businessman, however, pleaded not guilty to
all the charges when they were read to him
Following his plea, the counsel for the EFCC,
Rasheedat Alao, urged the court to remand the defendant (Babarinde) in the
custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service and give a date for trial to enable
the prosecution to prove its case.
Justice Abdulgafar ordered that the defendant be
remanded at the correctional center and adjourned the case till March 13, 2024,
for trial.
Comments:
Leave a Reply