Friday, February 28, 2025 - A former governor of Abia State, Theodore Orji, has been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 16-count charges.
The former senator representing Abia Central senatorial district was
arraigned alongside four other suspects.
The five defendants are Orji; his son Engineer Chinedum Orji; a former
Commissioner of Finance for Abia State Dr. Philip Nto; a government contractor
Obioma King; and a former Director of Finance for Abia State, Romas Madu.
They were brought before Chief Judge, Justice Lilian Abai on a 16-count
charge bothering on conspiracy to steal and convert billions of naira meant for
various government programs.
Specifically, they are accused of:
Misappropriating N22.5 billion allocated for security votes from 2011 to 2015.
Stealing N13 billion from a loan facility granted by Diamond Bank.
Illegal conversion of N12 billion from the Paris Club refund.
Lastly, they are also accused of converting N10.5 billion from a loan
granted by First Bank, meant for the Abia State government and its local
councils, along with N2 billion from Central Bank of Nigeria funds designated
for small and medium enterprises.
At the start of the proceedings, lead prosecutor Prof. Kemi Pinheiro,
SAN, requested that the court registrar read the charges aloud to the
defendants to allow them to enter their pleas.
Pinheiro emphasized the importance of ensuring that the defendants fully
understood the charges.
All five defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Defence counsel, including Bode Olanipekun
SAN (representing the first defendant), Chikaosulu Ojukwu SAN (for the second
defendant), K.I. Oleh Esq., Okey Amechi SAN, and Isaac Anya Esq., filed bail
applications on behalf of their clients.
While the prosecution, led by Pinheiro, did
not object to the bail requests, they prayed the court to use its discretion
when determining the conditions of bail.
After a brief stand down, Justice Abai
granted the defendants bail and adjourned till June 18th and 19th, 2025 for trial.
0 Comments