The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will on June 3 arraign a former Commander of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Major General Emmanuel Atewe and the immediate past Director General of the Nigerian Maritime and Administration Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Patrick Akpolobokemi, over an alleged N19.7 billion fraud at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Their arraignment, which was earlier fixed for yesterday was stalled owing to an objection raised by Akpobolokemi to the reading of the 11-count charge on the grounds that he was never served with the charge and the proof of evidence.
The two were charged alongside Kime Engozu and Josephine Otuaga, over alleged conspiracy, fraud, stealing and fraudulent conversation of the sum of N19.744, 041, 556 to their personal use. At yesterday’s proceedings, Akpolobokemi informed the court that he was not aware of his arraignment before the court.
Akpolobokemi whom the presiding judge described as “notorious defendant,” due to multiple criminal charges hanging on his neck, said he was just coming from the hospital to attend his trial in another criminal charge before another court and as such he was not aware of the new charge.
He further informed the court that neither his lawyer nor he was briefed about any arraignment. However, in his response, the EFCC lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, informed the court that the accused person had never made himself available to the commission since the last adjourned date at Justice Buba’s court. Oyedepo added that both the charge sheet and proof of evidence had been served on the accused lawyer’s firm, Dr. Joseph Nwobike & Co., which was received by one of the lawyers in the firm.
However, based on the argument put up by the former NIMASA DG, the court adjourned the arraignment of the four accused persons till June 3, when all the accused persons would have been properly served with the charge sheet and proof of evidence.
The anti-graft agency alleged that the former JTF Commander and the other three accused persons had between 2014 and 2015, in Lagos, used six companies, namely: Jagan Trading Company Limited, Al-Nald Limited, Jagan Limited, De-Newlink integrated Services Limited, Paper Warehouse Limited and Jagan Global Services Limited, to commit the alleged acts.