The Commission of Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) has prosecuted a Nigerian Air Force man for allegedly spending N20 million which was inadvertently credited to his account.
Serving Airman Haruna Samuel, Lance Corporal, from Nigerian Air Force Base, Kaduna, was arraigned on Tuesday at the Kaduna State High Court in Kaduna, the EFCC said in a statement on Wednesday.
Wilson Uwujaren, a spokesman for the EFCC, who signed the statement, said Mr. Samuel was previously indicted on one count of a charge bordering on theft and criminal misappropriation.
The defendant, who has denied the charges, allegedly committed the crime on December 3, 2020 after receiving N20,014,300 which was said to have been wrongly transferred by his employer to his bank account.
Not expecting any such large payment from his employer, EFCC alleged, Mr. Samuel failed to report the problem to his bank or employer and proceeded to withdraw part of the fund for personal use, including debt settlement.
After carrying out the alleged fraudulent act, the defendant allegedly absconded from his job to Plateau State, where he was eventually arrested by EFCC officers.
Position
EFCC charged the defendant with criminal misappropriation under section 293 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Act, 2017.
The charge reads: “That you, Haruna Samuel, at some point in December 2020 in Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, dishonestly embezzled the sum of N20, 014,300.00 (Twenty Million Fourteen Thousand, Three Hundred Naira), owned by NAF Ground Training Center which was mistakenly sent to his Zenith Bank account No. 2189705893, said sum was dishonestly converted for his own use and thereby he committed an offense contrary to Section 293 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Act , 2017 and punishable under Section 294 of the same Law “. .
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge when read to him.
In light of his guilty plea, the prosecution’s attorney, Precious Onyeneho, asked the court to set a trial date.
But the defense attorney, SA Yahaya, orally petitioned the judge to grant his client bail.
The trial judge, Darius Khobo, granted the accused bail in the amount of N5 million and a surety bond in the same amount.
The bail must be a property owner in Kaduna supported by a Certificate of Occupancy, which must be verified by both the EFCC and the court clerk, the judge ruled, giving conditions the defendant must meet before being released on bail. .
The judge adjourned the case until March 10.