The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned Nyani Kubiliru Gabriel before Justice S.U. Bature of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, for alleged foreign exchange fraud.
Gabriel was arraigned on four-count charges bordering on obtaining money under false pretence, cheating, fraudulent conversion and criminal breach of trust.
One of the counts read: “That you, Nyani Kubiliru sometimes in June, 2021 at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court being entrusted with the sum of N7, 500,000 (Seven Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira) by Mustapha Danjuma Baba for forex trading did dishonestly convert the sum of N1, 418, 750.00 (One Million Four Hundred and Eighteen Thousand Seven Fifty Naira) to your personal use in violation of the agreement in which such trust was to be discharged and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 311 of the Penal Act Cap. 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990 and punishable under Section 312 of the same Act.”
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the defendant pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the charges brought against him by the EFCC.
Upon his plea, prosecution counsel, Elizabeth Alabi, prayed the court for a trial date for the prosecution to open its case and call all the witnesses. However, defence counsel, M. K. Habila prayed the court to admit the defendant to bail pending the commencement of his trial.
Justice Bature thereafter admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N2, 000,000 (Two Million Naira) and a surety in like sum. The surety must be a civil servant not below the rank of Level 12 or a reasonable Nigerian with a means of living, and owns a property within the FCT, to be verified by the prosecution.
The case was adjourned till November 7 and 8, 2022 for commencement of trial.
In a related development, Justice O.A. Adeniyi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, adjourned the trial of a former director, Legal Services of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Grace Taiga until September 29, 2022 for continuation of trial.
Taiga is facing prosecution by the EFCC for an alleged fraud involving the Process and Industrial Development, (P&ID).
At today’s sitting, defence counsel, Daniel Alumun, urged the court to grant an adjournment on the grounds that the defendant was on admission at the Garki Hospital, where she is also scheduled to undergo dialysis.
Alumun further apologized to the court over his inability to present the defendant’s medical report. “Our major challenge has been obtaining report from the hospital. When I spoke to the daughter this morning for the report, she said the senior consultant who is supposed to sign it is not around, and we noticed that the hospital is reluctant to sign a report. In the circumstance, regrettably we are constrained to ask for a date,” he added.
Prosecution counsel, Abba Muhammad said he was only informed about the development in court, adding that he was in court with three witnesses, ready to testify.
“Our three witnesses are here… Mr. Dikko is also here, a former Director of Legal, at the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and one of our investigators is also here. If the opportunity to take them today had materialized, we would have been left with only one witness to call and close the case of the prosecution. Apparently that is not going to be; it is unfortunate,” he lamented.
Justice Adeniyi adjourned the matter till September 29, 2022 for continuation of trial.