An Administrative Secretary of the Delta INEC, Inuocha Brown, and Percy Okojie, a lawyer and former President, Rotary Club, Benin-City, have been remanded in prison custody, following their arraignment by the EFCC
Justice P.I. Ajaku of the Federal High Court sitting in Benin-City Thursday ordered that their detention after the commission charged them with conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of N111.5 million
The defendants allegedly collected the money as a bribe in the weeks leading to the 2015 presidential election.
They are among the over 100 INEC Officials that allegedly collected part of the $115million (N23 billion) disbursed by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison- Madueke, during the countdown to the 2015 presidential election.
Brown was arrested sometime in 2016, following an intelligence received by the EFCC on the activities of some INEC Staff, who allegedly connived with the West African Network of Election Observers, WANEO, Non- Governmental Organisation (NGO), to defraud the Federal Government huge sums of money, running into billions of Naira during the 2015 general elections.
They were said to have committed an offence contrary to Section 18 (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2012 as amended and punishable under Section 15 (3) and (4) of the same Act”.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to them.
Prosecution counsel, Sadiq Hussaini, asked the court for a trial date and pleaded that the defendants be remanded in prison custody. However, counsel to the first defendant, F. O. Orbir, told the court that he had filed a bail application for his client. He said the alleged offences were bailable and that the defendant was earlier placed on administrative bail by the prosecution and urged the court to grant his prayers.
The counsel to the second defendant, K. O. Obamogie, made same prayers.
Hussaini however opposed their prayers, submitting that he needed time to respond.
In her ruling, Justice Ajaku turned down the defendant’s application for bail. She said that the prosecution has a right to respond.
She also adjourned the matter to June 17 for argument on bail applications, June 30 for trial, ordering the defendants to be remanded in prison custody pending the determination of their bail applications.