Date Published: 01/21/10

N479m Mass Literacy Fraud: Court stops Olagunju from travelling abroad

A fresh move by Dr. Dayo Olagunju, Executive Secretary, National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non- Formal Education, to retrieve his seized travel documents was on Thursday January 21 halted by a Federal High Court in Abuja where he is standing trial along with other 10 top officials of the Agency on an 83 amended count charge.

The trial judge, Justice Anuli Chikere had on Wednesday, December 16 2009, refused to grant the application of temporary release of the travel documents of Dr Olagunju

Dr. Olagunju and his directors were on Friday July 24 , 2009, arraigned before Justice Chikere, on a 17 count charge of criminal conspiracy, criminal misappropriation of public funds, diversion, stealing, retaining and processing proceeds of crimes, and awarding of contracts in excess of the approved limit, all totaling N479million.

Other co-accused are Joshua Durodola Alao , Alice Atteh Abang, Jibrin Rikichi Waguna, Ahmed Abubakar, Shehu Abdullahi, Dr. Victoria King- Nwachukwu,  Adamu Khalid, Moses Oseni, Francis Awalewa and Bashir Tanko Suleiman.

At the resumed hearing on Thursday, defence counsel, Barrister Oluwole Aladedoye, drew the attention of the court to an application dated November 3 and filed November 4, 2009. Olagunju, through his counsel, had in the motion, prayed the court that his travel documents be released to enable him visit his family in Canada; more so that his wife of 17 years had just given birth to their first kids, a triplet. Justice Chikere had at the last hearing, turned down the application on the ground that she needed time to study all applications filed.

The prosecution counsel, Barrister Mike Bul, Thursday, again opposed the motion on the ground that releasing his travel documents could be risky. He further said that since the documents in question were part of the conditions for his bail, there is no guarantee that if released to him, he would return to Nigeria to face trial.

He further said, “The accused needs someone to guarantee the release of the documents. That, he has not done. It will be very risky to release the travel documents. We thereby oppose the release. We pray your Lordship to grant what is grantable.” 

The Judge then adjourned till February 4, 2010 for ruling on the release or otherwise of the travel documents of the accused. Plea on the 83 fresh charges filed on December 16, 2009, would also be taken at the next adjourned date.   

Meanwhile, Justice Abimbola Banjoko of the FCT High Court, Gudu, Abuja , on Thursday, asked  Mr. Ndudi Elumelu and other accused persons in the Rural Electrification Agency, REA, N5.2 Billion contract scam, to align their position on the issue of quashing of charges levelled against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, as the court would no longer accommodate separate applications for the same purpose.

The court had on November 10, 2009 thrown out a similar application by one of the accused, Senator Nicholas Ugbane, erstwhile chairman Senate Committee on Power, seeking to quash the criminal charges against him.

At the resumed hearing of the case on Thursday, Elumelu’s counsel, Barrister Olushola Dare, also prayed that the court should quash the charges against his client as he said that there was no substantial proof of evidence to prosecute the accused.

The counsel also told the court that there should not be generalization of charges stressing that going by the Evidence Act, the charges levelled against his client ought not to be generalized.

The prosecution counsel, Barrister Godwin Obla, however, said since it is a criminal case of fraud and conspiracy which involves all the accused parties, the joint charges filed against them are in order.