Alleged fraud: Court orders arrest of NIMC boss

A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of a Principal Manager with the National Identity Management Commission, Ms Jamila Muhammed, for failure to appear in court over allegations of corruption.

A statement from the spokesperson for the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences commission, Rasheedat Okoduwa, said the NIMC manager and a former Director General of the Security and Exchange Commission, Mounir Gwarzo, were being prosecuted by the commission over their complicity in the N12.8m contract scam.

The statement said, “Gwarzo is facing six counts bordering on abuse of office for awarding several contracts to Outbound Investment Limited, a private company where he doubled as a director even while he was DG of SEC.

“On her own part, Ms Muhammed, as director of Outlook Communication Limited, is facing eight counts of gratification and abuse of office for running a private company while in the employment of the Federal Government, as her company was awarded contracts to the tune of N4,372,080 by SEC.”

The commission said their actions were contrary to sections 12 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, and punishable under the same sections.

ICPC added that the arraignment of the two persons was slated for Tuesday, February 18, 2020, before Justice O. A. Adeniyi, but for the absence of Ms Muhammed, who was said to be sick and on admission at the National Hospital, Abuja.

Counsel for the ICPC, George Lawal, prayed the court to issue a bench warrant on the accused persons maintaining that there was no medical report to back the claim of ill-health by her counsel.

Justice Adeniyi ruled that Ms Muhammed should be arrested immediately and kept in the ICPC custody, while adjourning the matter till March 5, 2020. Punch