Alleged N4bn fraud: Judge’s absence stalls ex-gov Obiano’s trial

Obiano

The planned resumption of proceedings in the trial of the immediate past governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano, was stalled on Monday owing to the absence of the judge.

The judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, is one of the judicial officers recently suspended for one year by the National Judicial Council (NJC) on account of alleged misconduct.

Obiano is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a charge bordering on fraud-related offences.

In the charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/15/2024, the EFCC alleged that Obiano, while acting as Anambra Governor between March 2014 and March 2022, indirectly transferred funds from Anambra State Government’s security vote account, which he deployed for purposes not related to security problems in the state.

In one of its filings, EFCC said investigation relating to the utilisation of the security votes account of the Government of Anambra State under Obiano revealed that he allegedly used some state government officials, including his Principal Private Secretary, Willie Nwokoye, one Otubetu Ugochukwu Chinedu and “one Uzuegbuna Okoagbue, whom he appointed as his Chief Protocol Officer/Deputy Chief of Staff upon becoming Governor and other individuals to launder funds for the defendant.

“Instances abound, as borne by counts one to three of the charge where, at the instruction of the defendant, funds from the Anambra State Government security vote were transferred to non-financial institutions and even individual accounts, the monies converted into United State dollars and collected in cash and handed over to the defendant by the said Chief Protocol Officer/Deputy Chief of Staff, Uzuegbuna Okoagbue, which the defendant claimed was for his strategic security engagements, without evidence to that effect.

“Investigation revealed that though the Anambra State Government maintained a dollar domiciliary account with Fidelity Bank, the defendant, as Chief Accounting Officer/Chief Security Officer, preferred to use accounts of individuals, companies/enterprises with no business transactions with the state government for the sole purpose of laundering the funds.