N810.7m scam: Defence ministry cooperative ex-president Sunny Antai, others docked

For allegedly defrauding members to the tune of N810.7m, a former President of the Joint Staff Cooperative Thrift and Loan Society, Sunny Antai, has been arraigned before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in the Jabi area of Abuja.

The accused, a retired official of the Federal Ministry of Defence, was charged with Emenogu Nwachi (who was then the Treasurer of JSCTLS) in a three-count charge filed in the name of the Inspector General of Police.

While in office between 2002 and 2012, they were alleged to have fraudulently obtained N810.7m from members of the JSCTLS on the false pretence to acquire land for them.

They were also alleged to have, between 2016 and 2017, long after their tenure, “dishonestly and fraudulently, under false pretence, signed and delivered a letter to Unity Bank of Nigeria PLC with the intention to cause the management of the bank to believe that they were still signatory to the group’s account domiciled with the bank.”

Although Antai and Nwachi were named as defendants in the charge marked CR/487/2019, only Antai took his plea, as the prosecuting lawyer, Blessing Ezeala, said the second defendant was still at large.

Delivering his ruling, Justice Hassan Babangida granted Antai bail at N100m with one surety in like sum.

The case was adjourned till February 28 2022 for the commencement of trial. Punch