BUJA – The Federal Inland Revenue Service (Special Enforcement Unit) on Monday arraigned five men, Alex Oki, Ogbonna Agwu, Shuaibu Mohammed, Kehinde Jamah and David Kachia over involvement in employment fraud.
The accused persons were charged with conspiring to defraud, actually defrauding and obtaining money from members of the public by false pretences, ostensibly to secure employment for them.
The accused allegedly posed as officials of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIR) to carry out the unlawful act.
They were said to have deceived one Esther Amara into depositing N16,500, N20,000 and N10,000 at various times into a UBA account to secure a job with the FIR for her.
The offences, according to the charge sheet signed by Mr B.M Hamis, Senior Manager, Legal Services, FIR, contravened sections 516 and 419 of the Criminal Code, CAP28 of Nigeria, 2004.
The suspects are also alleged to have contravened the provisions of Section 46 of the FIR Act No 37 of 2007.
When the charges were read out to the accused, they all pleaded not guilty.
Mr Chinazor, Edeh, the prosecution counsel, thereafter asked for a date for their trial but informed the court that he was served a bail application by the accused persons’ counsel.
Mr Ebenezer Agbadaki, counsel for the accused persons, said he had filed and served a motion praying the court to admit the accused persons to bail pending the determination of the suit.
He said that that his clients had been in detention since their arrest on Sept. 9 and urged the court to exercise its discretion in admitting them to bail, accordingly.
The trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, after listening to both counsel, granted the bail application but remanded the accused in Kuje Prisons till they met the bail conditions.
He ordered that the accused persons must produce two sureties each, one of whom must be a civil servant on GL 10 or above and own property valued at N10 million in Abuja.
Kolawole also ordered that the sureties must swear to an affidavit of means, sign a bail bond of five million naira, produce and deposit their letters of employment and means of identification with the court registrar.
The judge then adjourned the case to Dec. 16 for trial. (NAN)
