Civil Servants, Ex-banker Arraigned For IPPIS, ‘ghost’

Workers Fraud by deji17 : 4:34am

Civil servants, ex-banker arraigned for IPPIS, ‘ghost’

workers fraud

THE Federal Government on Monday arraigned four civil

servants and a former banker on charges of perpetrating a

fraud involving over N140m through the manipulation of the

Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System to

input details of ghost workers in 2017.

The five defendants were arraigned on 11 counts of

cybercrime and advance fee fraud before Justice Ahmed

Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

They are Anthony Ogar, Olarenwaju Ladipo, Samuel

Enwerem, Joshua Omachonu, and Joy Wright, who all

pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Ogar was said to be of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture

and Rural Development, Wright, the IPPS Desk Officer in the

ministry, the duo of Ladipo and Omachonu, were said to be

of the Nigeria Space and Development Agency, and

Enwerem, an ex-banker, when the alleged fraud was said to

have been perpetrated in 2017.

The Federal Government, through the Office of the Attorney

General of the Federation, alleged in the charges filed on

August 6, 2020, that “with the intent to defraud” the

defendants conspired and did obtain by false pretence from

the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System of

the Federal Government of Nigeria the sum of

N140,000,000 using several fictitious salary accounts of

employees of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The offences of conspiracy and the actual fraud were said

to be contrary to Section 8(a), and 1(c), respectively, of the

Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act

CAP A6 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, both of

which were said to be punishable under Section 1(3) of the

same Act.

In one of the counts Ogar, Ladipo and Wright were

specifically accused of conspiracy and “unlawfully inputting,

migrating and reactivating accounts of fictitious employees

of the Federal Government of Nigeria in the said IPPIS with

the intention that such fictitious employees will be

considered as genuine.”

After the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges, the

defence lawyers, Mr E.I.B. Odo, for the 1st defendant, J.D.

Musa for the 2nd and 5th defendants, Dickson Omahi for

the 3rd and D. Akatugba for the 4th defendant, informed

the judge that they had filed separate bail applications for

their clients.

Justice Mohammed granted each of them bail in the sum of

N10m with one surety in the same sum, each.

 

Nigeria’s Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the

Federarion, Abubakar Malami SAN, as the Chief Law Officer of the country has been a great reformer of judicial system, particularly in this trying time of COVID-19 that all states are

trying to protect the sanctity of human lives.

Since his assumption of office on November 11 2015, and his subsequent reappointment as Minister of Justice and  Attorney-General of the Federation in President Buhari’s second term, Malami has not wavered in his commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, thereby strengthening the nationhood and livelihood of the citizenry.

Malami’s intervention into the kerfuffle of Omoyele Sowore and Sambo Dasuki’s cases is one that lent further credence to the fact that in promoting human rights and a strong rule of law, culture, he is second to none. Its lusciousness in respect to noting that in less than two weeks of taking over the cases from the State Security Service (SSS), the duo were released. A courtesy of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation and in line with his  visionary leadership, defense of state corporate interest and his usual concern on equality before the law, and, above all the protection of human rights.

 

Concerned about the human rights and state of Inmates across Correctional centres of the country, Malami envisione the dire need for general review and decongestion of Prisons. To this end, the Federal Ministry of Justice under his watch had on October 2017, constituted the Presidential Committee on Correctional Service and Reform with the erstwhile Honourable Chief Judge, of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Honourable Justice I.U Bello as the chairman, to fast-track the Decongestion of Correctional centres.

The Committee secured the release of a total number of 3,768 prisoners during visits to over 34 prisons in 16 states across the country. Since then, Nigeria Correctional centres  was fine-tuned and impression of human right concern was ensured which was unarguably different before Malami assumed office.

 

Malami’s commitment to speedy trial and administration of justice in clover with his exertion to ensure a Nigeria where Justice is discharge timeously is obvious. As a legal ace, he understood the need to restrategize the model in which the suspected cases of Boko Haram terrorists and other accused persons cases was handle until proven guilty.

Therefore, he directed Members of Complex Casework Group (CCG) in the Department of Public Prosecutions of the Federal Ministry of Justice under his close supervision and reviewed all the case files and the affected individuals and the Ministry provided legal opinion based on the facts of the cases, evidence available and relevant laws.

The office also provided prosecutorial services where evidence to sustain a charge was established. And this process facilitated the discharge of 896 persons for want of evidence and conviction of 366 persons. A courtesy of the of human right crusade and champion of Nigeria’s justice system.

 

Fast forward to the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami’s contribution toward human rights policies initiation in Nigeria was tremendously impactful and surface transparency in the administration of justice. Some of which was before his assumption in to the office thought as arduous and herculean which include but not limited to;

*Implementation of Administration of Criminal Justice Act

*National Correctional Service Act

*Enhancement of the Access to Justice

*Movement for the Socio-Economic Right

*Apo Six Killings by Security Agents

*Passing of Legislations in line with International Human Rights

 

In the spirit of great determination of a visionary leader, the  Ministerof Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami SAN has already modeled post-COVID-19 Justice system, and a workable digital plan which is in line with the on-going Implementation of National Policy of Justice and the fully adoption of Judiciary Information Technology Policy which was in place since 2012. 

This to leverage technology in the administration of justice in order to cushion the effect of covid-19 for proper speedy and discharge of justice in Nigeria. These all are a courtesy of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation  AbubakarMalami SAN. And these are just a few among his laudable achievement toward the promotion of human right, administration of justice yet It rightly position him as a champion of Nigeria’s Justice system.