Two former officials from Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Works and Housing have been arraigned on charges of diverting nearly two billion Naira in public funds.
Augustine Olowoniyan, a former Deputy Director of Highways, and Sulaiman Muhammed, a surveyor, appeared before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, facing three counts of misappropriation.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alleges the pair diverted 1,936,961,649 Naira, funds meant for the acquisition of land titles for federal roads nationwide between March 2019 and July 2020.
One of the charges details how they allegedly used their positions to misappropriate 807,053,000 Naira.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution requested they be remanded in custody, while the defence asked for time to file bail applications.
Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie adjourned the case to 3 April 2025 for a bail hearing and ordered the defendants to be remanded at Kuje Correctional Centre.
In a separate case, Mr Olowoniyan was also arraigned on three further counts, accused of diverting an additional 439,502,200 Naira. He also pleaded not guilty to these charges, and his bail application will be heard on the same date.
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