Laraba MUREY
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has commenced the trial of Mrs. Joy Ndubuisi Chineme of the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment and Mr. Godwin Tabo Sakat of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing over alleged ₦12 million job racketeering.
In a statement by its Director, Public Enlightenment and Education Spokesperson for ICPC, Demola Bakare, ICPC said, the trial, which began at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Apo, Abuja, is presided over by Justice C.O. Oba.
ICPC prosecution counsel, Suleiman Abdulkareem, presented Mrs. Adah Ojoma, an Assistant Director at ICPC, as the first prosecution witness.
Ojoma revealed that investigations into a petition received in March 2022 uncovered suspicious transactions, including ₦3.9 million transferred to Mrs. Chineme’s Zenith Bank account in 2018, over ₦5 million in 2019, and ₦2.5 million in 2021. She also disclosed that ₦4.3 million was transferred to Mr. Sakat.
“We discovered over ₦12 million in total across various accounts linked to the first defendant. Additionally, a fake letter of employment was found during the investigation,” Ojoma said.
Counsel for the first defendant, E.E. Oga, claimed that Mrs. Chineme’s statement to the ICPC was made under duress and requested a trial within a trial. During this session, Ojoma clarified that legal procedures were followed, and the defendant voluntarily called her husband and sister to assist in writing her statement.
The case was adjourned to March 25, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.