Ogbulafor: Strike Stalls Trial

Trial of former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor was stalled Thursday over the ongoing nationwide strike by judiciary workers. 

The former national chairman of the PDP was docked before the court alongside one other for allegedly defrauding the federal government of the sum of N170 million while serving as Minister of State for Special Duties in 2001. He was said to have conspired with others to float three fictitious companies, with which they perpetrated the fraud.

The trial judge, Justice Ishaq Bello of the Abuja High Court had last June scheduled judgment in the matte for Thursday after entertaining final arguments from parties.

However, due to the ongoing industrial action, proceedings in the matter could not hold. The court's  entrance gates were under lock and keys with unfriendly looking security personnel on duty. They said the court will remain locked until the strike called by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, is called off.

Ogbulafor and the former Secretary of the National Economic Intelligence Committee, Mr. Emeka Ebila, are being tried by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, on a 16-count of money laundering and fraud involving about N170m. They were first arraigned on 10th May, 2010.

They were alleged to have used Henrichiko Nig. Ltd, DHL Consultants and Chekwas Industries, to fraudulently obtain the sums of N82.6m, N11.5m and N6.2m, respectively, from the federal government in 2001. Ogbulafor was said to have used his position as the head of the National Economic Intelligence Committee, set up to verify debts owed local contractors, to pass off forged claims as genuine. He allegedly relied on the forged documents to certify that the three fake companies successfully executed jobs worth N104m and effected payment to the companies.

These offenses contravened Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act, 2000.

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