ECONOMIC Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) on Thursday arraigned before High Court in Abuja an ex-special adviser to Buhari on Presidential Amnesty, Brigadier General Tarelah Paul Boroh (rtd.) and Hanafi Musa Moroki for allegedly diverting public fund to personal use.
Boroh and Moroki were arraigned on nine-count charges including criminal breach of trust, and diversion of fund amounting to N974,768,466 and $1,914,000.
EFCC Head, Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, disclosed this in a press release obtained by The ICIR.
Earlier in 2018, the sum of $9 million (N2.75 billion) was allegedly found at the Abuja residence of the former special adviser to the president in discovery by the EFCC and Office of the National Security Adviser.
The duo were alleged to have on different occasions, dishonestly converted the sums of N8,601,571; N106,288,445; N12,078,450; N382,800,000; N456,000,000; N9,000,000 and more, while they were in office.
The third count of the charge read, “That you, Paul Boroh and Hanafi Moriki between the 1st of December 2016 and 30th July, 2017 at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court whilst being public servants entrusted with property to wit funds of the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, dishonestly converted the sum of One Million, Seven Hundred and Fourteen Thousand United States Dollars to your own use and thereby committed an offense contrary to and punishable under section 315 of the Penal Code Law”.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty of all of the charges read to them by the court.
Counsels to Boroh and Moroki charged the court that the both be granted bail on liberal terms while counsel to Boroh stressed that his client be granted bail because he brought himself to the court despite his failing health.
EFCC counsel, Aisha A.T Habib opposed the bail application; she stated that a counter affidavit had been filed against the applications and prayed the court to grant the case accelerated hearing.
However, Justice O.Goodluck granted Boroh two million naira bail while Moroki was granted bail in the sum of twenty million Naira.
She also ordered the defendants to provide two sureties not below the rank of Assistant Director in the Federal Public Service, who must be resident in Abuja and that both defendants should deposit their international passports with the court registry.
Goodluck after granting bail to the defendants adjourned the case to 26, 27 November and 3, 4 December 2019 for the commencement of trial.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via labolade@icirnigeria.org, on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94