Adamu Aliyu, a serving member of the Plateau State Home of Meeting, has requested the Federal Excessive Courtroom in Abuja to vacate an order declaring him needed over an alleged contract fraud.
Mr Aliyu, who represents Jos North-North Constituency, was declared needed by the decide, Emeka Nwite, on 12 September, after the Unbiased Corrupt Practices and Different Associated Offences Fee (ICPC) advised the courtroom that he had repeatedly ignored invites to reply questions on the fraud allegations.
The decide additionally issued a bench warrant directing safety operatives, and even non-public residents, to arrest the lawmaker and hand him over to the ICPC.
However in a movement filed on 18 September, Mr Aliyu, by way of his lawyer, M.B. Abdullahi, requested the courtroom to put aside the order. He argued that the warrant was “oppressive, overreaching and pointless” as he had since reported himself to the fee.
Grounds of software
The lawmaker stated he turned conscious of the courtroom’s order by way of social media studies, together with a PREMIUM TIMES story, and instantly offered himself on the ICPC headquarters in Abuja.
Mr Aliyu additionally claimed that earlier than the ICPC utilized for the arrest warrant, he had written to the fee explaining the circumstances of the case. In accordance with him, he obtained N43.8 million from the petitioner however had since refunded N45 million—an quantity exceeding what was alleged.
He accused the ICPC of failing to reveal this to the courtroom.
“The applicant has proven good religion by submitting himself to the respondent’s authority and poses no flight threat being a sitting member of the Plateau State Home of Meeting,” his software reads.
He additional argued that leaving the order in drive uncovered him to “precise bodily hurt” from people who would possibly search to implement it.
PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported that Mr Aliyu surrendered himself to the ICPC on 15 September.
After interrogation, the ICPC detained the lawmaker and later him on administrative bail after their investigation.
Alleged fraudulent contract
The case originated from a petition by Mohammed Jidda, a businessman, who accused Mr Aliyu of duping him underneath the guise of serving to him to safe a Tertiary Training Belief Fund (TETFund) contract on the College of Jos value N850 million.
Investigators stated Mr Aliyu allegedly entered right into a Memorandum of Understanding with Mr Jidda, underneath which the businessman paid N73.6 million to Mr Aliyu’s account and an organization known as Imanal Idea Ltd, as facilitation charges.
Mr Jidda was allegedly offered with a solid contract award letter from the College of Jos for the development of an indoor sports activities corridor valued at N500 million. Financial institution data confirmed that N47.8 million was paid into the lawmaker’s private account, N22.4 million went to Imanal Idea Ltd, and a further N3.2 million was transferred on to him.
When Mr Jidda approached the college to formalise the contract, the college denied issuing such an award and later confirmed in writing to the ICPC that the doc was solid.
The ICPC advised the courtroom that Mr Aliyu ignored a number of invites, together with these conveyed by way of the Clerk of the Plateau State Meeting and his WhatsApp line, and was planning to flee Nigeria earlier than being declared needed.
Lawmaker’s defence
In courtroom filings, Mr Aliyu outlined what he described because the information of the transaction. He stated the association started as a enterprise deal between businessman Mr Jidda, a federal lawmaker recognized as Lawal Abubakar, and himself.
As a part of the association, Mr Abubakar was to facilitate the award of a TETFund mission underneath the 2023 Particular Intervention Initiatives allocation for catastrophe restoration on the College of Jos. The contract was valued at N850 million.
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In accordance with Mr Aliyu, each side agreed on a facilitation or consultancy price of 20 per cent of the contract sum after tax deductions. As a part of this settlement, Mohibba Funding Ltd paid N43.87 million by way of him.
He pressured that the transaction was “by no means contemplated as fraud” however was a civil association that collapsed solely as a result of the College of Jos awarded the mission to a different contractor.
He maintained that he subsequently refunded N45 million to the corporate in 4 instalments—an quantity larger than what he had initially obtained.
The lawmaker additional identified that the frustration from the college prompted a separate civil lawsuit now pending earlier than the Plateau State Excessive Courtroom, wherein his affiliate, Mr Abubakar, is difficult the college and its administration over the contract award.
He urged the Federal Excessive Courtroom to vacate the warrant it issued for his arrest within the curiosity of justice and honest listening to.
The Federal Excessive Courtroom has but to set a date to listen to Mr Aliyu’s software.
