A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that a former Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, be remanded in the Nigerian Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kuje.
Justice A.O. Adeyemi Ajayi gave the order on Friday.
The judge directed the suspended AGF to be remanded in the custody alongside Godfrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Kudu Usman and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited.
The anti-graft agency had arraigned Idris and his co-defendants on Friday of alleged stealing and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N109.4 billion.
The EFCC alleged that Ahmed Idris, between February and December, 2021 at Abuja, being a public servant by virtue of his position as the Accountant General of the Federation accepted from Olusegun Akindele, a gratification in the aggregate sum of N15,136,221,921.46 (Fifteen Billion, One Hundred and Thirty-Six Million, Two Hundred and Twenty One Thousand, Nine Hundred and Twenty One Naira and Forty-Six Kobo) which sum was converted to the United States Dollars by the said Olusegun Akindele and which sum did not form part of your lawful remuneration but as a motive for accelerating the payment of 13% derivation to the nine (9) oil producing states in the Federation.
The other defendants are Godfrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Kudu Usman, and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Ltd. They are being prosecuted on a 14-count charge of stealing and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N109, 485,572,691.9.
Count eight reads: “That you, Ahmed Idris while being the Accountant General of the Federation and Godfrey Olusegun Akindele while being the Technical Assistant to the Accountant General of the Federation between February and November, 2021, at Abuja in the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, in such capacity, entrusted with certain property, to wit: N84,390,000,000(Eighty-Four Billion, Three Hundred and Ninety Million Naira) committed criminal breach of trust in respect of the said property, when you dishonestly received the said sum from the Federal Government of Nigeria through Godfrey Olusegun Akindele trading under the name and style of Olusegun Akindele & Co., and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 315 of the Penal Code Act Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990”.
The former AGF and the co-defendant had earlier pleaded not guilty to the 14-count charge levelled against them by the EFCC.
The counsel to Idris, Chris Uche, SAN, pleaded with the court to allow his client to continue enjoying the administrative bail granted to him by the antigraft agency.
According to Uche, EFCC has the international passport of the former AGF.
He asked the court to permit Idris to come back on Monday for his bail application and not remand them at any correctional facility.
However, the EFCC’s counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, said the administrative bail ended once the charge was filed.
Delivering ruling Justice Adeyemi Ajayi held that the court was not a puppet to dance to the rhythm of public opinions.
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