The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC arraigned the duo of Alhaji Isa Ahmed and Yahaya Manga of the Ministry of Information, Gombe State before Justice Abubakar Jauro of the Gombe State High Court on three count charge bordering on conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence.
Isa Ahmed was alleged to have sometime in January 2016, conspired with others and used his position as chairman of the Gombe State Ministry of Information Staff Multipurpose Cooperative Society to secured Agricultural loan facility in the sum of N30m from Union Bank Plc for disbursement to members but diverted part of the facility to personal benefit.
Investigation by the EFCC revealed that, the first accused connived with the second accused, Yahaya Manga, Chairman of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services, AUCPTRE Gombe State Water Board Chapter who is not a staff of the Ministry of information to diverted the sum N29m from the loan.
Count two of the charge reads, “That you, ALHAJI ISA AHMED, YAHAYA MANGA, and B. C. AMADI sometime in January 2016 at Gombe, Gombe State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, did obtain money, the sum of Thirty Million Naira (N30,000,000.00) only from the Union Bank Plc under the false pretence that, such money be collected as Agric Loan and for the disbursement of same to the members of the Multipurpose Cooperative Society with the Ministry of information Gombe, which you never did; instead diverted same to your personal use and thereby committed an offence contrary to the provision of Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, LFN 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act”.
They pleaded not guilty to the charge. In view of their plea, the prosecution counsel A. Y. Muntaka urged the court to fix a date for trial. But Justice Jauro granted bail to the accused persons on the terns of the administrative bail earlier granted them by the Commission and adjourned the case to 10 April, 2017 for trial.
