The Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission
(NBC), Dr. Moddibbo Kawu, was on Thursday arraigned before the Abuja division
of the Federal High Court, over alleged misapplication of the N2.5 billion seed
grant for Digital Switch-Over (DSO) programme of the federal government.
Kawu was arraigned alongside the Chairman of Pinnacle
Communications Limited, Lucky Omoluwa and the Chief Operating Officer of the
same company, Dipo Onifade.
They were however granted bail in the sum of N100million
each and two sureties each in the like sum after entering a plea of not guilty
to all the 12 counts charge brought against them by the Independent Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Justice Folasade Giwa-Ogunbanjo, in granting the defendants
bail application however, ordered them to perfect the conditions attached to
their bail within the next 10 days or risked being remanded in prison custody.
While ruling on their bail applications, Justice Giwa said
she was admitting them on bail based on the provisions of sections 35 and 36 of
the 1999 constitution which presumed the defendants innocent of the alleged
offences until proven otherwise.
The two sureties, according to the judge, must be federal
civil servants not below the rank of grade level 17 who must show evidence of tax
payment within three years period.
One of the surety must reside within the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT), with landed property and must deposed to an affidavit of
means.
In addition, the court directed the prosecution to verify
the addresses of the sureties.
On the part of the
defendants, the court has barred them from travelling out of the country
without obtaining the permission of the court.
Justice Giwa also ordered them to deposit their
International Passports with the Director of litigation of the Federal High
Court, Abuja.
The Judge said in the event the defendants are unable to
meet up with their bail conditions within 10 working days, they should be taken
into prison custody until the conditions are met.
After the charge had been read to them by a clerk of the
court, the prosecution counsel, Henry Emore applied for the commencement of
trial.
But counsel to the defendants, Abubakar Mustapha, a Senior
Advocate of Nigeria (SAN); Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN) and A.V. Etuwewe all moved
applications for the bail of the defendants.
While Mustapha appeared for Ishag Modibbo; Dr. Izinyon
appeared for Dipo Onifade and Sir Lucky Omoluwa, Etuwewe appeared for Pinnacle
Communications Ltd.
They urged the court
to admit their clients to bail pending trial as the alleged offences are
ordinarily bailable in nature.
Although the prosecution counsel, Emore had opposed the bail
applications filed by Modibbo Kawu and Omoluwa, on the grounds that they
breached their administrative bail, the court nevertheless granted them bail.
Kawu and his co-defendants are facing a 12-count charge
bordering on abuse of office, money laundering and misleading a public officer
with the intent to defraud the federal government, in contravention of Section
19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
The Presidency had in 2016, released N10bn to the Ministry
of Information and Culture for the DSO programme and a White Paper was issued
directing how the process should be executed.
Based on the guidelines provided by the White Paper, two
companies were nominated to handle the process, one of which was ITS, an
affiliate of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). N1.7bn was released to it
as seed grant for the commencement of the switch-over.
It was alleged that Kawu fraudulently recommended Pinnacle
Communications Limited, a private company, to the Minister of Information and
Culture, for the release of N2.5 bn against the guidelines contained in the
White Paper.
As a result, ICPC filed charges against him and his alleged
accomplices.
Part of the charge reads: "That you, Ishaq Modibbo
Kawu, Sir Lucky Omoluwa and Dipo Onifade sometime between December 2016 and May
2017, in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, conspired with
each other to use the position of Ishaq Modibbo Kawu, as Director General of
the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to confer corrupt advantage on Sir
Lucky Omoluwa, your friend and associate by recommending to the Hon. Minister
of Information to approve payment of the sum of N2.5 bn to Pinnacle
Communications Ltd, a private company owned by Sir Lucky Omoluwa as "Seed
Grant" under the Digital Switch-Over programme of the Federal Government
of Nigeria, when you knew that the company was not entitled to receive such grant
and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 26(1)(c) and
punishable under section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences
Act, 2000.
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