Manny Ita
Justice Keziah Ogbonnaya of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Zuba has ordered the remand of the former National Coordinator of the Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project (MCRP) under the North East Development Commission (NEDC), Alhaji Danjuma Mohammed, at the Suleja Correctional Centre. Mohammed was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, alongside Prince Chibuike Echem on a 54-count amended charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretense, and forgery. The prosecution alleges that between May 2022 and February 2024, the defendants defrauded the Managing Director of Diamond Leeds Limited, Kenneth Ifekudu, of ₦2.28 billion by falsely claiming to facilitate the award of contracts within the NEDC. One count of the charge stated, “That you Alhaji Danjuma Mohammed… Prince Chibuike Echem and Aminu Alhaji (still at large)… conspired amongst yourselves to do an illegal act, to wit; obtaining by false pretenses the cumulative sum of ₦2,280,000,000.00 from one Kenneth Ejiofor Ifekudu.” Following their “not guilty” pleas, Justice Ogbonnaya denied an oral bail application and adjourned the matter to March 25, 2026, for the commencement of trial.
In a separate proceeding at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Professor Sani Lawan Malumfashi, Chairman of the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), was remanded alongside two other officials over an alleged ₦1.02 billion money laundering scheme. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) alleged that the trio conspired between November and December 2024 to divert funds from the commission’s official Unity Bank account to a private farm account. The ICPC maintained that the defendants’ justification—that the funds were for ad-hoc staff payments—was “a mere conjecture, a screen to hide corruption and a lame excuse to justify the offence of money laundering.” Although initially remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre on Tuesday, the defendants were granted bail on Wednesday, January 28, in the sum of ₦200 million each with two sureties in like sum. Justice James Omotosho ruled that the officials must remain in custody until their bail conditions are fully met, including the submission of their travel documents to the court.
