EFCC’s N337m fraud re-arraignment bid stalls

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, failed to proceed with the re-arraignment of three officials linked to the National Assembly over an alleged N337 million fraud case after one of the defendants challenged parts of the amended charges before the court.

The defendants, Aishatu Bappa El-Nafaty, Director of Public Affairs in the Directorate of Special Duties and Parliamentary Security at the National Assembly; Mamud Alhaji Abubakar, a former Permanent Secretary in the National Assembly Service; and Igba Ityoakura Joseph, a Deputy Director of Procurement, were scheduled to be re-arraigned before Justice Muhammed Zubairu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Jikwoyi, Abuja.

The trio is facing an amended 23-count charge bordering on alleged conspiracy, forgery, criminal breach of trust, official corruption and the unlawful conversion of National Assembly funds amounting to N337,062,350.

Proceedings, however, could not continue after counsel to the second defendant, Muhammed Ndayako (SAN), raised a preliminary objection seeking the dismissal of counts three, four, five, six, seven and 18 of the amended charge.

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Ndayako argued that the affected counts were incompetent and amounted to an attempt to revive charges that had already been struck out by the court in a ruling delivered on May 12, 2025.

Responding, prosecution counsel Francis Usani told the court that the objection was served on the EFCC only on Friday, June 5, 2026, barely days before the scheduled re-arraignment.

Usani expressed dissatisfaction with the timing of the filing, noting that the defence had more than a month from the previous adjournment date to file the application.

While indicating his intention to formally respond to the objection, the prosecutor urged the court to dismiss it, describing it as frivolous and an attempt to frustrate the planned re-arraignment.

He further prayed the court to direct the defendants to enter their pleas on the amended charges.

According to the charge sheet, the defendants are accused of conspiring between 2017 and 2019 to commit criminal breach of trust involving public funds belonging to the National Assembly.

One of the counts alleges that El-Nafaty, while serving as Deputy Director and Head of Training and Welfare at the National Assembly, was entrusted with N89.87 million transferred from National Assembly accounts into a personal account domiciled with a commercial bank, and subsequently converted the money for personal use.

Another count accuses her of allegedly producing false payment receipts purportedly issued by a company identified as Fazah Integrated Services Limited between 2017 and 2018, with intent to defraud.

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During the proceedings, counsel to the first defendant indicated that his client also intended to file a similar preliminary objection challenging aspects of the amended charge.

Justice Zubairu subsequently directed that the application be filed within 48 hours and granted the prosecution time to respond to all objections raised by the defence.

The judge adjourned the case until September 23, 2026, for hearing of the preliminary objections.