According to a report from DAILY POST, a Federal High Court in Abuja has paved the way for the arraignment of two senior officials of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) over their alleged involvement in a N1.84 billion fraud.
On Monday, Justice Nkeonye Maha fixed September 26 as the date for the arraignment of Aminat Asuni and Laure Abdullahi, who are being prosecuted separately by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
This latest development comes after the ICPC had already arraigned five other REA officials before sister courts in connection with the same fraud case.
According to the charges filed by the anti-corruption agency, Asuni is accused of fraudulently receiving a sum of N336 million in different tranches through her Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) account number 0022457813.
She allegedly committed this offense in March 2023 under the false pretense of project supervision while being a public officer employed by REA in Abuja.
Similarly, Abdullahi is alleged to have received N433 million in different tranches through his GTB account number 0023343114 during the same period, also under the guise of project supervision and with the intent to defraud the agency.
The ICPC's counsel, Mrs. P.N. Emeka, informed the court that the two defendants were currently evading arrest, prompting the judge to adjourn the case to September 26 to enable the commission to effect the service of the charges on Asuni and Abdullahi.
The alleged fraudulent activities of the REA officials are said to have contributed to the economic adversity of the agency, with the offenses being contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.