Civil Servant Who Duped College Provost With Fake ICPC Investigation Letter Faces Trial

One Mohammed Ali Garba, a civil servant with the Yobe State Government, who forged a letter of investigation against Orji River, the Provost of the Federal College of Education in the state, has been arraigned.

Garba had told the Provost that he was being investigated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Garba presented the Provost with a fake investigation letter purportedly signed by the Commission’s Director of Operations.

The accused person used the fake letter to extort the sum of three million, five hundred thousand Naira (N3.5m) from the said provost in the guise that he was going to settle the Director of Operations to terminate the non-existent investigation.

The ICPC on Thursday arraigned Garba for offences bordering on extortion impersonation, and forgery in a charge No: CR/478/2022. 

He was presented before Honourable Justice M.A. Hassan of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Abuja.

As part of the charges, ICPC accused the defendant of making a false statement by stating that he did not further his education beyond the primary level when he actually holds a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics/English from the University of Maiduguri.

His offences are contrary to, and punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code Act, and sections 10 and 25 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

The accused had pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were read to him.

A.D. Atanda and M.K. Akanbi, his counsels then filed a bail application on behalf of their client.

The application was not opposed by the prosecution counsel, Mashkur Salisu and the matter was therefore adjourned to till 15th January 2023, for determination of the bail application.

However, the Judge ordered the administrative bail earlier granted him by the Commission to subsist.