NIS Recruitment Scam: Abba Moro Remanded In Prison

The three accused persons were docked on an 11- count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence, procurement fraud and money laundering, before Justice A.I Chikere, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over the tragic Nigerian Immigration recruitment scam in 2014 which led to the death of over 20 applicants.

The EFCC accused the defendants of defrauding 676,675 Nigerian applicants of N676,675,000 (Six Hundred and Seventy Six Million, Six Hundred and Seventy Five Thousand Naira).

Each of the 676,675 applicants were charged N1,000 each for the participating in the recruitment exercise.

The anti-graft agency is also accusing the defendants of flouting the Public Procurement Act, No. 65 of 2007 in the award of the contract for the organisation of the recruitment test to Drexel Tech Nigeria Ltd.

Moro’s co-accused are Mrs. Anaesthesia Nwaobia, a Permanent Secretary in the ministry and a Deputy Director Finance, F.O Alayegbami.

After the 11 counts charge was read to them, all the accused person pleaded not guilty.

The prosecution, Aliyu Yusuf had made an application for a trial date and asked the court to remand the accused in the prison custody pending their trial.

In its ruling, the court held that an administrative bail granted the second accused person following request that she was a breast feeding mother.

Justice Chikere, however, ordered that the 1st and 3rd accused be remanded in prison custody pending the hearing of the substantive suit.

The case was adjourned until March 2, 2016.