A Federal High Court in Abuja issued an arrest order for three Rural Electrification Agency (REA) staff members who failed to attend their arraignments on Thursday. Emmanuel Pada Titus, Henrietta Onormen Okojie, and Umar Musa Karaye had been granted administrative bails by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged fraud and diversion of public funds amounting to N1.835 billion.
According to the charges presented by Osuoben Ekoi Akpanimisingha, Assistant Chief Legal Officer of the ICPC, Titus is accused of diverting N261 million, Okojie of N342 million, and Karaye of N165 million.
Okojie sought the court’s permission to have the trio arrested for deliberately failing to appear, despite being served notices of arraignment on May 29th, 2024. However, the defendants did not appear for their arraignments.
Investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), ICPC, and the House of Representatives Accounts Committee revealed outflows of payments totaling N1.835 billion, disbursed into six personal accounts of senior agency officials.
The court adjourned the re-arraignment of Titus, Okojie, and Karaye to June 13th, 2024, and that of Usman Ahmed Kwakwa to June 14th, 2024.
Earlier, in March 2024, President Bola Tinubu suspended Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, managing director and chief executive of REA, indefinitely, following an investigation into financial activities and the diversion of N1.2 billion into personal accounts. Tinubu also approved the indefinite suspension of Olaniyi Netufo, Barka Sajou, and Sa’adatu Balgore, executive directors of the agency.
