Ex-FMBN CEO docked over alleged diversion of $65m for Jonathan’s Legacy City

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arraigned Gimba Ya’u, former Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), over allegations of diverting $65 million earmarked for the construction of 962 housing units at the Goodluck Jonathan Legacy City in Kubwa, Abuja.

Ya’u, alongside Bola Ogunsola, a former director at FMBN, and Tarry Rufus, Managing Director of T-Brend Fortunes Nigeria Limited, appeared before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday.

The ICPC has filed a five-count charge against the trio, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/333/24, accusing them of breaching the Public Enterprises Regulatory Commission Act and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

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According to the commission, Ya’u allegedly approved a payment of N3.78 billion to Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited, a contractor deemed incapable of delivering the project, resulting in its current state of incompletion. The ICPC claimed this violated Section 68(1) of the Public Enterprises Regulatory Commission Act, causing a substantial financial loss to the bank.

The commission also alleged that the defendants misused a N14 billion loan obtained from Ecobank Nigeria PLC in 2012 for the same project.

All three defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. Justice Omotosho subsequently granted them bail on liberal terms and adjourned the trial to February 6, 2025.