Court remands govt contractor in prison over alleged N111m fraud

The Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna has ordered that a government contractor, Bashir Ibrahim, be remanded in a correctional facility over an alleged ₦111 million fraud, pending the ruling on his bail application.

Ibrahim, a former contractor with the Kaduna State government and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Formal Act Legacy Limited, was arraigned before Justice A. M. Aikawa on a seven-count charge bordering on obtaining money under false pretences, advance fee fraud, and money laundering.

According to a statement released by the anti-graft agency on Saturday, one of the charges reads: “That you Bashir Ibrahim Bello (being Managing Director of Formal Act Legacy Limited) and Formal Act Legacy Limited sometime in the month of July, 2024 at Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria conspired between yourselves to commit a felony, to wit: obtaining the sum of N37,300,000 (Thirty Seven Million, Three Hundred Thousand Naira only) under false pretence, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14 of 2006 and Punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

Another charge states: “That you Bashir Ibrahim Bello (being Managing Director of Formal Act Legacy Limited) and Formal Act Legacy Limited sometime in the month of July, 2024 at Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria conspired to commit an offence to wit: money laundering and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 21(a) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 18(3) & (4) of the same Act.”

The defendant pleaded not guilty to all charges. Following his plea, prosecuting counsel, Fortune Amina I. Asemebo, applied for a date for the commencement of trial, while defence counsel, M. T. Mohammed, sought to move a motion for bail. However, the court could not take up the bail application during the session.

Justice Aikawa consequently ordered Ibrahim’s remand in a correctional centre pending the determination of his bail request.

According to the EFCC’s statement, the petitioner in the case claimed he was introduced to Ibrahim by three individuals — Josephine Washima, Mamuda Nyelong, and Nalara Tanimu — who allegedly presented themselves as contract facilitators in 2024. They reportedly told him that Ibrahim could award contracts for constructing solar-powered boreholes across the North-East in his purported role as the United Nations Sub-African Regional Coordinator.

The petitioner said he was persuaded to pay over ₦37.3 million as a facilitation fee, which he transferred into Washima’s account. In return, he allegedly received five letters of contract award for drilling 20 solar-powered boreholes.

He further alleged that he only managed to execute one batch — comprising four boreholes located behind Specialist School, Sabon Abuja Jahun, Nurses Quarters, and Water Board Quarters in Karin Madaki, Bauchi State — but was never paid. Realising later that the entire project was fraudulent, he filed a petition with the EFCC.