N1.2 b pension scam: Judge rejects plea bargain

on July 01, 2015   /   in News 11:09 am   /   Comments

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 Justice Abubakar Talba of the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Tuesday rejected a bid by suspects in a N1.2 billion pension contract scam to enter a plea bargain and terminate the trial over the fraud.
The suspects-Ibrahim Ahmed Mazangari, Muhammed Sani Suleiman, Hajiya Fatima Mazangari, Saleh Yerima Tsojon and Xangee Technologies Limited were to be arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on a 29-count charge bordering on stealing and obtaining Federal Government funds by false pretence but the arraignment could not proceed owing to the absence of the 3rd accused, Fatimah Mazangari, whose counsel, Ibrahim Salau claimed, was very ill.
The counsel therefore pleaded with the judge to grant them a short adjournment to allow his client to recover from her ailment and return to court to take her plea.
But before the court adjourned proceedings to September 15, 2015, the defence counsel told the judge that his clients had opened plea bargain discussion with the prosecution and would want to take that route in settling the matter before the court.
But the action infuriated the judge, who stopped the counsel midway, warning that he did not want to hear anything about plea bargain.
“Don’t mention plea bargain here. I don’t want to hear about it,” the judge warned.
The accused persons, who were offered a biometric contract by a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Steve Oronsaye, to regularise names of pensioners on the pensions’ payroll, allegedly smuggled in names of fake pensioners, and collected unearned pension running into millions of Naira.
Count one of the charge reads; “That you Ibrahim Mazangari, Muhammed Sani Suleiman, Hajiya Fatimah Mazangari, Saleh Yerima Tsojon and Xangee Technologies Limited between 2010 and 2011 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to commit an offence to wit: obtaining the sum of N1,200,000,000.00 from the Federal Government of Nigeria by false pretence and with intent to defraud, purporting same to be monthly pension payable to M, S. Suleiman, Saleh Yerima, Tsojon, Isah U. Adamu, Daniel Mikano, Abdulahi Garba Musa whom you falsely held out at pensioners of the Federal Government by inserting their names in the pensioners’ payroll and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8 (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
Another charge preferred against the suspects reads:
“That you Ibrahim Ahmed Mazangari, Khalid Ali Biu(now at large) and Xangee Technologies Limited on or about 19th December, 2011 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, by false pretence and with intent to defraud, obtained an aggregate sum of N83, 410, 473.04 from the Federal Government of Nigeria which sum was paid into the Fidelity Bank Account of Xangee Technologies Limited purporting same to be for the contract allegedly executed for the Federal Government of Nigeria and you thereby committed an offence punishable under section 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006”