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A former Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano is challenging the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to hear the alleged fraud preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Recall that the anti-graft agency had on the 24th of January arraigned the former governor on nine charges bordering on alleged money laundering to the tune of N4bn.
At the Monday’s proceedings, counsel for the EFCC Sylvanus Tahir informed the court he was ready for the commencement of trial and had three witnesses to present in court.
But counsel for the defendant Onyechi Ikpeazu told the court that he had filed a motion challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter.
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He urged the court to exercise its discretion to determine his motion first before the commencement of trial.
The Trial Judge Justice Inyang Ekwo subsequently adjourned the matter to March 7, 2024, for a hearing of the motion.
In the charges by the EFCC, they alleged that Obiano diverted Anambra State’s security votes to the tune of N4,008,573,350 while he was in the saddle as governor between 2014 and 2022.
The EFCC accused him of indirectly transferring, through his Private Principal Secretary, N1.2bn from the state security vote account to another account belonging to Moment of Peace Ventures, an entity with no business with the state.
Obiano, however, pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
In another report, Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, yesterday went on an inspection tour of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Road as construction work resumed after an initial pause due to a debt owed to the contractor by the previous administration.
This came following a 14-day warning issued to the construction company, China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) by the Federal Government last month.
The Eastern Updates recalls that government had threatened to terminate the contract over the company’s refusal to return to site.
Inspecting the ongoing construction, Umahi said the federal government had withdrawn the warning letter, as work has since resumed on the road, despite the pending debt.
