ICPC Docks NUT Treasurer, Contractors for Embezzling N495.8m Teachers’ Funds

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has charged the Treasurer of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Abuja Municipal, Mr. Percy Ndam, to court for allegedly embezzling N495.8 million belonging to the union.

Ndam, who is facing a 5-count charge before Justice Adegbola Adeniyi of the Federal Capital High Court 20, Apo, was accused of conspiring with contractors, Frank Igbinedion and Uche Nwedi, to convert N495, 828, 000 meant for NUT Housing Loan Scheme to personal use.

Counsel to ICPC, Mr. Raheem Adesina, while pressing the charges against them told the court that Ndam, who was a Treasurer of NUT, Abuja Municipal and his associates committed the crime between November, 2011 and October, 2015. The court heard that Ndam allegedly stole the total sum of N296 million of the union’s money.

He was accused of converting N221 million from the operational account of the union to personal use in one instance and further received another N75.2 million belonging to the same union from Isaac Sanda, who is a Managing Director of Contemporary Archivision Ltd, a company involved in the housing scheme.

The court was also told that Mr. Igbinedion and Saframic Homes Ltd were paid N113.9 million in January 2012 for the processing of title documents for the land and for payment of compensation to the villagers whose land had been acquired for the project but allegedly embezzled N93, 899 million of the sum under the pretext of spending it on a payment to an unspecified taskforce and for the reprocessing of the Technical Drawing Plans (TDP) of the project.

Igbinedion and Saframic Homes Ltd were again accused by the Commission of allegedly converting N50 million out of N100 million the former had received for payment to a company, Kenia Integrated Ltd, for the processing of title documents.

On their own part, Nwedi and NCR & Associates Ltd were accused of converting N56.7 million belonging to NUT to personal use under the pretext of spending the money on Land Offer Letters, TDP and payment to a consultant.

Their offences contravene Section 311 and are punishable under Section 312 of the Penal Code Act Cap 532, Volume 4 Laws of the FCT, Nigeria.

All the accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges when read to them as their counsel applied for their bail which was opposed to by Mr. Adesina of ICPC on the grounds that the applications were an abuse of court process because they were filed before the charges were served on them.

The trial judge, Justice Adeniyi, while overruling the objection, granted their applications. Percy Ndam was admitted to bail in the sum of N100 million with two sureties in like sum; Igbinedion N50 million with two sureties in like sum; and Nwedi N20 million with one surety in like sum.

The court said all the sureties must be resident in the FCT, swear to affidavit of service, and should not be below the rank of Assistant Director in the employment of the Federal Government or FCT or any of their agencies.

The matter was adjourned to October 31st and November 1st, 2017 for hearing.