The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has nabbed and arraigned alleged serial fraudsters and popular Abuja socialite, Prince Chibuike Echem and National Coordinator of the Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project (MCRP) at the North East Development Commission, Danjuma Mohammed, over multi-billion contract fraud.
They were alleged to have swindled an indigenous construction and equipment supply firm, Diamond Leeds Limited multiple billion naira, posing as contract facilitators linked to major government agencies.
On Tuesday in Abuja, the two defendants were brought before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Zuba to answer a 55-count charge bordering on advance fee fraud and forgery, as they pleaded not guilty on all counts.
Trouble started in 2023 when Echem allegedly took advantage of his closeness to the Chairman of Diamond Leeds Ltd, Kenneth Ifekudu and introduced him to Danjuma who posed as a power-broker in the North.
Diamond Leeds was said to have had business transactions with Echem who served as a consultant but allegedly abused his closeness to the chairman of the firm and duped him billions of naira, with Danjuma Mohammed as his lead accomplice.
It was gathered that though Diamond Leeds was reportedly issued contract award letters, the company was never allowed to mobilise engineers or equipment to project sites anywhere in the North East, as Danjuma Mohammed usually cited insecurity in the region.
In her ruling, Justice Keziah Ogbonnaya remanded the defendants at Suleja Correctional Centre. And adjourned the matter to March 25 to April 7 for bail application by the defence counsel.
Following repeated demands by Diamond Leeds for payment for supplied equipment, the syndicate allegedly opened a Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) account bearing the acronym NEDC, from which part of the defrauded funds was returned to the company but packaged as payment for equipment supplied.
EFCC investigators have since stepped into the matter, unraveling other fraudulent activities that allegedly linked to Danjuma Mohammed that eventually led to his sack from the NEDC.
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