Trial Begins for Two Government Officials Accused of ₦12 Million Job Racketeering
The trial of two government staff members accused of job racketeering involving ₦12 million has commenced at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Apo, Abuja, before Justice C.O. Oba.
The defendants, Mrs. Joy Ndubuisi Chineme, a staff member of the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, and Mr. Godwin Tabo Sakat, who works for the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, were initially arraigned by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in July 2024. They face nine charges related to job racketeering.
At the opening of the trial on Monday, Mr. Suleiman Abdulkareem, the prosecution counsel from ICPC, presented Mrs. Adah Ojoma, an Assistant Director at ICPC, as the first prosecution witness. Ojoma explained that the investigation into Mrs. Chineme was initiated after a petition was filed on March 4, 2022.
The investigation revealed that Mrs. Chineme’s bank accounts contained large sums, including ₦300,000 and transfers totaling over ₦12 million. According to Ojoma, the first defendant transferred ₦3.9 million to her account in 2018, more than ₦5 million in 2019, and over ₦2.5 million in 2021. Additionally, ₦4.3 million was transferred to Mr. Sakat.
Ojoma further testified that the investigation uncovered a fake employment letter, and Mrs. Chineme later voluntarily provided a statement to the Commission. The defense, represented by counsel E.E. Oga, contested the voluntariness of the statement, claiming it was obtained under duress. As a result, the court allowed a trial-within-trial to determine the legitimacy of the statement.
During the trial-within-trial, Ojoma testified that Mrs. Chineme had been informed of her rights and given the option to involve her husband and sister to assist her in making the statement due to her difficulty with writing.
The defense counsel requested an adjournment to present additional witnesses, leading the court to postpone the case until March 25, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.
