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| Former IGP, Mr. Sunday Ehindero |
The Independent Corrupt Practices and other
related offences Commission has said that it is set to resume the
prosecution of a former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, at a
High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, for alleged criminal conversion of
money belonging to the Ministry of Police Affairs into personal use while he
was at the helm of the Nigeria Police Force.
The spokesperson for the ICPC, Mrs. Rasheedat
Okoduwa, revealed this to our correspondent in an interview on Thursday.
Okoduwa revealed that the development followed a
ruling of the Supreme Court which dismissed the appeal filed by Ehindero
challenging the jurisdiction of the commission and that of the FCT High Court
to try him.
Ehindero, who succeeded the convicted Tafa Balogun
as IG in 2004, was said to have alleged diverted funds from the account of the
police.
He was arraigned in 2012 but rather than face the
charges in court, he continued to challenge the jurisdiction of the Federal
High Court until the matter got to the Supreme Court.
Okoduwa said, “Mr. Ehindero and an accomplice had
in 2012 been arraigned on six counts for allegedly conspiring to criminally
convert public funds totalling N16,412,315.00 being interests generated from
the sum of N557,995,065.00 police money he had placed in two fixed deposit
accounts at Wema Bank Plc and the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc.
“The said money was donated by the Bayelsa State
Government to the Force at the time to enable it to purchase equipment for
proper policing of the state.
“When the principal sum donated was to be
transferred to the Ministry of Police Affairs from the accounts, the interests
earned were not transferred with it, and that formed the crux of the
allegations against the accused.”
She further explained June 6, 2012,
Ehindero filed a motion on notice, by way of preliminary objection, wherein he
prayed the trial court for orders: dismissing and/or striking out the amended
charge for want of jurisdiction; quashing the amended charge against him for
want of competency and; debarring any official of ICPC from prosecuting him for
not having constitutional power to do so among others.
In the reserved ruling delivered on September 21,
2012, the trial judge had dismissed the application in its entirety.
Thereafter, the former IG proceeded to the Court
of Appeal and again his appeal was dismissed by the appellate court sitting in
Abuja on January 14, 2014.
A.D. Yahaya and T. Akomolafe-Wilson, JJCA
concurred with the lead judgment of A. A. Adumein, JCA.
Ehindero took the matter to the Supreme Court
where he has been asked to face his trial.
The ICPC spokesperson added, “The matter ought to
have come up on Wednesday April 11, 2018 for further mention before Justice
S.C. Oriji of FCT High Court 10 sitting in Apo but the court did not sit. LR News
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