The Economic and Financial Crime Commission is set to prosecute the former Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, and four other persons, over the 2014 immigration recruitment exercise that left more than 20 people dead.
The EFCC is reported to have spent more than 5 months investigating the matter and will now pursue an 11 count criminal charge of obtaining under false pretense, procurement fraud and money laundering.
The case was filled at a federal high court sitting in Abuja, however, Premium Times reports that the case is yet to assigned to a judge and that Moro and other accused persons might be arraigned by the end of the week.
The anti-corruption commission is to pursue the said criminal charges on Abba Moro, permanent secretary of the ministry, Anastasia Daniel-Nwobia; a deputy director in the ministry, F. O Alayebami; one Mahmood Ahmadu(at large), and the firm that was contracted for the recruitment job, Drexel Tech Nigeria Ltd.
The accused are alleged to have defrauded Six Hundred and Seventy Six Thousand, Six Hundred and Seventy Five job seekers of Six Hundred and Seventy Six Million, Six Hundred and Seventy Five Thousand Naira.
During the build up to the test day in 2014, each applicant was asked to pay the sum of N1000 for the job recruitment exercise into the Nigerian Immigration service (NIS).
According to the EFCC, Moro and others are said to have fallen foul of the Public Procurement Act, No. 65 of 2007, in the contracts awarded Drexel Tech Nig Ltd. The contracts are alleged to have been awarded through selective tendering procedure that had involved four companies, this, the EFCC says, was done without informing the Bureau for Public Procurement, contrary to sections 40, 42 and 43 of the Public Procurement Act, No. 65 of 2007 and punishable under section 58 of the same act.
Drexel Tech Global Ltd, the company that provided the e-registration platform is also alleged to be an unregistered company.
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