The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arraigned the Director of Administration and Supplies at the National Boundary Commission, Aishatu Abdullahi, and the Assistant Chief Accountant, Ghaji Rahila, over allegations of forgery and abuse of office.
The two were charged on Tuesday before Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja.
In a five-count charge, the ICPC accused the defendants of conspiring to allow the first defendant, Ghaji Rahila, to participate in the senior promotion exercise and secure her confirmation to the rank of Chief Accountant (Level 14) at the National Boundary Commission while also working for Galaxy Backbone Limited.
According to an ICPC spokesperson, Demola Bakare, the commission also accused Rahila of forging an admission letter from Carnegie Mellon University in Rwanda, purportedly addressed to her husband, Suleiman Mishara, in order to support her application for a leave of absence from the National Boundary Commission.
The statement read, “That you, Ghaji Rahila (F) and Aishatu Abdullahi (F), sometime in 2021 or thereabouts in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, as Assistant Chief Accountant and Director of Administration & Supplies of the National Boundary Commission, respectively, did conspire amongst yourselves to commit an offence, to wit: conferring unfair advantage by allowing Ghaji Rahila to participate in the senior staff promotion exercise at the National Boundary Commission while Galaxy Backbone Limited simultaneously employed her. You thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 26(1)(c) and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.”
Bakare stated that the prisoners pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them.
He stated that the ICPC’s counsel, Fatimah Bardi, requested a trial date, while the defendants’ counsel, Akinyemi Aremu and Adebayo Eniwaye, sought bail on their behalf.
Bakare stated that Justice Halilu granted the defendants bail on the condition that they produce two sureties each, who must be Abuja residents and civil officers holding the rank of director in any federal parastatal.
He said the judge ruled that the sureties must also submit evidence of their initial employment and latest promotion, sign letters of promise to ensure the defendants appear in court during the trial, and agree to incarceration should they fail to bring the defendants in court.
“Such directors must sign letters of undertaking to produce the defendants in court throughout their trial and agree to be put in prison upon failure to produce the first and second defendants in court.
“The said defendants shall also deposit their travelling documents with the registrar of the court. In the event that they (defendants) fail to meet these conditions, they should be remanded in Suleja Prison till the next adjourned date, “Bakare quoted the judge as saying.
The case was adjourned until March 17, 2025, for the commencement of the hearing.
