Alleged N115m fraud: Ex-SEC DG Gwarzo to know fate April 12

A court in Abuja has fixed April 12 for ruling on a no-case application filed by suspended Director General of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo. Gwarzo was arraigned on a five-count charge by the Independent and Corrupt Practices and Other Related Commission (ICPC) at the FCT High Court in Maitama. He was […]

A court in Abuja has fixed April 12 for ruling on a no-case application filed by suspended Director General of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo.

Gwarzo was arraigned on a five-count charge by the Independent and Corrupt Practices and Other Related Commission (ICPC) at the FCT High Court in Maitama.

He was arraigned along with Zakawani Garba, a commissioner in SEC for allegedly paying himself severance benefits of N104.8m and N10.4m in excess of car grant while still in service.

The trial judge, Justice Husseini Baba-Yusuf yesterday fixed the date following the adoption of addresses on the no-case submission by all parties.

Counsel for Gwarzo, Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN) said the prosecution was unable to adduce any credible evidence to make the defendant enter any defence adding that the evidence adduced were all contradictory.

Counsel for Garuba, Robert Emukpoeruo, also told the court the prosecution had failed from the evidence adduced to make any prima facie case against the second defendant.

They both urged the court to upheld their no-case submission and dismiss the charge against their clients.

However, the prosecution counsel, Raheem Adesina, urged the court to dismiss the no-case submissions and asked them to enter their defence.

He said there was the need for the defendants to explain to the court where they got the severance package since there was nowhere in Exhibit ICPC 3 before the court where severance package was mention.

According to him, there was no single word of severance benefit in the SEC Board Resolution of July, 2002 (Exhibit ICPC 3), adding that what was approved and collected was severance benefit when the first defendant never retired from SEC.

Earlier, the court granted the prosecution’s leave to amend the five-count charge against the defendants. When the amended charge was read to the defendants, they pleaded not-guilty.