Former Special Assistant on Prosecution to President Muhammadu Buhari, Okoi Obono-Obla and two others have been arraigned before an FCT High Court in Apo on charges of certificate forgery.
The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) on Friday also arraigned alongside his Senior Assistant, Special Duties (Protocol) at the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP), Aliyu Ibrahim, and the Managing Director of ABR Global Petroleum Resources Ltd, Daniel Omughele on 10-count charges of conspiracy to divert the sum of N19.9 million.
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Obla was accused of dishonestly using as genuine, “a Mary Knoll College, Ogoja General Certificate of Education, Ordinary Level, May/June 1982 (GCE) Statement of Result for Ofem Okoi Ofem with candidate No: 09403/247 showing an O’Level credit (6) score for Literature in English.”
The ICPC further accused him of using same as part of the five O’Level credit requirement to study Law for the 1985/86 academic session in University of Jos, knowing same to be forged.
The defendants however pleaded not guilty to the allegations.
Defence lawyers: Paul Erokoro (SAN) , Abel Ozioko, and Emmanuel Okere applied for their bail on liberal terms. Which was not opposed by the prosecution counsel, Samuel Ipinlaiye.
In his ruling, Justice Olukayode Adeniyi granted each of the defendants bail in the sum of N10 million each with a surety in like sum.
The judge said the surety must not be below the rank of director in the service of either the federal government and any of its agencies or the FCT and any of its agencies
Justice Adeniyi ordered Ipinlaiye to retrieve the defendants’ international passports, already deposited with the ICPC and hand them over to the Registrar of the court.
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