Divertion of Funds: Court Orders Detention of Dalori, Galaxy Boss, for Two More Months

Divertion of Funds: Court Orders Detention of Dalori,
Galaxy Boss, for Two More Months

Justice Muawiyah Idris of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT
High Court, Nyanya, has ordered the detention of Babagana Abba
Dalori, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy
Transportation and Construction Services Limited, in the custody of
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC for diverting
$2.8million and N6.5billion of investors’ funds.

The trial judge gave the order on September 9, 2019 while ruling
on a bail application brought before the court by his counsel,
Joe-Kyari Gadzama, SAN, following Dalori’s arraignment by the EFCC
for criminal charges.

The EFCC had on September 2, 2019 arraigned Dalori and his
company, before Justice Idris on three separate charges – two
counts bordering on a N95,530,000 fraud; two counts bordering on
obtaining N4million by false pretence; and eight counts bordering
N30,908,000 fraud. Dalori is also being prosecuted by the EFCC
before Justice Venchak Gaba of the FCT High Court, Kwali, Abuja for
an alleged N10million fraud.

Following his arraignment before Justice Idris, Gadazama had
moved the application for his bail arguing that the case against
him was civil. He also urged the court to release him on health
grounds. The bail application was, however, vehemently opposed by
counsel for the EFCC, Maryam Ahmed, who urged the court to deny the
application for bail in the interest of justice. In arguing against
the application, the EFCC had also attached 145 petitions in the
counter-affidavit, stressing that the EFCC needed more time to
investigate the allegations.

Citing Section 162 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act
2015, Justice Idris dismissed the bail application and held that
the charges against Dalori, were criminal in nature and which he
must answer for, noting that the charges bordered on criminal
diversion, and obtaining money under false pretence, and criminal
breach of trust. The trial judge also dismissed the argument for
bail based on health grounds, noting that there were no medical
documents attached in the application.

The trial court also noted that the EFCC was able to prove
beyond reasonable doubt that Dalori used investors’ money to trade
in Forex, as indicated in the confessional statement by a
representative of Forextime Limited (the Forex company he used for
the transaction), which was attached in the EFCC’s
counter-affidavit.

Consequently, Justice Idris, ordered that he should be detained
in the custody of the EFCC for the next two months, allowing time
for the anti-graft agency to carry out more investigations into
shady dealings linked to him, even as more petitions against Dalori
continue to pour in.
Specifically, Dalori is alleged to be running a ponzi scheme, which
he has used to defraud unsuspecting investors to the tune of
N6.5billion. So far, the EFCC has received a total of 146
petitions, with 128 petitions already established against him
involving the N6.5billion fraud.
Investigations into his shady dealings also revealed that he traded
with investors’ fund to the tune of $2.8million in Forex at a loss,
and also gave a N500million tip in order to secure a contract,
which however, flopped. Further investigations into the petitions,
also exposed his fraudulent activities, which involved diverting
investors funds to personal use, to acquire properties, including
four filling stations, one hospital, supermarket, watermelon farm,
fish and poultry farmhotel, a sachet water factory, houses and
estates, and three quarries in Kano, Ogun and Abuja.

Findings by the EFCC also showed that Dalori’s claim of
investing funds in transportation through Galaxy Transportation was
false as investigators could not trace any existing bus used for
transport by his Transportation company.

Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media and Publicity