NEMA
Contractor Clears NEMA
NEMA
Contractor Clears NEMA Staff against Bribery Allegation
in Court
The trial of the chief maintenance officer of National Emergency
Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Ganiyu Yunusa Deji before Justice
Jude Okeke of the Federal Capital Territory High Court continued on
September 25, 2019 with the presentation of the first prosecution
witness, Mr. Mathew Bala, who told the court that the monies he
transferred to the suspect, who was also in charge of fuel supply
to NEMA’s generators were in appreciation of the agency’s staff who
work under Deji.
The witness is the managing director of Rekinat Global Resources
Limited, which had the contract to supply fuel to NEMA office.
Deji, arraigned in February 2019, is facing three-count charges
from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC that border
on official corruption. He is alleged to have received backhanders
from Bala’s Rekinat Global Resources Limited which supplied fuel to
NEMA, with EFCC’s investigation establishing that funds were found
to have been paid into the defendant’s account from Rekina Global
Resources Limited.
According to the witness, “sometime in late 2015 when the
defendant took charge of NEMA’s Maintenance Department, I made a
transfer from the company’s account, Rekinat Global Resources
Limited, domiciled in FCMB to Deji’s personal account with Diamond
bank to the tune of N592,000; another N615,000 was transferred to
his account in 2016.”
He added that yet another N500,000 was transferred to the
defendant’s account around May 2016 and another N617,000 towards
the end of 2016.
As contractor who had been supplying 11,000 litres of diesel to
NEMA since 2011, the witness told the court that the monetary
transfers to the defendant were in appreciation of the staff of the
agency who work with the defendant. “I sent it (money) to him as a
thank you to his staff, to take care of his staff in the office,”
the witness said.
During cross-examination by the defense counsel, Oluranti
Oluwole, the witness told the court that one Peter Osema, one of
the junior staffs in charge of the generator was sick and paralyzed
and that NEMA made an appeal to staff and contractors to assist in
taking care of his medical bills, saying specifically that the
monies paid into the defendant’s account were for assistance to
Peter by Rekinat Global Resources Ltd. He further disclosed that
the defendant personally notified him of the condition of the sick
staff and made a financial appeal to him on his behalf.
Explaining the role of the defendant as the staff in charge of
the agency’s generators, the witness said the defendant sends in a
request for the supply of diesel which then goes to agency’s Store
and Audit Departments. According to him, when the diesel is
supplied, it would be received by the Audit and Store Departments
which will verify the quantity and quality of the product supplied
before it will be handed over to defendant’s Maintenance
Department.
The matter was adjourned to November 6, 2019 for continuation of
trial.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity