The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday arraigned a former Governor of Abia State, Theodore Orji, and four others at the Abia State High Court for allegedly misappropriating about ₦47bn.
Apart from the former governor, the other four defendants are his son, Engineer Chinedum Orji; a former Commissioner of Finance for Abia State, Dr. Philip Nto; a government contractor, Obioma King; and a former Director of Finance for Abia State, Romas Madu.
They were all arraigned before the Chief Judge, Justice Lilian Abai on a 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy to steal and convert billions of naira meant for various government programmes.
Specifically, they are accused of: Misappropriating N22.5 billion allocated for security votes from 2011 to 2015, stealing ₦13 billion from a loan facility granted by Diamond Bank, and illegal conversion of N12 billion from the Paris Club refund.
Lastly, they are also accused of converting ₦10.5 billion from a loan granted by First Bank, meant for the Abia State government and its local councils, along with ₦2 billion from Central Bank of Nigeria funds designated for small and medium enterprises.
At the start of the proceedings, lead prosecutor Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), requested that the court registrar read the charges to the defendants to allow them to enter their pleas.
Pinheiro emphasised the importance of ensuring that the defendants fully understood the charges.
All five defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The defence team, including Bode Olanipekun, SAN, (representing the first defendant), Chikaosolu Ojukwu, SAN, (for the second defendant), Okey Amechi (SAN), and Isaac Anya, all filed bail applications on behalf of their clients.
Pinheiro had no objections to the bail requests but asked the court to exercise its discretion in determining the conditions of bail.
In her ruling, Justice Abai granted the defendants bail before adjourning till June 18th and 19th, 2025, for trial.
