Posted by By Tony Orilade/Abuja, Ayodele Lawal, Kayode Aponmade & Bankong Obi on
Former Aviation Minister, Prof. Babalola Borishade; former Managing Director of NAMA, T.A. Dairo, and two others were, this morning, arraigned before Justice Umar of the FCT High Court, for corruptly enriching themselves, bribery and forgery.
Former Aviation Minister, Prof. Babalola Borishade; former Managing Director of NAMA, T.A. Dairo, and two others were, this morning, arraigned before Justice Umar of the FCT High Court, for corruptly enriching themselves, bribery and forgery.
The others arraigned alongside Aborishade were Ronald Iyayi, his personal Assistant while he was minister, and George Eider, MD, Alcaltel Communications.
They were said to have benefited from the N6.5 billion safe tower project. Aborishade was arraigned on a seven count charge of corrupt enrichment while Iyayi was slammed with an eight count charge of corrupt enrichment. Dairo was slammed with a seven-count charge, while Eider was charged with a 10-count charge.
According to the EFCC, the accused persons commited the offences contrary to Section 8(1) (a) of the EFCC Act. They all pleaded not guilty. The case was still going on as at the time of filing this report
Prof. Borishade was first arrested and arraigned before an Abuja High Court alongside Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, who succeeded Borishade in the Aviation Ministry, Mr. Roland Iyayi, Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA), on 30 June, 2008, shortly after testifying before the Senate Committee probing the N19.5 billion Aviation Intervention Fund in Abuja.
The prosecutor, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), arraigned the trio based on their alleged complicity in the management of the funds released to the ministry for renovation of airports across the country.
However, Prof. Borishade's case is compounded following his re-arrest by the anti-graft agency alongside Mr. George Eider, an Austrian contractor, Mr. Roland Iyayi, who was arrested earlier with Prof. Borishade and two others including the former minister's Personal Assistant, T.A. Dairo.
It was learnt that their arrest followed an order for fresh investigation by the commission's chairman, Mrs. Farida Waziri. Although nothing was said of Chief Fani-Kayode, who was previously arrested with Prof. Borishade, the EFCC spokesman said the new round of investigation was to assemble all charges into a single suit.
Also, the office of the arrested Managing Director of Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCo), Bates Sule, was, this morning, searched by the officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
P.M.News learnt that four EFCC officials accompanied Sule to the NAHCo head office to conduct a search and remove documents relating to the alleged N210 million fraud. As at the time of going to press, they (EFCC) were still in the premises of NAHCo, questioning some other management staff.
Investigation revealed that the former Cargo Manager, now Ramp Manager, Yahaya Hassan, was also picked up this morning, in a blue Nissan bus with registration number BA 482 AAA, while there are speculations that the Chief Accountant of the Aviation Handling Company, Anuforo Kieran, may also be quizzed.