Posted by By Ise-Oluwa Ige on
AN Abuja high court yesterday ordered the authorities of the Nigerian Prisons, Kuje to produce in court, the jailed former Inspector General of Police, Mr Tafa Balogun, on December 6, this year to face a fresh 92-count charge of official corruption involving N5.7 billion.
ABUJA - AN Abuja high court yesterday ordered the authorities of the Nigerian Prisons, Kuje to produce in court, the jailed former Inspector General of Police, Mr Tafa Balogun, on December 6, this year to face a fresh 92-count charge of official corruption involving N5.7 billion.
The presiding high court judge, Justice Salisu Garuba gave the order yesterday following a request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Counsel to the anti-graft commission (EFCC), Mr Ade Adeniyi who was in court yesterday had persuaded the court to issue the reproduction warrant on the authorities of the Nigerian prisons.
He had said that it was necessary to compel Balogun's attendance in court since the prison authourities might not know that he still has some other criminal matter against him.
The trial judge was persuaded by the argument and issued the warrant yesterday.
Balogun together with eight companies allegedly owned by him, was convicted and sentenced to varying terms, less than two weeks ago by a Federal high court judge, Justice Binta Murtala Nyarko.
While Balogun was jailed on an eight count charge of failure to cooperate with men of the EFCC probing his acquisition of vast landed property in both Abuja and Lagos and acquirement of large shares in a number of blue chip companies, the companies were wound up for laundering money for the former police boss.
They were sentenced after entering into a plea bargain with the EFCC which was prosecuting them. The request, yesterday, by the EFCC on the court for the warrant on the deputy comptroller of prisons, Kuje to ensure attendance of Balogun in court is a clear indication that his trouble was not yet over. It is also a pointer to the fact that the terms of the 'plea bargain" between Balogun and the anti-graft commission did not include termination of a sister suit against the former police boss before the Abuja high court as being claimed by his counsel.
The ingredients of the fresh 92 counts upon which Balogun's attention is needed in court are substantially collection of gratifications from contractors of the Nigeria Police Force and criminal breach of trust.