News

ICPC drags APC candidate Abazu to court over alleged bribery, extortion

ICPC

By Tunde Opalana

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC has dragged the APC candidate for the Ideato North and South Federal Constituency Mr Abazu Chika Benson to the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja over alleged bribery and corruption levelled against him .

The appeal seeks to upturn the no case submission ruled in his favour recently by a Federal High Court

In the Appeal No786/2019 of which all the records have now been transmitted to the Court of Appeal, the ICPC is of the strong belief that its three grounds of appeal are enough to upturn the High Court ruling and for Mr. Abazu Chika Benson to be convicted.

In a copy of the six-count charge filed at the High Court, the ICPC alleged in count one that Abazu Chika Benson on 14th April, 2014 while being a public officer asked for and received the sum of N10, 000, 000:00 from a contractor as gratification thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 10(a)(i) of the ICPC Act which is punishable with imprisonment for 7 years. The contractor who already gave evidence testified that Mr. Abazu informed him that the N10, 000, 000:00 bribe was for the “First Lady”.

The proof of evidence attached by the ICPC further showed that while still a public servant and against the code of conduct for Public Officers, Mr. Abazu registered the Company Transtell Nigeria Limited through which he collected the bribes and was the sole signatory to the account of the company.

In counts three and six, the anti-corruption agency also alleged that Chika Abazu Benson also asked for and received the sum of N4, 000, 000:00 and N3, 000, 000:00 respectively from the same contractor. It said the emboldened Chika Abazu even collected the last N3, 000, 000:00 in his private account with the United Bank for Africa, UBA.

The Commission further alleged that when the said contractor could not complete the N23, 000, 000:00 bribe demanded of him, Mr. Abazu who then was a Special Assistant to the Director General used his office to arbitrarily terminate the contract.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the appeal as prima facie case had been made against Abazu.

The facts of the Appeal is tinkering with the political calculation in the federal constituency as opposition mounts against electability of Mr. Abazu, should he be docked.

READ ALSO: Five men ‘Intentionally’ crush 60-year-old woman.

Chief Simon Osueke, a prominent Ideato leader said the people of Ideato “cannot walk into this fire with their eyes open and suffer the shame as Okigwe North Federal Constituency suffered when their representative was arrested by EFCC for corruption related offences and he died and left the people for a long time without any representation in the Green chamber”.

Stakeholders in Ideato ate of the opinion that people should vote for credible candidates and not person’s of questionable character.

About the author

Ihesiulo Grace

Leave a Comment