The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned a former Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris and three others before Justice Adeyemi Ajayi of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting in Maitama.
Other defendants are Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Usman and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Ltd.
The defendants are being prosecuted on a 14-count charge of stealing and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N109 billion.
They pleaded not guilty to all the charges read before them.
Counsel to the defendant, Chief Chris Uche prayed to the court for an oral bail application.
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The Prosecution Counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, opposed the request arguing that the bail application must be in written form.
After listening to their argument, Justice Ajayi ordered Ahmed Idris and two others to be remanded at the custody of the Kuje Correctional Service pending the hearing of their bail applications.
The matter has been adjourned till Wednesday, next week to hear their bail applications.
Among other things, the EFCC alleged that Ahmed Idris had between February and December, last year, accepted from one Olusegun Akindele, a gratification of over N15 billion which was converted to the United States Dollars by the said Akindele and which sum did not form part of the lawful remuneration but as a motive for accelerating the payment of 13% derivation to the nine oil producing Sates in the Federation, through the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 155 of the Penal Code Act Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 and punishable under the same section.
