The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday presented its first prosecution witness, in the trial of the Chief Medical Director of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH, Professor Thomas U. Agan, and four other persons allegedly involved in an N85 million procurement scam, before Justice I. E, Ekwo of the Federal High Court sitting in Calabar, Cross Rivers State.
The four other
defendants in the matter are: two staff of the Teaching Hospital: Ofor
Jonan Ofor, Head , Works and Engineering and Francis I Utu, Chief
Administrative Officer and Head, Legal Services.
The other two are :
Okocha Anthony and Emmanuel Etta Nkim who are both promoters and owners
of Anchor Industrial and Construction Services Nigeria Ltd and
Basemark Energy Nigeria Ltd, respectively: the two companies allegedly
used to perpetrate the fraud.
At the commencement of hearing of the
matter on Monday, counsel to the EFCC, Kayode Oni, presented the first
prosecution witness, Isaiah Yusuf, an assistant director with the Bureau
of Public Procurement. BPP. Yusuf told the court that sometimes in
2015, his organisation received a petition from Messers Metropolitan
Motors, alleging that the UCTH did not follow procurement procedures in
the purchase of a Life Support Ambulance and a Toyota Coaster Bus.
He told the court that upon the receipt of the petition, the BPP looked
through the documents and discovered that the companies indeed did not
qualify as they did not meet the bid requirement and were therefore
ineligible.
He said he visited the Teaching Hospital in Calabar to
inspect the two vehicles that were purchased and took photographs of
the vehicles.
However, an attempt by the prosecution counsel, to tender
some documents which included the petition and photographs of the
vehicles was opposed by the defence counsels, Mba Ukwueni, a Senior
Advocate of Nigeria, SAN. Ukwueni submitted that the documents were not
certified and that they were photocopies.
His argument was supported by
the second defence counsel, Tawo E. Tawo, SAN , who said the documents
failed admissibility requirements
The prosecution witness was
questioned by the defence counsels , on whether his organisation,
Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, educated the UCTH staff on the rules
and guidelines of the BPP.
In response, Yusuf said he could not give a
concise answer as he was not in the Training department and so could
not ascertain whether they have carried out sensitisation at UCTH.
He
was also asked whether UCTH was sent the rules and guidelines of BPP,
Yusuf said it was the Secretary to the Federal Government that issues
circulars to government agencies and institutions from time to time.
The second prosecution witness presented by the EFCC, Elegbede
Olamide, a staff of Mandillas Motors was not allowed to testify as the
defence counsel challenged his appearance in court on the grounds that
his name was not in the proof of evidence as a witness.
Ukwueni said
the name of the person in the proof of evidence was Morufu Lasisi and
not Elegbede Olamide and so he could not stand in place of Lasisi.
Though EFCC counsel argued that both men were from the same
organisation, Justice Ekwo adjourned to Tuesday for the EFCC to
present its witness as listed in the proof of evidence.
Professor
Agan and his two colleagues are alleged to have used their position to
corruptly influence the award of the purchase of a Life Support
Ambulance vehicle and one Toyota Coaster Bus to Anchor Industrial and
Construction Services Limited and Basemark Energy Nigeria Limited, by
inflating their costs and without following due procurement processes to
the tune of N85,062,000.00, thereby contravening the public procurement
Act 20
The defendants were arraigned on 3 April, 2017 on a
five- count charge bordering on alleged conspiracy, bid-rigging, abuse
of office and breach of due process contrary to Procurement Act 2007.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges upon arraignment.
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