Former Aviation Minister, Senator Stella Oduah, was on Wednesday arraigned over an alleged N5bn fraud dating back to her time in office in 2014.
Oduah, who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan between 2011 and 2014, appeared before Justice Hamza Muazu at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Maitama. She faced five charges, including conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretences, filed by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation.
The charges allege that Oduah fraudulently obtained N2.4bn through Broad Waters Resources from the Federal Ministry of Aviation, falsely claiming it was for technical supervision. Additional counts accuse her of unlawfully securing N1.6bn and N839m, in violation of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act.
Oduah appeared in court with co-defendant Gloria Odita. Both pleaded not guilty. Oduah was represented by Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), while Odita was represented by Wale Balogun (SAN).
Justice Muazu granted Oduah bail on self-recognisance, but ordered her to deposit her passport with the court and prohibited her from leaving Nigeria without court permission.
This is the second prosecution of Oduah on these allegations, after a previous case instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at the Federal High Court in Abuja was withdrawn.
Leave a Reply