A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama, Friday remanded Philomena Chieshe and five other Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) officials for their involvement in the missing N35 million missing from the sales of JAMB e-cards in Benue state.
Chieshe was arraigned alongside Samuel Umoru, Yakubu Jekada, Daniel
Agbo, Priscilla Ogunsola, and Aliyu Yakubu.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned her and others on eight counts bordering on refusal to account for the board’s money between 2014 and 2016.
Justice Peter Afen ordered that the defendants be remanded in the custody of the EFCC, pending the outcome of their bail application, and adjourned until Monday June 3, 2019, for the hearing of their bail application.
EFCC alleged that Chieshe, a sales clerk with JAMB, had told their registrar and his team that she could not account for N36 million she made in previous years before the abolition of scratch cards.
The commission further alleged that she claimed that the money was swallowed by a snake in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.
According to the commission, in February 2018, Chieshe told JAMB registrar and his team that she could not account for N36 million she made in previous years before the abolition of scratch cards.
She alleged that it was her housemaid that connived with another JAMB staff to “spiritually” (through a snake) steal the money from the vault in the accounts office.
EFCC said these contravened Section 139 (a) of the Penal Code Law. They pleaded not guilty to the allegations.
The prosecuting counsel, Mr Ekene Iheanacho, prayed the court to fix a date for the commencement of trial and to remand the defendants in jail.
Iheanacho also admitted receipt of the bail applications filed by the lawyers to defendants, saying he hadn’t read through because he was served today.
