A Bauchi State High Court has arraigned the former Accountant-General of Bauchi State, Sa’idu Abubakar, on a 16-count charge over alleged diversion of public funds, fraud, forgery, criminal breach of trust and abuse of office.
Abubakar was arraigned on Friday before the Bauchi State Financial Crimes Court in connection with alleged loan transactions said to be worth about N11 billion.
According to court documents, the former Accountant-General is accused of diverting N3 billion obtained through a loan facility from UBA Bank for the procurement of 5,000 motorcycles, which were allegedly found to be non-existent.
The prosecution also alleged that Abubakar deceived the Bauchi State House of Assembly and the Office of the Secretary to the State Government by falsely presenting that some loans had received official government approval.
The alleged misrepresentation was said to have led to the issuance and use of unauthorised approval documents.
Court filings further accused the former Accountant-General of diverting an additional N4.65 billion and N3.36 billion from separate loan facilities secured from Polaris Bank and UBA for motorcycle procurement projects involving thousands of motorcycles.
Other charges against him include alleged use and possession of forged documents, creation of Irrevocable Standing Payment Orders without lawful authorisation, possession of documents suspected to be forged, and criminal misappropriation of government funds.
Prosecutors told the court that they would rely on several documentary exhibits to establish the allegations against the defendant.
The exhibits include Irrevocable Standing Payment Order records, resolutions of the State Executive Council and House of Assembly, official government correspondence, witness statements, investigative reports and bank account records.
The prosecution is also expected to call government officials, finance personnel, investigators and other witnesses connected to the disputed transactions as the trial progresses.
Abubakar is expected to answer the charges as the matter proceeds before the Bauchi State Financial Crimes Court.
