HOW PROVOST, DR. SUNDAY ITUKUDO ASSULTED JOURNALIST IN COURT FOR COVERING EFCC CASE
By Moses Gbande
A Journalist with the Democracy newspaper, was last Wednesday, assaulted physically by the Provost of Federal School of of Medical Laboratory Technology Jos.
The Provost, Dr.Sunday Itukudo, is the first defendant, alongside other four accused being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly misappropriating hundreds of millions meant for the school.
The Drama started around 2pm,when the court stood down for fifteen minutes,the provost alongside his hirees from Akwa Ibom state,met outside and held a brief meeting and unknown to the reporter that they are targeting him.
Our correspondent gathered, Itukudo, on sighting the reporter moved straight where the reporter was standing outside the court and grabbed him, challenging him, saying “you are the one posting on social media about our trial,who are you? As the reporter tried to show his ID card,they forcefully took his phone away.
The police at the court made frantic efforts to retrieve the phone but to unavail.The matter which is alreadyThe matter which is already. The matter is already reported to the police.
Meanwhile, Testifying before the court,the EFCC Operative,Abdurazak Salawu,who investigated the matter,told the court that monies were paid to various companies awarded contracts without executing the contracts.
Counsel to the EFCC, Samuel Okeleke, seek to tender in evidence,receipts of payment recovered at the cause of investigation.Counsel to the Respondents,Solomon Umoh reserved his objections to the tendering of the documents. The Presiding Judge,Justice Daniel Longji admitted the documents in exhibits as follows Yabusa Associates as exhibit B 41A while Batuta associates marked exhibit 41B. contract letters was admitted as 42A and B.Respectively,
The EFCC counsel applied for Exhibit P 24 and gave it to the witness for identification in which he identified and told the court that,it is the first bank account of Yabusa Associates. I equally seen exhibit p 41 which is a payment voucher for the sum of twenty four million,three hundred and ninety one thousand,one hundred and twenty five naira only, for the procurement of two numbers of thirty two seater Toyota Hiase buses.This money was paid to the Yabusa Associates Limited first Bank account on the 10-12-2008.on the 16-12-2008,ten million naira was debited from the first bank account of Yabusa associates in favor of the first defendant.The EFCC lawyer also told the witness to inform the court,the balance of the account before the contract money was paid.Prior to 10-12-2008,when the account was credited,the account balance was three hundred and ninety naira point thirty three kobo only.
As the trial proceed further,Exhibits P35A and B were identified by the witness as statement of accounts of Makata construction company.I equally seen exhibits 42A and B which are the documents for the award of contracts to Makata construction company. On the 19-9-2008,there was a credit into the account of Makata construction to the tune of three million,four hundred and seventy thousand,four hundred and sixty naira only. On that same day,another entry to the same account was recorded, six million,three hundred and fifty thousand naira,all from the Federal school of medical Lab Technology Jos. On the 26-9-2009, there was a transfer from Makata account to the tune of five million,eight hundred and seventy thousand naira only,was transferred in favor of the first defendant.on the 6-10-2009,there was a credit into Makata account of six million,six hundred and fifty thousand five hundred and thirty four naira only,that same day,another credit into that same account of Makata construction of twelve million,seven hundred and seventy thousand naira all from school of Medical Technology Jos and on the 9-10-2008, there was a transfer of nineteen million only, from access Bank account of Makata construction limited in favor of the first defendant. Mr Abdurazak was also shown exhibit p33 and confirm that is an Access Bank Account former Intercontinental Bank Account belonging to Mr.Sunday Itukudo,the first defendant,there was a credit of nineteen million naira only, from Makata construction to the first defendant account,there was another credit of five million,eight hundred and seventy thousand naira only,on the 25-12-2008 was transferred from Makata construction to the account of the first defendant.
There was credit entry to the Makata construction limited on 31-10-2008 to the sum of three million,three hundred and seventy five thousand naira only, On that same day,another credit of one million,one hundred and twenty five thousand naira only, into same account. These two entries were from the same school. On the 6-11-2011,transfer of four million,four hundred and fifty thousand naira in favor of the first defendant and that payment was from Makata account construction.On the 10-12-2008,there was a credit of four million,five hundred thousand naira only,on that same day,two million,two hundred and fifty thousand naira only,were made by the federal school of Medical Technology Jos.15-12-2012,debit entry from that Makata acct to the sum of five million,five hundred and fifty thousand naira only, in favor of the first defendant.Exhibit P33,which is the Access Bank account of the first defendant my Lord,the account received an inflow of five million,five hundred naira only. On the 15-12-2008,that inflow was from the Makata construction.
Further leading the witness in evidence,the witness was shown exhibit P34 which is Access Bank account of Batuta Associates limited,I equally seen Exhibit 41B is a payment voucher for the sum of forty seven million ,four hundred and three thousand,four hundred and twelve naira only,being payment to Batuta Associates limited for the procurement of medical equipment for blood safety. This contract payment was paid into Batuta Associates on the 10-12-2008,by the Federal school of Medical Technology Jos. On the 15-12-2008,there was a transfer of thirty four million,five hundred naira only,from the acct of Batuta Associates, in favor of the first defendant Access Bank account. All these companies belongs to the first defendant.Upon all these contracts,only the Bus that was supplied .
Many contracts were awarded to different companies as I said during my testimony,among such companies is G-Omans Enterprises and the Managing Director is Mr.Good luck Ochewa,the fourth defendant.Sometimes in November,2008,the company was awarded two contracts,one,for the supply of Mitsubishi Montero and aggregates sum of about six million naira only, was paid into the UBA acct of the company. And out of that amount that was paid for the two contracts earlier mentioned,the sum of four million naira was debited in favor of the first defendant from G-Omans. The G-Omans was awarded another contract for the supply of chemical reagents sometimes in April 2011. The case was adjourned to the 28-October,2019 by Justice Daniel Longji,for the continuation
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