NSITF: Court grants Ngozi Olejeme bail in alleged N3bn fraud case

An FCT High Court sitting in Jabi on Friday granted bail to the former chairman of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Ngozi Olejeme.

Justice Maryam Hassan adopted the administrative bail conditions already granted the defendant by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC).

The conditions stated that the defendant provided two assistant directors in government establishments as sureties. In addition, Olejeme is to submit her travel documents to the court’s registry.

Olejeme, who was also an aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, was arraigned before the court on Thursday on a nine-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy, abuse of office, receiving bribe, diversion of public funds and money laundering.

She is alleged to have laundered N3 billion between 2012 and 2015 when she was the board chairman of the NSITF.

One of the charges alleged that the funds were diverted through the award of suspicious contracts to proxy companies.

The alleged offences, the anti-graft agency said, contravened the provisions of sections 8,19 (1) (b) (1), punishable under the Corrupt Practice & other Related Offence Act 2000 and Section 17, (1) (2), 39 of EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004 and punishable under the same section.

The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.