N1.2 b pension scam: Judge rejects plea bargain

Equity Abubakar Talba of the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Tuesday rejected an offer by suspects in a N1.2 billion annuity contract trick to enter a request deal and end the trial over the extortion.

The suspects-Ibrahim Ahmed Mazangari, Muhammed Sani Suleiman, Hajiya Fatima Mazangari, Saleh Yerima Tsojon and Xangee Technologies Limited were to be summoned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on a 29-check charge bordering on taking and acquiring Federal Government subsidizes by false falsification yet the arraignment couldn't continue attributable to the unlucky deficiency of the 3rd denounced, Fatimah Mazangari, whose advice, Ibrahim Salau asserted, was sick.

The insight thusly begged the judge to concede them a short deferment to permit his customer to recoup from her infirmity and come back to court to take her supplication.

Yet, under the watchful eye of the court dismissed procedures to September 15, 2015, the safeguard direction told the judge that his customers had opened supplication deal exchange with the indictment and would need to take that course in settling the matter in the eyes of the court.

Yet, the activity chafed the judge, who ceased the advice halfway, cautioning that he would not like to hear anything about request deal.

"Try also request deal here. I would prefer not to catch wind of it," the judge cautioned.

The blamed persons, who were offered a biometric decrease by a previous Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Steve Oronsaye, to regularize names of beneficiaries on the benefits' finance, purportedly pirated in names of fake retired people, and gathered unmerited annuity running into a large number of Naira.

Number one of the charge peruses; "That you Ibrahim Mazangari, Muhammed Sani Suleiman, Hajiya Fatimah Mazangari, Saleh Yerima Tsojon and Xangee Technologies Limited somewhere around 2010 and 2011 inside of the ward of this Honorable Court, planned amongst yourselves to confer an offense to mind: getting the entirety of N1,200,000,000.00 from the Federal Government of Nigeria by false misrepresentation and with purpose to dupe, indicating same to be month to month benefits payable to M, S. Suleiman, Saleh Yerima, Tsojon, Isah U. Adamu, Daniel Mikano, Abdulahi Garba Musa whom you dishonestly held out at beneficiaries of the Federal Government by embeddings their names in the retired people's finance and you consequently dedicated an offense in opposition to Section 8 (an) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offenses Act, 2006 and culpable under Section 1(3) of the same Act."

Another charge favored against the suspects peruses:

"That you Ibrahim Ahmed Mazangari, Khalid Ali Biu(now everywhere) and Xangee Technologies Limited approximately 19th December, 2011 inside of the ward of this Honorable Court, by false misrepresentation and with expectation to swindle, got a total aggregate of N83, 410, 473.04 from the Federal Government of Nigeria which whole was paid into the Fidelity Bank Account of Xangee Technologies Limited implying same to be for the agreement supposedly executed for the Federal Government of Nigeria and you accordingly dedicated an offense culpable under area 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offenses Act, 2006"