A former Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF), Mr. Stephen Oronsaye, has been cleared of the N2 billion fraud charges filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The trial, which began in 2015, involved Oronsaye and the Managing Director of Fedrick Hamilton Global Services Limited, Mr. Osarenkhoe Afe. They were charged with 49 counts of fraud but the charges were later amended after the anti-graft commission separated the parts involving a former head of the Presidential Pension Task Force, Abdulrasheed Maina,who was at large.
In his judgment, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Abuja division of the Federal High Court stated that there was insufficient evidence to warrant a conviction.
In November 2021, Maina, who had previously been chargedseparately by the EFCC, was convicted and sentenced to eight years imprisonment.
Alongside Oronsaye, three companies were also charged by the EFCC – Cluster Logistic Limited, Kangolo Dynamic Cleaning Limited, and Drew Investment & Construction Company Limited.
The EFCC alleged that between 2010 and 2011, the defendants had used these firms for procurement fraud to divert public funds.
The anti-graft agency also accused Oronsaye and others of siphoning money from pension accounts through inflated biometrics enrolment contracts, collective allowances and other schemes.
The Auditor-General of the Federation’s report on the federal government’s pension accounts was presented, indicting Oronsaye and others of wrongdoing.
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