The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have been granted the permission by Federal High Court to arraign the Chairman, Goodluck Support Group, Aminu Abubakar and Okechukwu Geoffrey for extortion and blackmail.
According to a report in the Vanguard, they were alleged to have be in possession of documents relating to some officials of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. They threatened to implicate the officials by publishing the document, if they do not part with the sum of N50million.
Aminu Abubakar and Okechukwu Geoffrey have previously been in ICPC custody but were granted bail in the sum of N15million and two sureties in like sum.
They would appear before the court on a 3 count charge under the penal code, for extortion and conspiracy to extort on the next adjourned date.
It was reported that at the last adjourned hearing, counsel to the accused persons questioned the jurisdiction of the court to hear the suit. The trial judge however, averred that there was no basis for the charges to be quashed as the prosecution diligently linked them to the offenses committed.
Counsel to ICPC, George Lawal, argued that, for the application seeking to quash charges to be considered, the suspects must have been linked with the alleged offences.
“The charge clearly shows where the first accused had a meeting with the officials of the petroleum ministry, where he demanded for the sum of N50million and even went ahead with threats, and even went into a meeting where he collected the sum of N5million, even writing an undertaking”,
The presiding judge, Justice Bello adjourned the matter to October 21, 2015 for trial.
