N151m fraud: ICPC arraigns ex-OAUTH CMD, director today

Soji-Eze Fagbemi, Abuja - 31.03.2008

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) will today commence the trial of former Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife, Professor David Olayinka Akinola and the hospital’s Deputy Director of Finance, Mr. Nathaniel Dosumu, over an alleged N151 million fraud.

Professor Akinola and Mr. Dosumu will be arraigned before an Osun State High court sitting in Ile-Ife for allegedly violating the provisions of the ICPC Act. According to the anti-graft commission, the trial of the accused had suffered several adjournments due to the inability of the court to sit and the sudden death of one of the accused.

When the case was mentioned on March 10, counsels for the ICPC, Mr. Godson Igbadume and Suleiman Hassan, noted with regret the sudden death of the third accused person, Dr. Ilesanmi, who died on December 21, 2007 and asked the court to strike out his name from the case.

The prosecution presented the photocopy of the death certificate with the attached covering letter sent to the commission by the deceased‘s wife and applied for the amendment of counts 6 and 11 of the charge to effect the change of figure of the amount therein to be in tandem with the wordings in the charge sheet.

Justice G.E. Oladoke granted the application as prayed and ordered the prosecution to produce the original certified true copy of the death certificate before the case against the third accused could be struck out.

He also directed the prosecution to type out the accused statement as he said the attached photocopied were not legible enough or, in the alternative, file fresh information and apply for the withdrawal of the former charge.