Court discharges, acquits ex-NBC boss over alleged N2.5bn fraud

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday discharged and acquitted the former Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Ishaq Kawu, of an alleged N2.5 billion corruption charge.

Justice Folashade Giwa-Ogunbanjo, in her judgment, held that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) failed to prove the allegations against Kawu and his co-defendants.

Kawu and others were charged with an amended five-count charge for allegedly diverting funds meant for the Digital Switch Over (DSO) system introduced by the Federal Government.

Kawu was arraigned in 2019 alongside Lucky Omoluwa and Dipo Onifade, Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Pinnacle Communications Limited, respectively, over their alleged complicity in the mismanagement of the N2.5 billion seed grant.

The ICPC alleged that the former NBC boss misled the Minister of Information and Culture into approving the payment of N2.5 billion to Pinnacle Communications Limited, a private company owned by his friend Omoluwa, who was the third defendant.

ALSO READ: Minimum wage: Strike unfortunate, we will soon sort it out — Wike

According to the anti-graft agency, Omoluwa’s firm was not qualified for such a grant. He subsequently transferred N537.25 million out of the N2.5 billion to a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator for its dollar equivalent.

The BDC operator was said to have delivered the dollars in cash to Omoluwa at his residence in Kaduna.

Although the anti-corruption commission initially filed a 12-count charge against the defendants, it was later amended to five counts.

One of the counts read:

“That you, Is’haq Kawu Modibbo, Sir Lucky Omoluwa, and Dipo Onifade, sometime between December 2016 and May 2017 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired with each other to use the position of Is’haq Kawu Modibbo as the Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to confer a corrupt advantage on Sir Lucky Omoluwa, your friend and associate, by recommending to the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture to approve the payment of N2.5 billion to Pinnacle Communications Limited, a private company owned by Sir Lucky Omoluwa, as a seed grant under the DSO of the Federal Government of Nigeria, when you knew that the said company was not entitled to receive such a grant. You thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 26(1)(c) and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.”