Former NEDC Coordinator Arraigned Over Alleged N2.2bn Fraud
By Naija Enquirer Staff
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, arraigned the former National Coordinator of the Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project (MCRP), North East Development Commission (NEDC), Alhaji Danjuma Mohammed, alongside two others—Prince Chibuike Echem and Aminu Alhaji (at large)—before Justice K. N. Ogbonnaya of the Federal Capital Territory Court, Zuba, Abuja, for alleged fraud totaling N2,280,000,000 (Two Billion, Two Hundred and Eighty Million Naira).
The defendants were charged on a 54-count amended indictment alleging conspiracy, false pretence, and forgery. During proceedings, prosecution counsel Adeola Olarenwaju informed the court that the charge filed on December 3, 2025, had been substituted with the 54-count amended charge of January 22, 2026, supported by proof of evidence. The court granted this request.
Count one of the charge stated that Alhaji Danjuma Mohammed, Prince Chibuike Echem, and Aminu Alhaji, between May 2022 and February 2024 in Abuja, conspired to obtain by false pretences the sum of N2,280,000,000 from Kenneth Ejiofor Ifekudu, Managing Director of Diamond Leeds Limited, in violation of Section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
Count three further alleged that the defendants, between January 1 and December 31, 2023, fraudulently obtained N573,500,000 from Kenneth Ejiofor Ifekudu through a Wema Bank account belonging to Prince Chibuike Echem, under the false pretense of awarding contracts from the Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery and Stability Program (NERSP) of NEDC.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges. In response, prosecution counsel requested a trial date to prove its case and the remand of the defendants at Kuje Correctional Center pending trial. Defense counsel Chukwuka Obidike filed a motion for bail, which the prosecution intends to oppose through a counter-affidavit.
Justice Ogbonnaya ruled that “taking into consideration all sundries and in the interest of justice, I will allow the prosecution to reply. The defendants will be remanded at the Suleja Correctional Center pending trial.”
The court adjourned the matter to March 25, 2026, for trial.
