Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday, arraigned three officials of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before a Federal High Court in Lagos State over alleged N177.3 million fraud.
Gbadegun Abiodun, Oladipo Oladapo and Afolabi Albert from Osun State office of the commission were arraigned before Justice Chuka Obiozor on five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, money laundering, bribery and receiving the sum of N177.3 million without going through financial institutions.

The accused and others now at large, according to the EFCC, committed the offence between March and April 2015.EFCC, in a charge FHC/L/261c/18, alleged that the suspects on/before March 30, 2015, conspired to accept N177.3 million cash, which exceeded the N5 million ceiling without going through a financial institution.

Both Abiodun and Oladapo also allegedly received N22 million from the N177.3 million for forgery.Oladapo allegedly received N3 million from Abiodun as bribe and used Bacole Multiconcerns Universal Limited to receive another N10 million through United Bank for Africa (UBA) from Abiodun.

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The offences, according to the prosecution, contravened Sections 18, 1, 15(2), 18(c) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended by the Act No. 1 of 2012, and punishable under Sections 16(2) and 15(3).Following the ‘no guilty’ plea of the accused, EFCC counsel urged the court to remand them in prison pending trial.

But the respondents’ counsel pleaded that they be remanded in EFCC custody.Justice Obiozor, in his ruling, ordered that the accused be remanded in Ikoyi Prisons pending the determination of their bail applications.