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Adamu Aliyu, a member of the Plateau State House of Assembly, has been placed on a wanted list by a Federal High Court in Abuja due to an alleged fraudulent N73.6 million Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, contract.

After receiving an application from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission, ICPC, Justice Emeka Nwite issued an order declaring Aliyu wanted, the member representing the Jos North State Constituency.

According to court documents seen by ZINGTIE, Mohammed Jidda, a businessman, petitioned the ICPC, claiming that Aliyu had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) promising to assist him in obtaining a N850 million TETFund contract at the University of Jos.

According to reports, Jidda gave the legislator N73.6 million up front, which included N52 million intended for Imanal Concept Ltd, which was controlled by Saad Abubakar and helped to facilitate the aforementioned fraudulent contract.

According to the court documents, Aliyu was also charged with giving Jidda a fictitious contract award letter for a N500 million indoor sports hall project and instructing him to deposit the initial payments into both Imanal Concept’s Zenith Bank account and his own GTBank account.

According to the ICPC’s findings, N47.8 million was deposited into Aliyu’s account, N22.4 million into Imanal Concept’s account, and a further N3.2 million was transferred straight to Aliyu.

According to the ICPC’s statement to the court, the University of Jos disputed awarding the contract over the course of the investigation and subsequently acknowledged in writing that the award letter was falsified.

The ICPC also informed the court that although Aliyu, a lawmaker from Plateau, had acknowledged receiving messages on WhatsApp and through the Clerk of the Plateau State House Assembly on multiple occasions, he had disregarded and failed to honor its invitations to explain his involvement in the fraudulent contract award.

Additionally, the anti-graft agency informed the court that it had solid evidence that the politician had reportedly made arrangements to leave the nation.

To proclaim him wanted, the Commission went to court.

In his decision, Justice Nwite approved the ICPC’s motion to declare Aliyu sought, allowing the Commission to post his name on social media and in national newspapers.

The sought order also gave security services and private individuals the authority to detain the lawmaker and turn him over to the Commission for a 32-count charge that includes fraud, forgery, and money diversion.

Aliyu, however, has denied any involvement in the contract fraud.

He refuted the accusations when contacted, stating that he never defrauded Jidda.

The legislator maintained that the issue was a civil dispute over consulting services rather than a criminal prosecution, and he said he had returned N45 million from his account to Jidda’s Mohiba Investment Ltd.

Additionally, he denied falsifying the contract award letter, claiming that his responsibility was restricted to delivering it. He further mentioned that his attorneys had informed the Commission in writing that the case was already in a civil court.

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