FRESH court documents have revealed details of how former Bauchi State Accountant-General, Dr. Sa’idu Abubakar, allegedly obtained billions of naira in loans through forged government approvals and diverted the funds using non-existent motorcycle supply contracts without the approval of Governor Bala Mohammed or the State Executive Council.
News Point Nigeria reports that the allegations are contained in a 16-count amended charge filed before the Bauchi State High Court by the state government, accusing the former Accountant-General of fraud, forgery, deception, criminal breach of trust, abuse of office and diversion of public funds estimated at about N40 billion.
According to the prosecution, Abubakar allegedly used forged State Executive Council resolutions, House of Assembly resolutions and Irrevocable Standing Payment Orders (ISPOs) to secure loan facilities from United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and Polaris Bank Plc on behalf of the Bauchi State Government.
The charge further alleged that the approvals presented to the banks were never authorised by Governor Bala Mohammed or the State Executive Council.
Prosecutors also claimed that the former Accountant-General misled both the Clerk of the Bauchi State House of Assembly and the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Secretary to the State Government by falsely representing that the governor and the Executive Council had approved the loan transactions.
According to the court filings, the alleged misrepresentations led to the issuance of resolutions by the State Executive Council and the House of Assembly, which were subsequently used to process the loans.
In Count One, the prosecution alleged that between December 7, 2023, and January 9, 2024, while serving as Accountant-General, Abubakar dishonestly converted funds derived from a N3 billion loan allegedly obtained from UBA for a purported contract involving the supply of 5,000 motorcycles.
The government claimed the contract never existed and accused the former official of diverting the funds for unauthorised purposes.
Count Two accused him of deceiving key government officials into believing that the governor and Executive Council had approved the UBA loan facility, thereby inducing the issuance of official resolutions that would not otherwise have been granted.
In Counts Three and Four, prosecutors alleged that Abubakar similarly obtained a N4.65 billion loan from Polaris Bank between April 3 and April 15, 2023, purportedly for the supply of 15,000 motorcycles to civil servants in Bauchi State.
The prosecution alleged that the contract was fictitious and that the loan was secured through false representations made to government officials concerning approvals that had not been granted.
Counts Five and Six relate to another loan facility valued at N3.36 billion allegedly obtained from UBA between August 10 and September 5, 2023.
According to prosecutors, the funds were linked to a purported contract for the supply of 7,000 motorcycles to civil servants, which they described as non-existent.
The charge alleged that forged approvals were again used to facilitate the transaction.
Several counts accuse the former Accountant-General of fraudulently using forged Executive Council resolutions, House of Assembly resolutions and ISPOs as genuine documents to obtain unauthorised loans on behalf of the Bauchi State Government.
According to the charge, forged documents allegedly dated April 2023, August 2023 and January 2024 were used to secure loans running into billions of naira from UBA and Polaris Bank.
The prosecution further alleged that repayment arrangements tied to the loans were backed by forged ISPOs linked to the Bauchi State Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund and Internally Generated Revenue accounts.
Court documents specifically named Emmanuel Asomugha General Enterprises as the beneficiary of some of the loan disbursements tied to the alleged motorcycle supply contracts.
Counts Thirteen, Fourteen and Fifteen accuse Abubakar of knowingly possessing forged State Executive Council and House of Assembly resolutions with the intention of using them to obtain unauthorised loans from the banks on behalf of the state government.
The prosecution alleged that he was aware the documents were forged but intended that they be treated as genuine to facilitate the transactions.
In Count Sixteen, the state government accused the former Accountant-General of criminal breach of trust, alleging that between April 2023 and January 2024 he procured unauthorised loans from Polaris Bank and UBA while entrusted with the management and control of Bauchi State Government funds.
According to the charge, the alleged actions amounted to a breach of the trust reposed in him as a public servant responsible for safeguarding public resources.
The case is expected to test allegations of fraud, forgery, abuse of office and unlawful loan procurement involving billions of naira in public funds, with the Bauchi State Government maintaining that the transactions were carried out without the approval of Governor Bala Mohammed or the State Executive Council.
The charges remain allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty by the court.