ICPC to arraign Masari over N184.5m alleged contract fraud

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has filed a 27-count charge before an FCT High Court against former director general of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Alhaji Bature Umar Masari, over alleged fraudulent award of constituency projects contracts worth N184.5million.

Masari awarded the specialised entrepreneurship constituency projects contracts for Benue State and allegedly received kickbacks to the tune of N99.8million between April 30 and December 24, 2014 from various contractors.

In one of the charges, he was alleged to have received the sum of N50million in November 2014 from one of the contractors and distributed part of the sum to some other persons, an offence contrary to Section 10(a)(i) and punishable under Section 10(a)(ii) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.

He was also alleged to have received various other sums from different contractors and all payments from the contractors made to his personal account with Guaranty Trust Bank and Salsala Integrated Farms Bank account with Diamond Bank, a company allegedly linked to the defendant, following a search at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).The court is yet to fix a date for his arraignment.