Two Civil Servants with the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) on Wednesday pleaded guilty to a two-count charge of corruption and diverting salaries of some former staff members of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Ebute Meta, Lagos.
The duo, a Chief Accountant, Shola Onasanya and a Principal Executive Officer in the accounts department, Halimat Olalere, were arraigned before the Federal High Court in Lagos by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).
The defendants, who work at the IPPIS Payroll Desk Office of the FMC, pleaded guilty after entering into a plea bargain agreement with the ICPC.
The Commission had claimed that the defendants failed to stop N1.17 million salaries of employees who had exited the service and unlawfully converted the same to their personal use.
The ICPC maintained that the offence contravenes Section 18(2)(d) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2022.
When the case was called on Wednesday, the prosecutor, Enosa Omoghibo, informed the trial judge, Justice Ibrahim Kala, about the plea bargain agreement, stating that an amended charge had been filed on September 4, and requested that this new charge be read to the defendants.
However, the judge reminded the prosecutor that he ought to have sought the court’s permission before presenting the amended charge.
Following the judge’s position, Omoghibo applied for the court’s approval to substitute the initial charge with the amended one, which was met with no objections from the defence counsel.
The defendants then pleaded guilty to the charge.
Based on the development, the prosecutor submitted an application, referencing section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, for the plea bargain agreement to be accepted as the judgment in the case.
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Again, Justice Kala pointed out that, according to section 274 of the ACJA, the court could not proceed to convict the defendants without tendered evidence.
He noted that while the guilty pleas were significant, this alone could not guarantee a conviction without supporting evidence from the prosecution.
As a result of this, the counsel requested an adjournment to prepare appropriate documentation, and the court agreed to adjourn the case to September 18 for a review of the facts.
The defendants allegedly committed the offence between January and December 2023 at the FMC in Ebute Meta, Lagos.
The prosecution claimed that the defendants had altered the account details of Olalere, the second defendant, to continue receiving salaries meant for former staff.
The first defendant, Onasanya, reportedly instructed Olalere to transfer the salaries of the former employees into his own account.
The second defendant is accused of assisting the first defendant in converting the total sum of N1.17 million, which constitutes proceeds of corruption.