The Abia State Government has arraigned three persons who are civil servants in court for allegedly stealing pension funds in the state.
The suspects who were arraigned in the Federal High Court, Umuahia, are Onyekachi Nwabueze, Miriam Azubuike and Victor Samuel.
In the case marked FHC/UM/CR/199/24, the suspects are facing a six-count charge under Section 8 of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud-Related Offences Act, 2005, Section 100 of the Pension Reform Act 2014 and Sections 6 & 12 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024.
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The charge sheet dated October 11, 2024, was signed by C. N. Iheji, Senior State Counsel for the attorney general of Abia State.
According to the charge, the three arraigned persons and others now at large, between January and October 2024, allegedly conspired to defraud the state government of pension funds meant for real pensioners.
The charge also alleged that the suspects were involved in pension fraud worth over N50 million, even as the state government listed some names and bank account numbers where the allegedly stolen money were stashed.
However, members of the opposition in the state are insisting that anyone arrested in connection with the alleged pension fraud, should be assumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
