Ebomo, ex-NDDC committee chair, denies bribery allegations

Nicholas Ebomo, former chairman of the house of representatives’ committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has denied allegations of bribery levelled against him.

Alongside four others, Ebomo was accused of abuse of office. Three prosecution witnesses have testified so far in the trial at a federal high court in Abuja.

Ebomo and others had earlier denied the charges preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

There were reports that N400 million was sent to the first defendant to facilitate the contract of collecting statutory levies from oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region.

Inabua Michael West, a businessman with Starline Consultancy Services International Auditing and account service, who testified in the trial, had told reportedly the court how his company won the contract to recover and collect the statutory levies from oil companies operating in the Niger Delta.

“We sat with members of the Committee and a chartered accountant for the project team and the companies later paid the three per cent statutory levy to NDDC,” West was reported to have said.

“When NDDC paid us our service fee, my principal officer suggested that we show appreciation … and so we sent monies in tranches. The first amount was N400 million and was sent through our Heritage and Fidelity banks accounts.”

But the report did not state how the former lawmaker allegedly received the gratification .

The defense counsels punctured the EFCC evidence, when the first prosecution witness, Tubosun Arebuwa of Tareb Consultants, said Mutu never asked for anything, rather, they were the ones, who in their own initiative and volition, determined and paid money to Airworld Technologies Ltd & Oyien Homes Ltd, the second and third defendants respectively, as appreciation.

He said the money earned and disbursed was not a proceed of corruption” though EFCC counsel, Ekele Iheanacho objected to its admissibility, but the court overruled him.

He also noted that West and Akindeye Ezekiel, the second and third prosecution witnesses corroborated the evidence of the first prosecution witness and went further to deny knowing or meeting with Mutu at any time.