Former Benue focal person of the Social Investment Programme (SIP), Terhide Utaan, and the accountant, Mr. Suakor Nicholas, were Wednesday arraigned before a Makurdi High Court for misappropriating N195 million.
The accused persons, Mr. Utaan and Suakor, were arraigned over a seven count charge.
The prosecuting counsel, Douglas T. Pepe, said the accused persons in the office of Benue State Social Investment Programme (BSSIP) Makurdi agreed to do illegal act to wit, convert or divert funds meant for use of BSSIP to personal use. The same act was done in pursuance of the agreement, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code Law of Benue state.
He alleged that Utaan and Suakor diverted various sums of money amounting to a total of N195, 689, 980 meant for food vendors among others.
The prosecuting counsel also alleged that Utaan and Nicholas sometime in Makurdi within the jurisdiction of the court, forged or caused to be forged receipts, invoices and payment lists with the signatures thereon, purporting same to be authentic documents justifying expenditures amounting to N30,169,080.00, and used the said documents to retire said fictitious expenditures, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Sections 365 and 367 of the Penal Code Law of Benue state.
When the case came up for mention, no plea was taken for want of jurisdiction.
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