A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the remand of two Rural Electrification Agency (REA) officials, Umar Musa Karaye and Emmanuel Titus Pada, in Kuje prison pending their bail hearing on June 20. Justice Emeka Nwite issued the order after their arraignment on four-count charges related to a N1.853 billion fraud in the REA.
Karaye and Pada are accused of misappropriating funds intended for rural electrification projects across Nigeria. Both pleaded not guilty to the charges filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). Justice Nwite had previously issued a bench warrant for their arrest, which was vacated when they appeared in court on Thursday.
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The arraignment also involved applications for bail by Karaye and Pada’s lawyer, Idoko Alhassan, which the prosecution had not yet received. Justice Nwite scheduled the bail hearing for June 20 and set the trial commencement for July 10.
In a related case, another REA official, Usman Ahmed Kwakwa, was arraigned on June 6 on similar charges. Kwakwa pleaded not guilty and was granted N50 million bail by Justice Nwite.
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