ABUJA — A fresh bid by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to re-arraign three top management officials of the National Assembly over an alleged N337.1 million fraud suffered a setback on Monday, June 8, 2026.
The planned judicial proceedings before Justice Muhammed Zubairu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Jikwoyi, Abuja, were effectively stalled by a flurry of preliminary objections raised by the defense counsel.
The defendants at the center of the amended 23-count charge include:
- Aishatu Bappa El-Nafaty: Director of the Public Affairs Department in the Directorate of Special Duties and Parliamentary Security (and former Deputy Director/Head of Training and Welfare).
- Mamud Alhaji Abubakar: A former Permanent Secretary in the services of the National Assembly.
- Igba Ityoakura Joseph: Deputy Director of Procurement in the National Assembly.
The trio is facing prosecution for a laundry list of offenses bordering on conspiracy, forgery, criminal breach of trust, official corruption, and the illegal conversion of public funds totaling N337,062,350 belonging to the National Assembly.
The Legal Skirmish
As the court prepared for the defendants to take their fresh pleas, Muhammed Ndayako, SAN, counsel for the second defendant (Abubakar), intercepted the process by introducing a preliminary objection.
Ndayako prayed the court to strike out counts three, four, five, six, seven, and 18 of the amended charge dated October 8, 2025. The senior advocate argued that those specific counts were “incompetent” and represented a veiled attempt by the anti-graft agency to resurrect charges that had already been quashed by the same court in a ruling delivered on May 12, 2025.
The prosecution counsel, Francis Usani, fiercely resisted the move, expressing deep regret over what he termed “ambush tactics.” Usani complained that he was only served the objection on Friday, June 5, 2026—the eve of the trial—despite the defense having more than a month’s window since the last adjournment to file their papers.
While indicating his intention to file a formal reply, Usani urged Justice Zubairu to dismiss the objection outright for being frivolous and explicitly designed to frustrate the re-arraignment and delay justice.
Inside the Charges
The extensive nature of the amended charge outlines systematic insider abuse within the legislative management framework between 2017 and 2019.
According to Count One, the defendants allegedly conspired within the jurisdiction of the FCT High Court to commit an unlawful act, specifically criminal breach of trust by public officers, an offense contrary to Section 97 of the Penal Code, Cap 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990.
Count Three specifically targets El-Nafaty, alleging that while she held dominion over public funds, she dishonestly diverted N89,871,225.00. The funds were allegedly transferred from the National Assembly Management Overhead Account (No. 000098216) and the National Assembly General Services Account (No. 000098223) domiciled in SunTrust Bank Plc into her personal account (No. 0000998281) at the same bank.
Furthermore, Count 10 accuses El-Nafaty of systemic forgery. The anti-graft agency alleges that between 2017 and 2018, she manufactured false receipts under the name of Fazh Integrated Services Ltd (FISL). These receipts, bearing different amounts and dates, were allegedly presented as genuine evidence of payments to deceive auditors, violating Section 362 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 364.
Case Adjourned
The legal gridlock widened when the first defendant (El-Nafaty) also indicated her intention to file a similar preliminary objection challenging the validity of the charges against her.
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In his ruling, Justice Zubairu directed El-Nafaty’s legal team to file and serve their preliminary objection within 48 hours. Acknowledging the prosecution’s right to fair hearing, the judge noted that the EFCC must be given adequate time to respond comprehensively to the applications.
Consequently, Justice Zubairu adjourned the matter until September 23, 2026, for a full hearing on the preliminary objections before any potential re-arraignment can proceed.
