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The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arraigned an Ebonyi State government accountant, Obasi Sunday, before the Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki over alleged money-laundering offences involving ₦61 million.
Obasi, an employee of the Office of the Accountant-General of Ebonyi State, and a signatory to the Ebonyi State Government Shopping Mall Account domiciled with United Bank for Africa (UBA), was accused of carrying out structured cash transactions designed to evade statutory reporting requirements.
In a statement issued on Monday, ICPC spokesperson John Odey said the defendant was arraigned before Justice H. Oshomah of the Federal High Court, Abakaliki Judicial Division, on a two-count charge.
According to the charge, the defendant allegedly withdrew a total sum of ₦61,000,000 from the government account in August 2020 in six tranches of ₦10,000,000 and an additional ₦1,000,000, allegedly with the intention of avoiding mandatory reporting obligations.
The commission further alleged that during the same period, Obasi deposited ₦60,941,725 into the UBA account of one Ikechukwu Obiukwu, a contractor to the Ebonyi State Government, through structured instalments of ₦10,000,000 and ₦941,725, also with the intent to evade statutory reporting requirements.
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“The offences are said to be contrary to Section 19(1)(c) and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022,” the statement added.
Odey said the defendant pleaded not guilty to both counts upon arraignment.
He explained that counsel to the ICPC, Agbili Kingsley, applied for a trial date, while defence counsel, Michael Ngwu, moved a bail application, which was not opposed by the prosecution.
“The defendant was granted bail by the court on the following terms: The defendant admitted to bail to the sum of N10 million naira bond. A Surety, who must be the Accountant-General of the state.
“The Surety must sign an undertaking to ensure he produces the defendant in court with two recent passport photographs attached to it. The defendant must sign an undertaking to always be in court with two recent passport photographs attached to it,” the statement added.
The court adjourned the matter to March 24 and 25, 2026, for the commencement of trial.
The arraignment is part of a growing pattern of prosecutions by the ICPC involving senior officials in government ministries and agencies over alleged financial and administrative misconduct.
In a related development, the commission recently arraigned Yusuf Mustapha, a Deputy Director at the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, over alleged forgery.
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