ABUJA — A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has declared a member of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Adamu Aliyu, wanted over his alleged involvement in a N73.6 million fraudulent Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) contract deal.
Justice Emeka Nwite issued the order following an application by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
According to court filings, businessman Mohammed Jidda petitioned the ICPC, alleging that Aliyu, who represents Jos North Constituency, promised to help him secure an N850 million TETFund contract at the University of Jos. The deal was sealed with a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Jidda reportedly paid N73.6 million upfront, part of which included N52 million allegedly funneled to Imanal Concept Ltd, owned by one Saad Abubakar, who was said to have facilitated the fake contract.
Investigations revealed that Aliyu handed Jidda a forged award letter for a N500 million indoor sports hall project, directing payments into his personal GTBank account and Imanal Concept’s Zenith Bank account. Of the funds, N47.8 million was traced to Aliyu’s account, N22.4 million to Imanal Concept, and N3.2 million directly to the lawmaker.
The University of Jos later confirmed that the award letter was fake and that no such contract existed. The ICPC told the court that Aliyu repeatedly ignored invitations to appear before investigators despite acknowledging receipt of notices. The agency also alleged it had intelligence that the lawmaker was planning to flee the country.
Justice Nwite, therefore, granted ICPC’s request to declare him wanted and ordered that his name be published in national dailies and across social media. The ruling empowers security agencies and citizens to arrest and hand him over to the ICPC to face a 32-count charge bordering on fraud, forgery, and diversion of funds.
Aliyu, however, denied wrongdoing when contacted, insisting the matter was a civil dispute over consultancy services and not a criminal case. He claimed to have refunded N45 million to Jidda’s company, Mohiba Investment Ltd, and denied forging any document, arguing that he merely delivered the contract letter.
He further disclosed that his lawyers had written to the ICPC, informing the Commission that the matter was already before a civil court.
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