The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has moved to re-arraign three senior officials of the National Assembly over an alleged N337.06 million fraud, but the process was stalled on Monday following preliminary objections raised by the defence before a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Jikwoyi, Abuja.
The defendants are Aishatu Bappa El-Nafaty, Director of Public Affairs in the Directorate of Special Duties and Parliamentary Security; Mamud Alhaji Abubakar, a former Permanent Secretary in the National Assembly Service; and Igba Ityoakura Joseph, a Deputy Director of Procurement.
According to the EFCC, “The trio were scheduled to be re-arraigned before Muhammed Zubairu on an amended 23-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery, criminal breach of trust, official corruption and the alleged diversion of National Assembly funds amounting to N337,062,350”.
Proceedings, however, could not continue after counsel to the second defendant, Muhammed Ndayako, filed a preliminary objection seeking the striking out of counts three, four, five, six, seven and 18 of the amended charge.
Ndayako argued that the affected counts were incompetent and amounted to an attempt to revive charges that had already been quashed by the court in a ruling delivered on 12 May 2025.
Responding, EFCC counsel Francis Usani said the prosecution was only served with the objection on June 5, 2026, shortly before the scheduled re-arraignment.
He urged the court to dismiss the application, describing it as frivolous and intended to frustrate the arraignment process.
Usani maintained that the defendants should proceed to take their pleas on the amended charges.
According to the charge, the defendants allegedly conspired between 2017 and 2019 to commit criminal breach of trust while serving in various capacities within the National Assembly.
One of the counts specifically accuses El-Nafaty of dishonestly converting N89.87 million allegedly transferred from National Assembly accounts in SunTrust Bank into her personal account between 2017 and 2019.
Another count alleges that she forged receipts purportedly issued by Fazah Integrated Services Limited between 2017 and 2018 with the intent to defraud.
During the proceedings, the first defendant indicated plans to file a similar preliminary objection. Justice Zubairu directed her to do so within 48 hours and granted the prosecution time to respond to the objections.
The matter was subsequently adjourned until September 23, 2026, for hearing on the preliminary objections.
