A serving member of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Adamu Aliyu, is being interrogated by operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged contract fraud.
According to Premium Times, Aliyu, who represents Jos North-North Constituency, surrendered himself at the ICPC headquarters in Abuja on Monday, days after Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court declared him wanted at the request of the commission.
The judge issued the order after investigators told the court that the lawmaker repeatedly ignored invitations to answer questions on fraud allegations.
According to court filings, the case originated from a petition filed by businessman Mohammed Jidda, who accused Aliyu of swindling him under the guise of facilitating a Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) contract worth ₦850 million at the University of Jos.
Jidda alleged that Aliyu entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with him, requiring a payment of ₦73.6 million if the contract was awarded. This included a facilitation fee of ₦52 million to a company, Imanal Concept Ltd.
Investigators said Aliyu later presented Jidda with a forged contract award letter purportedly from the University of Jos for the construction of an indoor sports hall valued at ₦500 million.
On the strength of the letter, Jidda transferred the agreed sum into two accounts provided by Aliyu, his personal Guaranty Trust Bank account and Imanal Concept Ltd’s Zenith Bank account.
But when Jidda approached the University of Jos to begin contract documentation, the institution denied issuing such a contract. The school later confirmed in writing to the ICPC that the award letter was a forgery.
Bank records obtained by investigators show that ₦47.8 million went into Aliyu’s personal account, ₦22.4 million into Imanal Concept Ltd’s account, and ₦3.2 million directly to the lawmaker.
‘I Refunded ₦45m’ – Lawmaker
Despite repeated invitations, including messages routed through the Clerk of the Plateau Assembly and his WhatsApp line, Aliyu allegedly failed to appear before investigators until he was declared wanted. The ICPC also told the court it had intelligence suggesting he planned to flee Nigeria.
When contacted last week by Premium Times, the lawmaker denied the allegations, insisting he was unaware of the ICPC summons until the Assembly Clerk informed him while he was on pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Aliyu also claimed he refunded ₦45 million to Jidda’s company, Mohiba Investment Ltd, citing receipts of four transfers, ₦5 million, ₦10 million, ₦10 million, and ₦20 million, into the firm’s Zenith Bank account.
He denied forging the contract letter, blaming it on an associate whom he said was the actual facilitator. According to him, his role was limited to passing the document along to Jidda.
As of the time of filing this report, Aliyu was still being grilled by ICPC operatives at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
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