Alleged fraud: Again, surveyors’ council president’s arraignment stalled

The planned arraignment of the president of the Surveyors
Council of Nigeria, Joseph Agbenla, yesterday again stalled before
an FCT High Court in Zuba.

Agbenla was charged before the court by the Independent Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Offences Commission on a four-count
charge bordering on fraud and corruption.

Agbenla, a former Surveyor-General/Permanent Secretary in Lagos
State, was alleged to have received various sins of money from the
council through one Ezekiel Okunola on December 17, 2017 as Duty
Tour Allowance and other expenses for a monitoring and evaluation
exercise in the South-South region of Nigeria but failed to embark
on the said tour, “but rather claimed to have used the money for
other personal purposes, and thereby committed an offence contrary
to and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and
Other Related Offences Act, 2000”.

He was also alleged to have received another humongous amount
from the council to enable him attend the 2018 International
Federation of Surveyors Conference which held in Turkey.

He was however alleged not to have attended the conference, but
rather claimed to have used the money for other personal
purposes.

Agbenla, who was absent in court on January 7 when he was
initially billed for arraignment, was docked some minutes after 9am
on Monday when the case was called.

He was observed to be limping on one leg as he made his way into
the dock. His lawyer had told the court on January 7 that he
(Agbenla) was involved in an accident, hence he missed the earlier
court sitting.

However, the arraignment could not proceed as the prosecution
counsel, Evans Peters, applied to the court for a leave to make a
correction on the face of the charge sheet.

He noted that his attention was called to the charge sheet with
the defence team wherein it was erroneously indicated that the
division of the court was “Jalingo” instead of “Zuba”.

Justice A.O. Ebong, observed that the said error could not be
seen on the copy of the charge before the court, but the prosecutor
prayed the court to allow for time to make the correction, adding
that since it was a criminal charge, the prosecution would not want
to take unnecessary chances.

Justice Ebong adjourned the matter to March 3 for
arraignment.