Court remands Badeh in prison as EFCC accuse him of spending N878m on a shopping mall

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered former Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, to be remanded in prison until his bail application is heard. The EFCC arraigned Badeh before Justice Okon Abang this morning. Badeh is standing trial on a 10-count charge ‎of‎ criminal breach of trust and corruption to the tune of N3.9 billion.

In the charge sheet read in court today, Badeh is accused of spending N878 million being funds of the air force to build a shopping mall in Abuja. He is alleged to have also used funds of the Nigerian air force to purchase choice properties in Abuja. Part of the charge sheet reads...

“That you Air Chief Marshal Alex S  Badeh (whilst being the chief of air staff, Nigerian air force) and Iyalikan Nigeria Limited, between January and December, 2013, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable ‎court, did use the dollar equivalent of the sum of N1,100,000,000.00 (One billion, one hundred million naira only), removed from the accounts of the Nigeria air force, to purchase for yourselves a mansion situated at No 6 Ogun River street, off Danube street, Maitama, Abuja, when you reasonably ought to have known that the said funds formed part of proceed of unlawful activity (to wit: criminal breach of trust and corruption) of Air Chief Marshal Alex S Badeh, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15(2) (d) of the money laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under section 15(3) of the same Act‎.

That you Air Chief Marshal Alex S Badeh (whilst being the Chief of Air Staff, Nigerian air force) and Iyalikam Nigeria Limited between January and December 2013, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did use dollar equivalent of the sum of N650,000,000 (Six hundred and fifty million naira only), removed from the accounts of the Nigeria Air Force, to purchase for yourselves a commercial plot of land, situate at Plot 1386 Oda Crescent, Cadastral Zone A07, Wuse II, Abuja, when you reasonably ought to have known that the said funds formed part of the proceeds of unlawful activity (to wit: criminal breach of trust and corruption) of Air Chief Marshal Alex S Badeh and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.

That you Air Chief Marshal Alex S. Badeh (whilst being the chief of air staff, Nigerian air force) and Iyalikan Nigeria Limited between January and December 2013, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did use an aggregate sum of N878,362,732.94 (eight hundred and seventy-eight million, three hundred and sixty-two thousand, seven hundred and thirty-two naira, ninety-four kobo), removed from the accounts of the Nigerian air force and paid into the account of Rytebuilders Technologies Limited with Zenith Bank Plc for the construction of a shopping mall, situate at Plot 1386 Oda Crescent, Cadastral Zone A07, Wuse II, Abuja, for yourselves, when you reasonably ought to have known that the said funds formed part of the proceeds of unlawful activity (to wit: criminal breach of trust and corruption) of Air Chief Marshal Alex S Badeh and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15(2)(d)of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act”‎.