Abba Moro begs for more time on trail over immigration service recruitment Scam

The former Minister of Interior, Abba Moro who is facing trial at a Federal High Court, Abuja over the alleged scam on recruitment into the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) today pleaded for more time on his case.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) is prosecuting Moro for procurement fraud and money laundering and for allegedly defrauding Nigerian applicants who applied for employment in NIS to the tune of N675,675,000 (Six Hundred and Seventy-five Million, Six Hundred and Seventy-five Thousand Naira).

The amount represents N1,000 obtained from each applicant through e-payment for the online recruitment exercise on March 15, 2014 - an exercise in which 15 applicants died with scores injured due to the ministry’s shoddy preparations for the exercise.

He is charged alongside Anastasia Daniel-Nwobia, a former secretary in the ministry, F.O. Alayebami, a deputy director in the ministry, Mahmood Ahmadu, currently at large, and Drexel Tech Nigeria Limited, a firm involved in the ill-fated recruitment exercise.

At the resumed hearing today, the counsel to the first defendant, Eti Kehinde prayed the court for extension of time in order to be able to serve no-case submission on behalf of his client.

Counsels for the second and fourth defendants also respectively moved motions on notice for extension of time within which they may file their no-case submissions.

Prosecuting counsel, Aliyu Yusuf, filed a motion for the extension of the time within which the prosecution will file written submission in reply to the "no-case" submission filed by the third defendant.

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba adjourned the matter until February 25 and March 25, 2020 respectively for the continuation of trial.