The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arraigned Abubakar Aseku, an Assistant Superintendent of Immigration with the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), on a nine-count charge of abuse of office and corruption. According to ICPC spokesperson Demola Bakare, Aseku allegedly received a total of N22.3 million in salaries from multiple government agencies while still employed by the NIS and facilitated fraudulent payments to non-existent employees.
One of the charges details that between October 2018 and October 2019, while serving as an Assistant Superintendent Immigration Officer in Abuja, Aseku used his position to secure N13,400,889.90 in salaries from the Department of Petroleum Resources, in contravention of Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000. Additionally, he is accused of, during his role as a Pay Officer with the NIS, enabling the payment of N4.7 million in salaries to seven individuals who were not on the NIS payroll.
Aseku, who also received N4.2 million from the Nasarawa State Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology in 2015 while reportedly serving as a schoolteacher, pleaded not guilty to all charges. His counsel, Basil Hemba, has requested that the court uphold the bail conditions previously granted by another FCT High Court in Maitama.
Justice Binta Dogonyaro of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Apo, Abuja, maintained the existing bail terms and adjourned the case to April 29, 2025, for further proceedings.
