The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Monday, June 8, 2026, sought to re-arraign the trio of Aishatu Bappa El-Nafaty, Mamud Alhaji Abubakar, and Igba Ityoakura Joseph before Justice Muhammed Zubairu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Jikwoyi, Abuja, over alleged fraud.
The first defendant, El-Nafaty, is the Director of the Public Affairs Department in the Directorate of Special Duties and Parliamentary Security, National Assembly. Abubakar, the second defendant, is a former Permanent Secretary in the services of the National Assembly, while the third defendant, Joseph, is a Deputy Director of Procurement in the National Assembly.
They were to be re-arraigned on an amended 23-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery, criminal breach of trust, official corruption, and illegal conversion of funds belonging to the National Assembly to the tune of ₦337,062,350 (Three Hundred and Thirty-Seven Million, Sixty-Two Thousand, Three Hundred and Fifty Naira).
However, the re-arraignment could not proceed following a preliminary objection filed by Muhammed Ndayako, SAN, counsel to the second defendant, praying the court to strike out counts three, four, five, six, seven, and 18 of the amended charge dated October 8, 2025, for being “incompetent and an attempt to resuscitate already quashed counts,” pursuant to a ruling delivered on May 12, 2025, by Justice Muhammed Zubairu.
In his response, prosecution counsel, Francis Usani, expressed regret that he was served the preliminary objection at short notice on Friday, June 5, 2026, despite the defence having more than a month since the last adjournment to file the objection. He argued that the defence waited until the eve of the re-arraignment to file and serve the application on the prosecution.
Usani stated that while he intended to respond to the objection, he urged the court to strike it out for being frivolous, incompetent, and intended to frustrate the re-arraignment, while asking that the defendants proceed to take their plea on the amended charge.
Count one of the charge reads: “That you, Aishatu Bappa El-Nafaty, whilst being a Deputy Director and Head of Training and Welfare Officer of the National Assembly and now a Director in the Public Affairs Department in the Directorate of Special Duties and Parliamentary Security, Mamud Alhaji Abubakar, being a former Permanent Secretary in the services of the National Assembly (NASS), and Igba Ityoakura Joseph, while serving in the office of the Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly, sometime between 2017 and 2019 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, did conspire among yourselves to commit an unlawful act, to wit: criminal breach of trust by a public officer, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 97 of the Penal Code, Cap 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990.”
Count three reads: “That you, Aishatu Bappa El-Nafaty, whilst being a Deputy Director and Head of Training and Welfare Officer of the National Assembly and now Director in the Public Affairs Department in the Directorate of Special Duties and Parliamentary Security (NASS), sometime between 2017 and 2019 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, while being entrusted with dominion over the sum of ₦89,871,225.00 (Eighty-Nine Million, Eight Hundred and Seventy-One Thousand, Two Hundred and Twenty-Five Naira only), transferred from the National Assembly Management Overhead Account No. 000098216 and National Assembly General Services Account No. 000098223, domiciled in SunTrust Bank Plc, to account No. 0000998281 belonging to you and domiciled in SunTrust Bank Plc, dishonestly misappropriated and converted the said sum to your own use, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 311 of the Penal Code, Cap 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990, and punishable under Section 312 of the same law.”
Count 10 reads: “That you, Aishatu Bappa El-Nafaty, whilst being a Deputy Director and Head of Training and Welfare of Staff of the National Assembly and now a Director in the Public Affairs Department in the Directorate of Special Duties and Parliamentary Security, between 2017 and 2018 within the jurisdiction of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, did, with intent to defraud, make false receipts of Fazah Integrated Services Ltd (FISL), showing evidence of payment purportedly received from you, bearing different amounts and dates, and falsely represented as having been issued by Fazah Integrated Services Ltd, which you knew to be false, with intent that they be acted upon as genuine, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 362 of the Penal Code, Cap 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, Abuja, 1990, and punishable under Section 364 of the same law.”
With the first defendant indicating interest in filing a similar preliminary objection, the judge directed that she should do so within 48 hours. The court further held that the prosecution should take a date to respond appropriately to the preliminary objection in the interest of justice and adjourned the matter till September 23, 2026, for hearing on the preliminary objection.
