The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday moved to re-arraign three officials of the National Assembly before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Jikwoyi, Abuja, over an alleged fraud involving ₦337,062,350.
The defendants are Aishatu Bappa El-Nafaty, Director of the Public Affairs Department in the Directorate of Special Duties and Parliamentary Security of the National Assembly; Mamud Alhaji Abubakar, a former Permanent Secretary in the services of the National Assembly; and Igba Ityoakura Joseph, a Deputy Director of Procurement in the National Assembly.
The trio were scheduled to be re-arraigned before Justice Muhammed Zubairu on an amended 23-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery, criminal breach of trust, official corruption and illegal conversion of National Assembly funds.
However, the re-arraignment did not proceed after counsel to the second defendant, Muhammed Ndayako (SAN), filed a preliminary objection challenging parts of the amended charge.
Ndayako urged the court to strike out counts three, four, five, six, seven and 18 of the amended charge dated October 8, 2025, arguing that they were incompetent and amounted to an attempt to revive counts previously quashed by the court in a ruling delivered on May 12, 2025.
In response, EFCC counsel Francis Usani told the court that he was served with the objection on Friday, June 5, 2026, at short notice, despite the defence having more than one month since the last adjournment to file it.
Usani argued that the application was deliberately filed on the eve of the re-arraignment to frustrate proceedings. He asked the court to dismiss the objection as frivolous and incompetent and direct the defendants to take their plea on the amended charge.
According to count one of the charge, El-Nafaty, while serving as Deputy Director and Head of Training and Welfare at the National Assembly and now Director in the Public Affairs Department of the Directorate of Special Duties and Parliamentary Security, allegedly conspired with Abubakar and Joseph between 2017 and 2019 to commit criminal breach of trust as public officers. The offence is said to be contrary to Section 97 of the Penal Code, Cap 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990.
In count three, the EFCC alleged that El-Nafaty was entrusted with ₦89,871,225 transferred between 2017 and 2019 from the National Assembly Management Overhead Account and National Assembly General Services Account domiciled in SunTrust Bank Plc to an account belonging to her, and that she dishonestly misappropriated and converted the funds for personal use. The commission said the alleged offence contravenes Section 311 of the Penal Code and is punishable under Section 312.
Count 10 alleges that between 2017 and 2018, El-Nafaty made false receipts purportedly issued by Fazh Integrated Services Ltd, showing evidence of payments allegedly received from her in varying amounts and on different dates. The EFCC said she knew the documents were false and intended them to be treated as genuine. The alleged conduct is said to violate Section 362 of the Penal Code and is punishable under Section 364.
During the proceedings, counsel for the first defendant also indicated an intention to file a similar preliminary objection.
Justice Zubairu directed the first defendant to file the objection within 48 hours and ruled that the prosecution should be given adequate time to respond in the interest of justice.
The court subsequently adjourned the matter until September 23, 2026, for the hearing of the preliminary objections.
... Court Adjourns ₦337 Million Fraud Case Involving NASS Officials to September 23, 2026 ... Naijaonpoint.