The Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday ordered the arrest of Mr. Matthew Pwajok, Director-General of the National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), for alleged disobedience to a court order.
Justice Babs Kuewunmi issued the order in response to an application filed by Mr. Olalekan Ojo SAN, counsel for the third and eighth defendants, for the resumption of an N6.95 billion fraud charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against a former NAMA managing director, Ibrahim Abdulsalam, and 11 others.
In the application, Ojo claimed that Pwajok ignored a court subpoena issued on July 2 commanding him to appear and produce the documents requested by both defendants.
In a brief ruling, Justice Kuewunmi directed the Lagos Commissioner of Police and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to bring Pwajok to court.
The judge rescheduled the case for January 10 and 11, 2023.
The EFCC is investigating Abdulsalam and 11 other people for the alleged crime.
Others include former managing director Nnamdi Udoh (who is still at large); Adegorite Olumuyiwa, general manager procurement; Agbolade Segun, general manager finance; Clara Aliche, director finance; Joy Ayodele Adegorite, Randville Investment Limited, and Multeng Travels and Tours Limited.
The defendants were accused of conspiring to steal N6,922,676,815.00 from NAMA.
One of the charges reads: “That you, Ibrahim Abdulsalam, Nnamdi Udoh (still at large), Adegorite Olumuyiwa, Agbolade Segun, Clara Aliche, Joy Ayodele Adegorite, Randville Investment Limited and Multeng Travels and Tours Limited, on or about August 19, 2013, in Lagos, with intent to defraud conspired to induce the NAMA to deliver N2,847,523,975.00 to Delosa Limited, Air Sea Delivery Limited and Sea Schedules Systems Limited under the pretence that the said sum represented the cost of clearing consignments belonging to the said Agency.
“You thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8 (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
The defendants pleaded not guilty.
The Nigerian government appointed Pwajok, a former director of operations at NAMA who retired in December 2021, as the acting managing director of the agency in January 2022.
Pwajok succeeded Fola Akinkuotu, whose tenure expired on January 7, 2022.
The appointment of Pwajok was conveyed in a letter dated January 12, 2022, from the Federal Ministry of Aviation.