A former employee at the ECOWAS headquarters in Abuja has been remanded in prison custody following his arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mohammed Dangana was arraigned at the Federal High Court 7, Abuja on Friday along with one Mohammed Sani Bello, a former Finance Controller at the ECOWAS Secretariat who is said to be an accomplice.
Dangana, who is the principal suspect in a foreign exchange scam involving the two ex-staff of ECOWAS is alleged to have defrauded his employers of N327 million with the connivance of Sani Bello. A landed property at Asokoro extension in Abuja amounting to over N200 Million and a duplex each at Asokoro and Garki were recovered from Dangana by the EFCC.
The EFCC is said to be on the trail of his accomplice, Sani Bello, now believed to be at large. Investigations by The Whistler showed that the case was reported in 2017 by the former president of ECOWAS late Marcel de Souza when he discovered “unusual financial activities” in the accounts of the organization. The EFCC followed with further investigations before the suspects were finally arraigned on Friday before Justice Abang of the Federal High Court 7 Abuja.
Sani Bello, now on the run, had contested the governorship of Kaduna State under the platform of PDP but later decamped to the All Progressive Congress (APC) where he worked as a campaign chieftain. The EFCC is believed to have approached the court for a warrant to declare him wanted. The trial was adjourned but the court ordered the accused to be remanded in prison custody.
