N4.8bn fraud: AVM Umar to explore plea bargain

Former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar (rtd.) at the court today. A former Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar, yesterday told a Federal High Court in Abuja that he was in dialogue with the prosecution to settle the corruption charges against him out of court.The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had on May 11 arraigned Umar on a seven-count charge on alleged money laundering to the tune of N4.8billion between 2011 and 2012. However, at the resumed hearing yesterday, the defence counsel, Hassan Liman (SAN), told the court that his client had reached out to the federal government to settle the matter without going on full trial.He said his client had a meeting with officials of the anti-graft commission on May 31 which was followed up with a letter to the authorities dated June 6, 2016.EFCC counsel Sylvanus Tahir confirmed that the defendant had sought to engage the prosecution on the allegations against him but asked the court to proceed with the trial since the case is a criminal trial, not a civil suit.But Justice Binta Nyako ruled that the trial could not proceed until the defendant filed details of the [...]
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