An Abuja Federal High Court on Monday ordered that a former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswan, plus two of his former aides, be remanded in Kuje Prisons in Abuja.
In the judgment delivered by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, the three persons were charged on 32 counts of diversion of N9.79bn which was meant for Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).
Punch reports that though the three were granted bail for N250m, they are to be remanded in prison until the Deputy Chief Registrar, Litigation, of the Federal High Court, Abuja tells the court that the bail conditions had been met.
It was further gathered that the three were accused, in the 32 counts charge, of diverting N9,791,602,453.8 which was meant for the SURE-P scheme as well as a portion of it for police reforms –an amount which Suswan and the defendants diverted between 2012 and 2015.
However, when the charges were read to them, the accused pleaded not guilty.
Recall that the SURE-P was an initiative of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.