A Federal High Court in Abuja has declared Plateau State lawmaker, Adamu Aliyu, wanted over an alleged ₦73.6 million fraudulent Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) contract.
Aliyu, who represents Jos North constituency, was declared wanted by Justice Emeka Nwite following an application by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The anti-graft agency said a businessman, Mohammed Jidda, petitioned it after allegedly paying Aliyu ₦73.6 million upfront for an ₦850m TETFund contract at the University of Jos.
Court filings reveal that Aliyu handed Jidda a forged contract award letter for a ₦500m indoor sports hall project and directed payments into his personal GTBank account and that of Imanal Concept Ltd, owned by Saad Abubakar. Investigations showed ₦47.8m was paid into Aliyu’s account, ₦22.4m into Imanal Concept, and another ₦3.2m directly to him.
The University of Jos later denied awarding such a contract and confirmed the letter was fake. ICPC further told the court that Aliyu ignored repeated summons despite acknowledging receipt via the Assembly Clerk and WhatsApp. Intelligence reports also indicated he planned to flee the country.
Justice Nwite, therefore, granted ICPC’s request, authorising the agency to declare Aliyu wanted through publications in national newspapers and on social media. Security agencies and private citizens were also empowered to arrest him and hand him over to face a 32-count charge of fraud, forgery, and diversion of funds.
However, Aliyu has denied wrongdoing, insisting he did not defraud Jidda. He claimed to have refunded ₦45m to Jidda’s company, Mohiba Investment Ltd, and argued that the matter is a civil dispute over consultancy services, not a criminal case. He also denied forging the award letter, maintaining his role was only to deliver the document. His lawyers, Adams & Co Firstlog Chambers, wrote to the ICPC claiming the case was already before a civil court.
