How Justice Ngwuta Moved N27m Cash and Exotic Cars From House

                              

The Federal Government alleged on Monday that a Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, on October 9, 2016, tampered with evidence likely to incriminate him while on bail – following his arrest by the operatives of the Department of State Service on corruption allegations between October 7 and 8.

The Federal Government, in opposing the bail application which Ngwuta’s lawyer, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), argued after his client’s arraignment before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, stated that the evidence the accused allegedly tampered with were a cash sum of N27m and three exotic cars.

The prosecution alleged that after Ngwuta was granted administrative bail by the DSS in Abuja on November 9, 2016, he made a call to someone in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, to move the sum of N27m cash and three exotic cars to some other locations in order to conceal them.

The cars, which were said to have been recovered by the DSS from where they were moved to, were a Hummer Jeep, a Wrangler Jeep, and a BMW 5 Series sedan.

The government, however, stated that the N27m cash along with some vital documents moved in bags from the bathroom of the Abakaliki home of the justice of the apex court was not recovered because it had been “dissipated”.

Ngwuta, who appeared before a Federal High Court in Abuja, sporting a grey suit with a blue shirt and a red tie, was arraigned before Justice John Tsoho on 16 counts, including money laundering and offences relating to obtaining of multiple passports.

The justice of the apex court was allowed to sit in the dock.

But he stood up to plead not guilty when the charges were read to him at about 10.41am on Monday.

Following his arraignment, his lawyer moved his bail application which was opposed by Federal Government’s lawyer, Mr. Charles Adeogun-Philips.

Despite the prosecution’s opposition to the bail, the judge returned from about two-hour break to grant bail to the Justice of the Supreme Court in the sum of N100m to be guaranteed by his own recognisance.

The defendant, who only had to sign a bail bond worth N100m and guaranteed by his status as a Justice of the Supreme Court, was seen being driven out of the court premises in his official Mercedes Benz E350 at about 3.30pm on Monday.

The judge, after dismissing the fear expressed by the prosecution about the possibility of the defendant interfering with evidence and evading trial as baseless, fixed December 7 and 8 for commencement of trial.

However,  opposing the bail application earlier, Adeogun-Philips referred to the counter-affidavit which was filed on Monday narrating how Ngwuta allegedly committed more offences by trying to conceal the origin of the N27m and the exotic cars by instructing Chukwuebuka to move them from his Abakaliki house to other locations.