Crime and Metro

Ex-foreign affairs director arraigned by ICPC over N5m fraud

Christiana Goka, a former Deputy Director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been charged by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for allegedly misappropriating N5,398,656.   Goka,…

Christiana Goka, a former Deputy Director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been charged by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for allegedly misappropriating N5,398,656.

 

Goka, who also led the Department of Research Monitoring Information System at the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa, appeared before Justice J.A. Aina at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Kwali, Abuja, facing a five-count indictment related to fund mismanagement and providing false information.

 

According to ICPC spokesperson Ademola Bakare, Goka is accused of diverting N5,164,656 from funds allocated for a canceled management retreat in Dutse, Jigawa State, in 2017. The alleged offense is said to breach Section 25(1)(a) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

 

Among the charges, one claims that Goka misappropriated part of the N5,398,656 meant for the retreat, while another alleges she made false statements during an ICPC investigation in 2022, denying that N1,000,000 in cash, returned by Bassey Ikpeme on the late Ambassador Abduljalil Suleiman’s instructions, was ever received.

 

At the trial’s opening on March 27, 2025, two witnesses provided testimony, which was followed by cross-examination. Goka pleaded not guilty to all charges.

 

The court allowed her to continue on bail under the same terms as her prior administrative bail, which includes providing a surety employed at Grade Level 15 or higher in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

 

Justice J.A. Aina adjourned the case.

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Published March 28, 2025
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