Former Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, has indicated readiness to refund money allegedly taken from government funds as part of negotiations to settle a ₦2.5 billion fraud case through a plea bargain.
The development was revealed on Thursday during proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where Oduah and her co-defendant signalled their willingness to resolve the case by negotiating a settlement with the federal government.
The prosecution told the court that discussions were already underway between the defendants and the office of the Lateef Fagbemi to explore the possibility of a plea agreement that would involve repayment of the disputed funds.
The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, informed the court that the defendants had formally approached the office of the Attorney-General to begin negotiations on the matter.
Oyedepo said the proposed agreement includes the return of money believed to have been illegally obtained from the government.
“They have made moves to refund certain amount of money into the government coffers,” he told the court.
“What is left is the confirmation of receipt of the bank draft by the government.”
Counsel to Oduah, Onyechi Ikpeazu, confirmed that discussions between the defence and the prosecution were ongoing and aimed at reaching a settlement through a plea bargain.
Similarly, lawyer to the second defendant, Favour Osuanya, acknowledged that negotiations were currently in progress.
Following the submissions by both sides, the trial judge, Hamza Muazu, adjourned the case until March 26 to allow time for updates on the outcome of the negotiations.
Earlier proceedings on February 12 had revealed that the plea bargain initiative was brought under Section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, which allows defendants and prosecutors to negotiate settlements in certain criminal cases.
According to the prosecution, consultations between the parties were still ongoing at the time, prompting a request for more time to either present the outcome of the talks or proceed with full trial.
Oduah and her co-defendant, Gloria Odita, were arraigned in December before an Abuja High Court over allegations involving about ₦2.4 billion.
The Federal Government alleged that the two women conspired in January 2014 to obtain ₦2,469,030,738.90 from the Federal Ministry of Aviation through two companies — Broad Waters Resources Nigeria Ltd and Global Offshore Marine Ltd — using what prosecutors described as false claims.
Court documents stated that the defendants allegedly presented the funds as payments for “Cost of Technical Supervision” and “Security Integrated and Logistics Support Services,” despite knowing that the claims were not genuine.
Under the charges, the offence is said to violate Sections 8(a) and 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud Act, which carries penalties under Section 1(3) of the same law.
The government further alleged that on January 13, 2014, the defendants fraudulently obtained ₦839,780,738.90 from the aviation ministry under the guise of payment for technical supervision services.
Another charge states that on February 12, 2014, they allegedly obtained an additional ₦1,629,250,000 through Global Offshore Marine Ltd, claiming the money was meant for security and logistics support services.
Prosecutors also accused Oduah, who served as minister at the time, of dishonestly authorising the transfer of the funds meant for a contract awarded to 1-Sec Security Nigeria Ltd, an action the government described as a breach of official trust.
The charges were filed under Section 311 of the Penal Code, which deals with criminal breach of trust by public officials and is punishable under Section 315 of the law.
Both Oduah and Odita have previously denied the allegations and earlier pleaded not guilty when the charges were first read in court.
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