Nigerian Court Discharges Ex-Minister Oduah from N2.5B Fraud Case

A High Court in Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory discharged former Aviation Minister Stella Oduah and her former aide Gloria Odita from fraud charges involving over N2.5 billion, following a plea bargain agreement with the federal government. The ruling came Thursday in Abuja's Maitama district, where Justice Hamza Muazu struck out the original charges against the individuals after prosecutors confirmed the return of the disputed funds.

The case stemmed from allegations that Oduah and Odita, along with associated entities, fraudulently obtained N2,469,030,738.90 from the Ministry of Aviation in January and February 2014. Prosecutors claimed the money was disbursed under false pretenses as payments for technical supervision, security integrated services, and logistics support linked to contracts with firms including Broad Waters Resources Nigeria Limited and Global Offshore Marine Limited. The offenses were said to violate sections 8(a) and 11(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006, punishable under section 13.

Oduah, who served as aviation minister from July 2011 to February 2014 under former President Goodluck Jonathan, and Odita faced...