Adamu Aliyu, a serving member of the Plateau State House of Assembly, is currently under interrogation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over allegations of fraud.
Mr Aliyu voluntarily surrendered at the ICPC headquarters in Abuja on Monday, days after Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court declared him wanted at the request of the commission. The court order followed reports that the lawmaker had repeatedly ignored invitations to answer questions concerning the allegations.
The case stems from a petition filed by Mohammed Jidda, a businessman who accused Aliyu of defrauding him under the pretext of facilitating a Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) contract at the University of Jos worth N850 million.
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According to court filings, Aliyu allegedly entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Jidda, under which the businessman was to pay N73.6 million should the contract be awarded. Part of the payment, N52 million, was directed to Imanal Concept Ltd as a supposed facilitation fee.
Investigators said Aliyu later presented Jidda with a contract award letter, which was later discovered to be forged, claiming the construction of a N500 million indoor sports hall at the University of Jos. Based on this letter, Jidda transferred N47.8 million to Aliyu’s personal account at Guaranty Trust Bank, N22.4 million to Imanal Concept Ltd’s Zenith Bank account, and an additional N3.2 million directly to the lawmaker.
When Jidda approached the university to formalize the contract, the institution denied issuing the award letter and later confirmed in writing to the ICPC that the document was fraudulent.
Despite multiple summonses—including messages routed through the Clerk of the Plateau Assembly and via his WhatsApp line—Aliyu reportedly failed to present himself until he was declared wanted. The ICPC also informed the court that it had intelligence suggesting he planned to flee Nigeria to evade prosecution.
Aliyu, when contacted last week, denied the allegations, claiming he was unaware of the ICPC summons while on pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. He said he had refunded N45 million to Jidda’s company, Mohiba Investment Ltd, providing payment receipts showing transfers of N5 million, N10 million, N10 million, and N20 million.
The lawmaker denied forging the contract letter, attributing it to his associate, whom he said facilitated the contract, insisting his role was limited to passing the document to Jidda.
Aliyu remains in ICPC custody as investigations continue.
