In a recent development, the Judicial Panel of Inquiry tasked with Recovering Government Property and Funds in Abia State has successfully retrieved a Toyota Hilux vehicle from the former Chairman of the Abia State Oil Producing Communities Development Commission (ASOPADEC), Sam Nwogu.
During the proceedings, the ex-ASOPADEC chairman stated that the vehicle in question had been inherited from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Chairing the session, Justice Florence Duruoha-Igwe, retired, pointed out that the evidence indicated the vehicle had been utilized by the head of the Works Department at ASOPADEC, Mr. Gberemakor Chukwuemeka.
Justice Duruoha-Igwe mentioned that attempts to verify Nwogu’s claim of the vehicle being bequeathed by the NDDC were inconclusive. Consequently, she ordered that the vehicle be parked at the panel’s premises for further examination.
She emphasized that Nwogu disregarded the panel’s request to present the vehicle for physical inspection in response to the notice served on him.
Leading the legal team for the Panel, H.N. Doruoha, asserted Nwogu’s failure to adhere to the directive, emphasizing that the notice clearly instructed him to bring the vehicle for inspection.
In defense, Sam Nwogu’s counsel, A.S. Amaramiro, argued that the vehicle in dispute was not assigned to his client by the Abia State Government but rather by the NDDC.