Justice I. E. Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Cal­abar, Cross Rivers State has remanded the Chief Medical Director of Uni­versity of Calabar Teach­ing Hospital (UCTH), Prof Thomas Agan, two mem­bers of staff of the university and promoters of two com­panies in prison custody.
They were arraigned on Monday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Com­mission (EFCC) on a five-count charge bordering on alleged conspiracy, bid rigging, abuse of office and breach of due process con­trary to the Procurement Act of 2007.
The two officials of the teaching hospital arraigned with Agan are Offor Jonan Offor, Head, Works and Engineering and Francis I. Utu, Chief Administrative Officer and Head, Legal Ser­vices.
The other accused per­sons are Okocha Anthony and Emmanuel Etta Nkim, both owners of Anchor In­dustrial & Construction Services Nigeria Limited and Basemark Energy Nige­ria Limited respectively. The companies were allegedly used to perpetrate the fraud.
Agan and his co-accused were alleged to have used their positions to corruptly influence the award of the purchase of a Life Support Ambulance Vehicle and one Toyota Coaster Bus to Anchor Industrial and Construction Services Ni­geria and Basemark Energy Nigeria Limited by inflat­ing their costs and without following due procurement processes to the tune of N85.062 million thereby contravening the provi­sions of the Public Procure­ment Act 2007.
When the charges were read to the defendants, they all pleaded not guilty. - The Authority