The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has re-arraigned former Kaduna South Local Government councillor, Hon. Theophilus Madami, over an alleged N16.08 million fraud involving the purported procurement of thousands of cartons of pasta under what prosecutors described as a calculated scheme of deception.
Madami was brought before the Federal High Court in Kaduna on an amended charge bordering on obtaining property by false pretence, a development that has revived a case first instituted by the anti-graft agency in 2019.
According to the charge, the former councillor allegedly deceived a supplier into releasing 4,020 cartons of pasta products valued at N16,080,000 by falsely claiming that Kaduna South Local Government Area had requested the items.
The charge reads in part: “That you, Hon. Theophilus Madami, on or about the 5th day of November, 2018 in Kaduna, within the Judicial Division of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained property to wit: 4,020 pasta food products worth N16,080,000 from one Ibrahim Ringim Haruna, being the property of Pyramid Supplies and Services Limited, under the guise that Kaduna South Local Government Area requested for the same, a pretence you knew to be false.”
The EFCC said the alleged conduct contravenes Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and is punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
When the charge was read before the court, Madami pleaded not guilty.
Following the plea, prosecuting counsel, Y.J. Matiyak, urged the court to remand the defendant in the Kaduna Correctional Centre pending the determination of the case.
Defence counsel, B.E. Gwadah, however, made an oral application for bail, arguing that the accused was entitled to his constitutional rights while awaiting trial. The prosecution opposed the application, insisting that the circumstances surrounding the case warranted caution.
After listening to both parties, the court adjourned proceedings to July 22, 2026, for ruling on the bail application and ordered that the defendant be remanded in a correctional facility pending the decision.
The case traces its roots to 2019 when the EFCC first arraigned Madami for allegedly obtaining goods worth N16.08 million from Pyramid Supplies and Services Limited through false representations. Investigators alleged that the former councillor exploited the credibility of a local government institution to induce the supplier into releasing the products.
In the course of investigations, the anti-corruption agency reportedly recovered N5 million from the proceeds of the alleged fraud and returned the amount to the victim as part of efforts to mitigate the losses incurred.
The re-arraignment signals the EFCC’s determination to pursue long-running corruption and fraud cases to their logical conclusion, amid growing public demands for accountability and transparency in public office. The outcome of the trial is expected to test the strength of the prosecution’s evidence and further underscore the consequences of abusing public trust for personal gain.
For now, the former councillor remains behind bars as the legal battle over the controversial N16.08 million pasta procurement scandal enters a new and decisive phase.