Onyeka Onwenu In Bribery Mess

Nigeria’s foremost musician cum actress, Onyeka Onwenu, has been mentioned in a bribe scandal.

The lady of songs, Onyeka Onwenu has been accused of demanding and collecting inducements through her personal assistant, Chika Abazu, from a contractor employed to carry out renovation works at the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), where she is director general.

The accusation was leveled against her by an architect with Solidmark Associates Limited, Joseph Nwakama. Solidmark is the company employed by the Centre to carry out the renovation of its guest house.

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However, although it was established by investigators from the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, that Mr. Abazu indeed demanded and received a total of N17 million bribe from the contractor, no direct evidence has so far being linked to Onwenu for the offence.

Onyeka Onwenu

Because of that only Abazu was arraigned before a Federal Capital Territory High Court on a six-count charge of bribery and gratification on July 10.

Though Abazu pleaded not guilty to the charges, was denied bail and ordered remanded in the Federal Prisons, Kuje.

The case was adjourned to September 28 for trial by the presiding judge, Justice Chukwu Ndukwe.

Although investigators could not directly link Ms. Onwenu to bribe taking, documents obtained by the icirnigeria.org revealed so many wrongdoings by the Centre’s management under her watch, including funding the Solidmark contract with money taken from a Women Empowerment Programme in Zamfara State and spending more than was budgeted for the project. That is apart from paying the contractor even before he was officially awarded the contract.

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Mr. Abazu is a deputy director at the NCWD and personal assistant to Ms. Onwenu.

Ms. Onwenu was appointed director general of National Centre for Women Development by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013.