TThe Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has filed fraud charges against the sacked Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; and a former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayodele Oke, and his wife, Folasade.

The anti-graft agency filed 10 counts of fraud against Lawal and five others, including his company, Rholavision Engineering Limited, before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja on Wednesday.

It filed four counts of money laundering against Oke and his wife before the Federal High Court in Lagos earlier on Tuesday.

Oke and his wife are to be arraigned before Justice Chuwkujeku Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday, while Lawal and his co-accused are to be arraigned before the FCT High Court sometimes next week.

President Muhammadu Buhari had, in October 2017, sacked Lawal and Oke following a report of investigations by a panel headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo into allegations of fraud levelled against them.

Lawal was charged on Wednesday on the basis of the alleged fraudulent award of grass cutting contracts by his office through the Presidential Initiative for North-East to companies in which he had interest.

Oke was also charged on Tuesday over alleged concealment of about $43m in a flat in Osborne Tower in Lagos.

The charges against Lawal, Oke and his wife came days after a civil society organisation, Human and Environmental Development Agenda Resource Centre, wrote the Attorney General of the Federation demanding that the cases be given same speedy trial as that of the suspended Justice Walter Onnoghen.

Reacting on Wednesday, HEDA Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, described the development as cheering, vowing that his organisation would monitor the cases to ensure that they reach logical conclusions.

Those who were charged with Lawal included a director of Rholavision Engineering Limited, Hamidu Lawal, and an employee of the company, Sulaiman Abubakar, and the Managing Director of Josmon Technologies Limited, Apeh Monday.

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