The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has secured the conviction of one Mr Henry Iloka, Managing Director of Alliance Boots Limited, over offences bordering on forgery and making false statements to investigators in relation to a contract awarded under the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).
Justice U.P. Kekemeke of Court 4, High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Maitama, Abuja, delivered the judgment.
The defendant, whose company was awarded a consultancy contract by the Federal Ministry of Environment for HYPREP Media and Public Relations in Ogoniland valued at N182,721,000.00, was prosecuted for attaching forged documents to his bid submissions to falsely portray that Alliance Boots Limited had previously executed contracts for the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission.
The Commission also charged the defendant with making false statements to investigators during the course of the investigation.
One of the counts revealed that Mr. Iloka knowingly made a false statement to an officer of the Commission on November 13, 2019, when he claimed that the pre-qualification documents contained in the Expression of Interest documents submitted by Alliance Boots Limited to the Federal Ministry of Environment were genuine, despite knowing that a purported Letter of Award of Contract for Consultancy Services on Media Intelligence Project allegedly issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria was false.
Another count established that the defendant forged a document titled “Letter of Award of Contract for Production and Transmission of NCC Weekly Telecom Today Programme, Lot A4/5,” dated August 28, 2013, purportedly issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission, and submitted the same to the Federal Ministry of Environment as part of the requirements for the award of HYPREP Media and Consultancy Services in Ogoniland.
Following the prosecution’s presentation of evidence and witnesses, the court found the defendant guilty on all four counts.
Justice Kekemeke subsequently convicted and sentenced Mr Iloka to pay a fine of N100,000 each on counts one and two for making false statements contrary to Section 25 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
The court also imposed a fine of N500,000 on each of counts three and four for forgery, contrary to Section 363 of the Penal Code Act.
The court ordered that the fines imposed on the defendant be paid cumulatively.
The Commission reiterates its commitment to ensuring accountability and integrity in public procurement processes and warns contractors against the use of forged documents or false representations in bids for government contracts.
