NIGERIA: EFCC Boosts Treasury With Unclaimed N1.37Billion

EFCC boosts Federal treasury with N1.37billion unclaimed by the purported owners. Image via NAN

ABUJA (NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA)--The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) has boosted the Federal treasury with the sum of N1.37 billion, which no one stepped out to claim since August.

Justice A. Obiozor of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos ordered the final forfeiture of the money, which was made up of N1,260,000,000, $327,132.35, £167.85 and €157.90.

The money which was kept at Heritage Bank Pls under the name of Secure Electronics Technology Limited, was seized by the EFCC, following an intelligence report from a whistleblower.

The company in whose possession the funds were found did not lay claim to them and it surrendered them for forfeiture.

In an affidavit in support of the application, the applicant stated that “Heritage Bank did not provide any legitimate explanation for the above transactions (involving the sums) and consequently returned the said money through 16 separate bank drafts issued in favour of the EFCC Recovered Funds Account.”

Justice Obiozor, in his ruling on August 15 , 2018, had ordered the interim forfeiture of the monies, which were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities, to the Federal Government.

In line with the court order of August 15, 2018, the EFCC had published the interim forfeiture order in the Nation newspaper of August 21,2018 for the correspondents or anyone interested in the money to show cause why the funds should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

At the hearing on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, the applicant, through its counsel, Ekene Iheanacho, said the respondent had not shown up to lay claim to the money, despite being served with the earlier interim order of forfeiture, motion for final forfeiture and hearing notices on the action.

He , therefore, urged the Judge to order the funds to be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

In his ruling, Justice Obiozor held that ” the applicant has proved on the balance of probabilities that the funds recovered from the respondents by the applicant were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.”

The Judge, therefore, ordered that the various sums of money be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government

The Innoson Affair, The Igbo And The Orphans Of The Corporate World

ABUJA, NIGERIA (VANGUARD) -- Such was his shock and anger at the turn of events that the real estate magnate and owner of the resplendent, opulent and stunningly beautiful ‘Amen Estate’ on the outskirts of Lekki in Lagos, Babatunde O. Gbadamosi, wrote the following: “I have studied the case. I am going to withdraw ALL my funds from Guaranty Trust Bank tomorrow morning”.

The basis of his angst and consternation was the plight of the propietor of Innoson Motors at the hands of Guaranty Trust Bank, the EFCC and the Buhari administration.

Babatunde’s disgust and repugnance at the way in which the bank and the EFCC behaved accurately reflects the mood and sentiment of millions of Nigerians on this matter. 

Yet in my view the matter goes much further and deeper than just GTB and the EFCC.

 They are simply willing puppets, tiny minions and minor players in a much bigger game and a much wider picture. 

Permit me to cross the “t”s, dot the “i”s, consider the background and look at the facts. 

In the last one year alone no less than three prominent Igbo businessmen have been arrested, humiliated and detained by the Buhari administration.

 All three are major employers of labour who fared extreemly well under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan and whose companies have become household names. 

The first is Cletus Ibeto of Ibeto Cement, a humble, charming, hard-working, low-profile and exceptionally profound and insightful man who I met when I was in detention last year. 

The second is the ebullient, young and vocal Ifeanyi Uba of Capital Oil and Gas, who later joined politics and who was indeed a member of President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign organisation in 2015 where we worked closely together. 

The third is Innocent Chukwuma, the owner of Innoson Motors whose company is the only one in Nigeria that produces cars, who I am told is an absolute gentleman and whom I have never met. 

These three men are amongst the five biggest and most prominent Igbo businessmen in the country today. The remaining two are Arthur Eze of Atlas Oronto Petroleum International and Emeka Offor of Chrome Oil both of whom have done very well but that have also had their own fair share of persecution and travails over the years.

 I made a point of doing the research in the cases of Chukwuma, Ibeto and Uba and why they were having issues with the EFCC and the SSS respectively and I came to the conclusion that not only had they done nothing wrong but they were being targeted simply because they were perceived as being “Jonathan men”, because they were deemed as being sympathetic to the PDP, because they were Igbo and finally simply out of envy from ruthless competitors. 

Given that it came as no surprise to me when, just yesterday morning, I was informed that Chukwuma’s home was raided and tear-gassed by the EFCC and he was arrested and detained in what can only be described as brutal and questionable circumstances. 

I was reliably informed that officers of the EFCC and the Nigerian Police not only injured many in his home but that they also slapped his wife. 

Never mind that he was later reportedly offered bail after what can only be described as a grueling and harrowing period of torment and trauma: the fact is that his home should never have been raided and he should never have been arrested, detained and subjected to this brutal affront and indecorous indignity in the first place.

 Such was my concern for him and the way in which the security forces had behaved at his home that I was constrained to post the following on both my twitter handle and Facebook page on that same day. I asked, 

“Why should anybody be surprised about the arrest of the owner of Innoson Motors? They did the same to Cletus Ibeto about a year ago.These people come from the “wrong” part of the country and they are providing a service and employment for Nigerians. They must be punished for it!”.

 I went further by offering some gentle and wise counsel to an old and dear friend by also posting the following: 

“I have known the MD of GTB, Segun Agbaje and his two older brothers, Femi and Jimi, for close to 40 years and I have immense respect and deep affection for them. I urge him not to expose himself to the shark infested waters of politics by allowing himself to be used by these barbarians to destroy Innoson. If he does he will regret it”. 

Yet it does not stop there. The matter goes much deeper and further than just the travails of Innocent Chukwuma of Innoson Motors or indeed those of Cletus Ibeto and Ifeanyi Uba.

 It goes to the very heart and foundation of the fundamental problem of what Nigeria has been turned into by those who believe that they own her. 

It touches on the nationality question, the quest and struggle for equal rights and opportunities for the various ethnic naionalities that make up Nigeria and the unofficial and unannounced policy of the Buhari administration to treat southerners as slaves and to discredit, crush and malign any Igbo person who aspires to excellence and greatness and who is a source of pride and inspiration to their people. 

To those that doubt this grave assertion I have one question to ask: can they, under ANY circumstances, imagine or envisage Aliko Dangote of the Dangote Group or Abdul Samad Rabiu of the BUA Group , both of whom are highly successful, extreemly wealthy and very well-known northern Muslim Hausa-Fulani businessmen, being treated in this way by any Nigerian government let alone one like Buhari’s that was established by the Fulani and solely for the interests of the Fulani? The answer to the question is a resounding “no”.

 Yet for the southern businessman and particularly for the Igbo one the rules are very different and the treatment that they get from the government and its security agencies are a world apart. 

As a matter of fact they are unfairly deemed and insidiously labelled as the “fatherless ones” and the “orphans of the corporate world” simply because they are on their own and they have no favour or protection from government. 

It is clear that any Igbo man that has the temerity and the fortitude to shine and to rise up by dint of conviction, vision, passion and hard work must be humiliated, demonised and denigrated. The story and the theme appears to be a never-ending one and it touches on all spheres of human endeavour in Nigeria. The policy, principle and practice is the same: as long as you are Igbo you are in trouble and in order to survive you must sing the praises of the Buhari administration, bow and grovel to the Fulani, accept your servitude and slavery with stoic ignomy and “bend the knee”.

 In the field of the struggle for self-determination and the quest for the establishment of the independent and sovereign state of Biafra the powers that be did it to the great Nnamdi Kanu, to his IPOB and to MASSOB. 

In the field of business they have done it to the Chukwumas, the Ubas and the Ibetos of this world. 

In the field of partisan politics they have done it to countless Igbo elders and leaders who have refused to bow to the Fulani hegemony that the Buhari administration represents. 

In the field of the Armed Forces, the Nigerian Police Force and the various security and intelligence agencies they have done it as countless Igbo career officers have either been denied promotion and operational command or they have been prematurely retired. 

Yet all this pales before the fact that scores of young Igbo men and women have been secretly slaughtered, have been subjected to mass murder and have been buried extra judicially by security forces security forces over the last two years.

 I have written about this over and over again simply because I believe that an attack on the Igbo is an attack on the whole of the south and is indeed an attack on humanity and all right-thinking people. It is also an attack on the Christian faith of which I am a member because virtually every single one of the 50 million Igbos in Nigeria are Christians. 

That is why the meeting between the Igbo and the Yoruba leaders slated for Jaunuary 11th in Enugu, under the auspices of Nzuko Umunna and which will be attended by the Obi of Onitsha, the Ooni of Ife, Afenifere, Ohanaeze and all the key Igbo and Yoruba leaders, intelligensia and politicians from all sides of the political divide is so crucial.

 The Igbo and the Yoruba must set aside our dfferences, look at these matters, speak the bitter truth, come together and agree on how to move forward and protect our collective interest. 

Whichever way it goes and whatever happens the matter shall come to an expected end because the God of Heaven will not sit by idly and allow this injustice and wickedness to go on for much longer. 

I say this because the blood of the innocent cries to Him in heaven for vengeance and sooner or later He will hear their cry and both deliverance and judgement shall come.

 In the meantime when I heard about the injustice that Innoson and his family had been subjected to I wrote the following words which came to my spirit and which burn in my soul right up until this very moment.

 It is a heart-felt and powerful lamentation and it reflects the way virtually every right-thinking and sensitive southerner feels and thinks today about what is happening in Nigeria even though they may be too scared to voice it. 

“O Igbo what have you done to the sons of Futa Jalon? Why do the heathans rant and rage? Why do the cow-loving aliens and foreign invaders seek to subjugate you and wipe you off the face of the earth?

 In silent whispers they claim that they have cursed you, that you are not fit to rule or lead and that they hate you with a perfect hatred. Yet in 1966 you saw all this coming. 

You warned us about what would happen and you tried to do something about it. Sadly we would not listen and we laughed you to scorn. You saw what we never saw. 

You knew what we never knew. You suffered what we never suffered and you shed the tears that we never shed. 51 years later nothing has changed. They still kill you and rape your women. Only now they have widened the circle and it is no longer just you. 

They kill us too and rape our women as well. They also take our land, shame our children and hate and denigrate our faith. 

Yet we look on sheepishly and helplessly all in the name of keeping the peace and political correctness: we accept our pitiable plight and we suffer in silence.

 The Bible asks, “what can flesh do to me?”, yet we ignore this divine injunction and holy scripture and bow our heads in trepidation and shame.

 Our men have become women and we mask our accursed fear of death, destruction and incarceration and our inexplicable awe of our collective oppressors with a shameful and cowardly smile. 

We readily accept every shame, every insult, every indignity and every act of savagery, brutality, barbarity and callousness that they inflict on us all for the sake of an illusionary, ephemeral, undefined and far-fetched concept known as “one Nigeria” which bears false and delusionary pretensions and claims of nationality and nationhood. 

We even thank our collective oppressors and captors and we rejoice with them when they denigrate our faith and when they slaughter our children and our beloved in the fields and in the streets.

 O Southern Nigeria: who has bewitched you? Cowardice is thy name.”

 May God deliver us!

EFCC Rakes In N1.9bn From Seized Funds Of Tafa Balogun, Others

BY YUSUF ALLI

THE NATION

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says N1,956,007,975.81 has accrued to government as interest from the public funds sized from a former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun, and other suspects under investigation or trial.

N2.25billion was confiscated from Balogun alone.

The amount was deposited in 11 accounts,according to records put together by the agency.

The EFCC document sighted by The Nation also shows that seized properties from the founder of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Erastus Akingbola, former Edo State Governor Lucky Igbinedion, former Plateau State Governor Joshua Dariye and seven other highly-placed people under investigation ,have yielded about N185.6million as rents for government.

The other suspects in this category are: Alhaji Tukur Muazu, Bayo Lawal, Kayode Ojuri, Timothy Akani, Esai Dangabar, Aliyu Bello and John Yusuf Yakubu.


Similalrly, the EFCC took over 75 money laundering cases involving drug barons from the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA) between 2006 and 2013.

EFCC sources said the records were put together following the controversy generated by the assets seized from the former IGP.

Balogun resigned his appointment as the IGP on January 18, 2005 following the uncovering of a huge amount in his accounts by the EFCC under its pioneer chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

But 11years after, some critics alleged that cash and assets seized from Balogun had been re-looted.

The EFCC records sighted by The Nation says in part: “A total of 15 Spring Bank accounts were forfeited by Mr. Tafa Balogun. Of this number, four accounts had NIL (zero) balance.

“The total balance in the remaining 11 accounts as of January 2005 was N1, 226,518,163.09. In addition to this, seven treasury bills/commercial papers in the same bank had a total balance of N1, 017, 178, 719.42.

“The two added together came up to N2, 243,696,882.51. With the addition of the accrued interest of N14, 403,634.36, the figure came to N2, 258,100,516.87.

“This sum was what was paid to the commission by Spring Bank and eventually remitted to the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Finance.”

But the commission said that some assets of the former IGP were yet to be disposed of because of legal disputes.

Continuing, the EFCC says: “There were legal issues on some of the properties recovered from Tafa Balogun. Other claimants emerged, with claims to the properties. The cases include the property at Plot 2220 Suez Crescent, Zone 4, Abuja, which the Commission eventually won in 2013, while the other involved a property at Plot 1488, Fugar Street, Asokoro which case the Commission lost in 2014.

” Apart from the Fugar Street Asokoro property that is now a subject of appeal by the EFCC; three other properties forfeited by Tafa Balogun are yet to be disposed of. One of the properties is located at Plot 110, Tunis Street, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja.

“Meanwhile, the total sum of N46,358,393.15 generated from the management of the property by Diya Fatimilehin & Co since 2009 was remitted to the Commission at various times.

“The remitted sum is in the Commission’s recovery account.

“The remaining two properties which appeared on the forfeiture order as Plot 75, Asokoro and Plot 2262B Maitama A6 District, Abuja, are also subject of legal disputes.”

The EFCC also admitted that it raked in about N1,956,007,975.81 from forfeited funds placed in interest yielding accounts.

It says: “The placement of forfeited monies in interest yielding accounts is not an entirely new idea. The court in various rulings ordered some funds to be placed in interest yielding accounts.

“Rather than warehousing forfeited funds in current accounts for a long period, the commission lodged such funds, including those of Tafa Balogun, in interest yielding accounts.

“The interest element is always in line with CBN Cash Reserve Ratio and not fixed. Not a single kobo is taken out by the commission under this initiative.

It is interesting to note that under this initiative, as at March 2015, the sum of N696, 590,765.36 was generated as interest on recovered funds with Access Bank Plc. “Another sum of N522,807,543.83 presently stands as interest generated from recovered funds with Ecobank Plc, while the subsidy recoveries with Enterprise Bank Plc has yielded the sum of N736,609,666.62. All these monies are intact and are held on behalf of the Federal Government until all encumbrances to their release are cleared.

“For purposes of transparency and accountability, the commission sought and obtained approval to operate a dedicated interest income account vide a letter from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation Ref. No. AGF/TRY/RB/441/VOL.I/128 dated 3rd December, 2012.”

Meanwhile, about N185.6million was collected as rents from seized properties of Erastus Akingbola, Lucky Igbinedion, Alh. Tukur Muazu, Bayo Lawal, Kayode Ojuri, Timothy Akani, Esai Dangabar, Aliyu Bello, Joshua Chibi Dariye and John Yusuf Yakubu.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the said rents were remitted to the commission as follows:
The sum of N70, 655,872.47 was collectively generated from the management of the forfeited properties of Erastus Akingbola, Lucky Igbinedion and Alh. Tukur Muazu.
The sum of N99, 083,241.75 was collectively generated from the management of the forfeited properties of Erastus Akingbola, Bayo Lawal, Kayode Ojuri, Timothy Akani, Esai Dangabar, Aliyu Bello, Joshua Chibi Dariye and others.

iii. The N15, 944,222.40 was collectively generated from the management of the forfeited properties of Mr. Bayo Lawal, Esai Dangabar and John Yusuf Yakubu.

On money laundering cases by drug barons, the EFCC confirmed receipt of 75 cases from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA) between 2006 and 2007.

It said: “Between 2006 and 2013, the EFCC received a total of 75 cases from NDLEA. The cases related to various offences including, unlawful possession of financial instruments, currency trafficking, unlawful possession of counterfeit financial instrument, obtaining under false pretense and unlawful possession of fake currencies among others.

“The cases were basically transferred along with exhibits which include financial instruments in form of cheques, drafts, traveler’s cheques, money order and cash in local and foreign currencies which were mostly fake or counterfeit in nature.”

Lamorde: EFCC recovers N1.4trillion, secures 400 convictions

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, yesterday said the agency has recovered over $9billion (N1.4trillion) and secured more than 400 convictions.

He also said the anti-graft agency was able to get Nigeria de-listed from the infamous list of non-cooperative countries by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

He,however, said the Commission received about $24.7 million as support from the European Union.

Lamorde spoke in Abuja while receiving members of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific/European Union (ACP-EU) parliament.

The revelations gave clues to the recovery by the commission since its inception in 2003 in what appeared a veiled response to the demand of the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes, Drugs and Narcotics which had demanded the whereabouts of the funds recovered by the EFCC.

A statement by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren said: “Lamorde listed the achievement of the Commission to include the recovery of over $9 billion, secured over 400 convictions as well as getting Nigeria de-listed from the infamous list of non-cooperative countries by the Financial Action Task Force(FATF). “He said apart from being able to investigate and prosecute criminals, the Commission through the support of the EU also engaged the civil society groups and faith-based organisation to buy in and own the fight against economic and financial crimes.

“However, despite the achievement recorded so far, Lamorde listed some of the challenges faced by the Commission to include manpower development and prosecution of criminals.”

The EFCC chairman reiterated the importance of the support of the European Union to the Commission in the fight against economic and financial crimes.

.He said commission received about $24.7 million as support from the EU.

According to him, the funds enabled the EFCC to build its ultra modern Data Centre, Forensic Unit, deploy modern software packages including Go-Case which have enabled the Commission record significant impact it its enforcement activities in Nigeria.

“EFCC would not have been able to achieve what it has achieved today without the support of the European Union”, he said.

The ACP-EU parliamentarians, who were in Abuja for the 10th ACP-EU Regional (West Africa) meeting, said they were in the Commission to see for themselves the impact of the EU assistance on its operation.

Numbering over 40 members, the group led by its co-presidents, Honourable Dr. Joyce Laboso, deputy speaker, Kenya and Riviasi Hideile, were later taken on tour of the Commission’s Data Centre and the Forensic Unit which were established with EU assistance.

------The Nation Online, Friday, July 18, 2013

Why EFCC Invited Soludo

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday invited former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Professor Chukwuma Soludo. The former CBN boss left EFCC office a few hours ago (Thursday, January 10, 2012) after honoring the invitation from the Commission.

A letter of invitation written by the EFCC to Soludo which Daily Times is in possession of, says Soludo was needed to make some clarifications on a matter under investigation. The letter invitation was dated 20th December 2012.

The letter says “This commission is investigating a case in which the need to obtain certain clarifications from you has become imperative.”

The two- paragraph letter then gave the former CBN boss its operational address and time for the visit.

Although Daily Times was not able to speak with Soludo, EFCC sources said the renowned economist left the commission’s office for his home immediately his interview with the commission’s officials ended.

------DAILY TIMES REPORTER

Emmanuel Morah, Others Arraigned For Fuel Subsidy Fraud

Emmanuel Morah and George Ogbonna, Rocky Energy; Ngozi Ekeoma, Chief Executive, Nepal Oil & gas; Ifeanyi Anosike, Anosyke Group of Companies; Adamu Aliyu Maura and eight other suspects were arraigned Friday, October 5, 2012 by Nigeria's Eco nomic and Financial Crimes Commission in connection with part of a multi-billion dollars fraud involving the fuel subsidy program before the Justice Habeeb Abiru Federal High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos. The suspects have been accused of being involved in a $23.57 million fraudulent activities while working for five companies. The companies involved are Anosyke Group of Companies, Dell Energy Limited, Downstream Energy Sources Limited, Rocky Energy Limited and Nepal Oil & Gas Company. Nigeria pays twice as much for gasoline and fraudulent deals cost the treasury a whopping $6.8 billion between 2009 and 2011, a parliamentary inquiry found.

NIGERIA: Weak EFCC And End Endemic Corruption

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, seems to have lost steam and revelations by an insider that there is lack of political will to strengthen the commission is worrisome. At the first annual convention of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, on Wednesday, a Principal Detective Superintendent at EFCC, who represented Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, EFCC Chairman, disclosed that there is lack of government support for the commission at the moment. The EFCC insider in his personal opinion, disclosed that unlike when Nuhu Ribadu was the commission’s chairman and Olusegun Obasanjo was President, the current administration is not supporting them the same way.

As a result, the EFCC is seen by many Nigerians as ineffective, a toothless bulldog that cannot even bark or bite and even unwilling to bring corrupt people to justice. This revelation is highly disturbing.

Corruption is a cancer threatening the progress, unity and prosperity of Nigeria. When public funds are looted and sent to foreign countries or private bank accounts, schools are not built, roads are not constructed, hospitals are left to rot, the entire infrastructure is neglected and the majority of Nigerians are forced to live in squalor and hopelessness. Corruption is the reason few Nigerians live in abundance while the majority of people in our country are denied the basic things of life such as potable water, balanced diet, sound education and proper healthcare.

With abundant natural and human resources, lack of electricity or bad roads should not be experienced in Nigeria. Sadly, even countries not as blessed as Nigeria seem to be doing better than us. Nigerians now spend billions of naira to attend Ghanaian universities or travel for medical treatment in foreign lands. We believe that there is enough money to build the best African universities or hospitals in our country.

We cannot continue this way. The only way to fight corruption is to bring to justice those who have looted public funds.

Their punishment will serve as a deterrent to others who might be nursing similar plans.

The reason the United States of America is so advanced and developed is not because there are no corrupt people in America. It is because the institutions are strong and those who steal from the treasury are prosecuted and severely punished. But in our country, those who steal billions from the public coffers are hardly jailed.

Apart from former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, who was sentenced by a British court, no former governor in Nigeria is currently serving any jail sentence even though most governors were accused of enriching themselves through corrupt means. Former Governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, even secured a court injunction not to be prosecuted even after he was accused of gargantuan corruption while in office. Where in the world is that allowed? Does it mean some people are above the law of the land? Does immunity cover him after he has left office? The injunction which has made the judiciary a laughing stock and perceived as a citadel of corruption must be reviewed so that he could face trial. The judge who granted that injunction should also be probed.

We must not wait until the entire country breaks up before we do what is right for ourselves and our children. President Goodluck Jonathan must support the EFCC financially and morally. He must allow the commission to operate independently.

Judges who give permanent court injunctions to corrupt politicians and lawyers who specialise in delaying cases so their corrupt clients will never be brought justice must understand that when everything collapses, it will consume everyone including them and their children.

Nigerians must also be willing to expose corrupt elements in the society. EFCC investigators are not magicians. They need to get facts to bring corrupt people to justice and they need the support of those who have those facts. It is only when we do this that Nigeria can begin to develop.

...............PM NEWS NIGERIA

NIGERIA: Criminal Cases For Speedy Trial, CJN Promises As He Swears In 12 Judges

According to the CJN, “the Federal High Court is now properly staffed to deal, without any delay, these cases filed by the EFCC and ICPC. Arrangements are being made to hear these cases from day to day without any adjournment. Some of these judges will be exclusively assigned to try all those high profile cases on day to day basis.” While congratulating the new judges, the CJN commended the National Assembly for approving the increase in the number of Federal High Court judges from 70 to 100 and noted that the move will go a long way in reducing the number pending cases at the Federal High Court.

READ FULL STORY

CARTOON: Another Version of Corruption

SOURCE: GUARDIAN NEWSPAPERS

CARTOON: Magomago & Wuruwuru Country

SOURCE: DAILY SUN

CARTOON: Questionable Characters

SOURCE: GUARDIAN NEWSPAPERS

Naija in Brief, Early Tuesday, Feb 12, 2008

After being slammed for laundering funds totaling four billion Naira plus, former Edo State Governor, Lucky Igbinedion was granted bail in Enugu where he had been remanded in custody since January. Igbinedion's bail has some strings attached to it. He is required to pay ten million Naira to the court and must provide two sureties who are permanent secretaries, and are credible with good track records of paying their taxes.

Well, I'm not sure if this is just a gimmick, a tactic to fool the public that justice and the rule of law is taking its full course. Who is fooling who here? What makes the High Court sitting in Enugu to assume the accused will go through hell in order to come up with the conditions of his bail? It's no big deal. These guys got money stashed somewhere. I'm not saying they shoudn't be granted bail. After all, what Igbinedion is accused of is a bailable offense, but my problem with the whole thing is this: will this guy be prosecuted to the limit of the law when he appears in court for trial considering how he looted public funds? I hope the courts pays attention to what he did to his people, leaving his poor folks empty and dry, wallowing in poverty.

Enter James Ibori who was also granted bail on Monday in the sum of fifty million Naira. Justice Mohammed Lawal Shuaibu in Kaduna High Court also required Ibori to provide sureties with properties in like sum as conditions of his bail.

But I do have a problem with Ibori's unnecessary compassion thanking all and sundry for their support since his incanceration two months ago. Listen to this:

My thanks also go to all Nigerians from all walks of life, who personally visited me in Kaduna, sent representatives or offered prayers — for their solidarity, support and unsurpassed love throughout these two months of detention. I particularly thank all the good people of Delta State. I extend such thanks too to politicians of various backgrounds and from all over Nigeria, most especially the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leadership and political family, for their unwavering support, uncommon confidence and huge out-pouring of love. I also wish to use this opportunity to assure Nigerians of my preparedness to pursue this case to its final conclusion for the growth and development of our nascent democracy. My confidence in the Nigerian Judiciary remains unshaken and I trust that at the end of this ordeal, justice will prevail.

Who cares about his pussyfooting. It's late and he must pay for his sins that caused the people of Delta State pain and sufferings. Of course, Ibori wishes to enhance the nations democratic fabric by justice prevailing for a man who looted his own state's treasury with impunity as chief executive. The thing is I hope EFCC and the judicial system lives up to its creed by dealing with all the corrupt politicians to the limit of the law.

Here they come again. According to a report by Emeka Anuforo of the Guardian Newspapers, Umaru Yar'Adua's administration has taken a bold step to revive the rural areas of the country with an initial amount for the project to cost about two hundred and eighty four point sixty four billion Naira. The idea is projected to take out thirty million Nigerians from the poverty line by 2011.

The question here is, how are they going to effect such a gigantic project when the local government chairmen are on standby waiting for any revenue that crosses their way? The possibility of such a task is far fetched considering what these local government chairmen have done in the past. They are not worried about going to jail like their predecessors. All they care is "money in my pocket first" and jail later. That's how it works in a corrupt and failed state. There are no two ways to go about it. So forget it Mr. President.

The News reported that officials of EFCC and journalists were attacked in a training seminar organized by the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Journalism. This is craziness when one considers how we writers and journalists help keep the government in check and yet hoodlums and democratic gangsters would not let press freedom to prevail. Just read The News and other Naija papers including the tabloids and see the kind of nonsense that has taken shape in that banana republic.

News Desk Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Ayogu Eze,Ribadu, EFCC top shots in crucial talks

CHAIRMAN of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, yesterday, met in Abuja for several hours, with top officials of the commission, in what one source said might be the first in the series of his valedictory meetings. MORE>>>

EFCC: Oshiomhole faults Ribadu's removal

IMMEDIATE past President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Action Congress (AC) gubernatorial candidate for Edo State in April 14, 2007 election, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has faulted the removal of the Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Mallam Nuhu Ribadu on the pretext of a study leave, lamenting that there is hardly anything to prove that it was not politically motivated. MORE>>>

Nuhu Ribadu: The Anti- Corruption Cop They Feared

MALLAM Nuhu Ribadu, until recently, Chairman of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is our Man of the Year, 2007. The context of his selection is worth defining. The year 2007 was a turbulent year for Nigeria in which both the Nigerian people and the government grappled with the issues of transition politics and misgovernance. MORE>>>

Senate to commence constitution amendment in January

The Senate will commence the amendment of the 1999 Constitution once it resume sitting this month. The Chairman, Senate Committee on Information and Media, Senator Ayogu Eze, who disclosed this at a news briefing in Enugu on Monday, said the review would take care of the many inconsistencies in the 1999 Constitution. MORE>>>

Ribadu is Silverbird man of the year 2007

Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, has emerged the 2007 Silverbird Man of the Year. This was revealed in a statement by the Secretary of a Lagos-based promotion outfit, BMG Promotions, Mr. Ladi Ayodeji, which was made available to our correspondent on Monday. MORE>>>

The Hype of Arrests and Corrupt Politicians in Nigeria

I am just laughing my black ass off taking a look at what the jokers have turned Nigeria into. Reading today's news, I'm still cracking up and I think it's now affecting my ribs. Today you will hear that one "vagabond in power" is arrested for stealing public funds and on the next breath the story dramatically changes, and the so-called vagabond in power is released on bail never to be charged again. Then, the media hype trails the story and when one vulnereable journalist or arranger gets paid, the whole brouhaha dies, just like that. The arrest of former governor of Delta State, James Onanefe "Odigborigbo" Ibori shouldn't be any different from the arrests of Orji Kalu, Joshua Dariye, Jolly Tevoru and the rest former rogue politicians who were bent on stealing public funds. As Ibori would be probably charged today in a Kaduna Court and probably remanded in custody or granted bail, it is most likely that a deal would be struck in his favor, as long as he's got the cash that would enable him get back on the streets. No big deal! Kalu is out there still talking with no sign of his case popping up in the courts anytime soon.

But one begins to wonder, of all the arrests and threats to arrest, no one including Mallam Ribadu's EFCC has mentioned or given the public a clue why the former governor of Imo State, Achike Udenwa, shouldn't by now be arrested for the damages and pains he caused to the people of Imo. Udenwa stole from all angles and yet he is scot-free and nobody is mentioning his name for looting the treasury of Imo State. If one should take a closer look, Ibori is a saint compared to Udenwa which makes the whole arrest thing a big joke and a mockery of Nigeria's fledgling democratic fabric. I'm not sure if the nations top cop, Ribadu, is taking a closer look judging from public opinion when he is making all these arrests and leaving out the culprits who destroyed every aspect of civil liberty.

Let's just take a look at charges levelled against public officials since the beginning of the Fourth Republic. It's too numerous to mention, but the fact of the matter is none of the subjects spent time in jail with the exception of the former police chief, Tafa Balogun.

And while Ibori's arrest is all over the news, a sitting governor in one of the North Western states is said to be under the microscope of EFCC for inflated contracts in the said state. Idowu Samuel of the Nigerian Tribune reports:

A governor from one of the North West states is said to have attracted the attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by awarding contracts running into several billions of naira without recourse to due process. The state governor, who himself had probed his predecessor for alleged corrupt enrichment, according to Nigerian Tribune investigations, is now being probed by the EFCC following tips from aggrieved members of his cabinet. A petition by some members of his government now before the anti-graft agency was said to have alleged that the governor had been using his relatives and fronts in the award of contracts. The petitioners had prayed the EFCC to investigate the governor for money laundering. They claimed that all the contracts being handled by the fronts and relations were not listed in the budget. They also claimed that the contracts did not pass through the tenders’ board, thereby violating Due Process in the award process. A top source at the EFCC confirmed that the governor was one of those being investigated.


Ending up this note, it has been confirmed that Ibori bribed EFCC officials with $15m. Imagine, and Desmond Utomwen and Adi Femi of The News reports from the High Court sitting in Kaduna:

Details of how former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, attempted to subvert justice by bribing EFCC officials with $15 million (about N1.8 billion) emerged this morning at the Federal High Court, Kaduna, where he is being tried for alleged money laundering.

Ibori and four others were this morning arraigned on a 103-count charge of money laundering and abuse of office.

The EFCC, in one of the charges, alleged that Ibori on 26 April, 2007 made a cash payment of N1.8 billion ($15m) to EFCC investigators in order to influence their investigation.

According to the EFCC, the offence is contrary to and punishable under section 15(2) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.

The EFCC also alleged that Ibori on 31 December, 2004, collaborated with Lipopo Nigeria Limited to conceal the genuine origin of the sum of N280 million to buy Afribank shares in the names of fictitious persons.

Another charge accused him of collaborating with Kent to conceal the genuine origin of N220 million by using same to buy Afribank shares in the name of fictitious persons.

Ibori was also alleged to have transferred the sum of N5 billion from the account of the Delta State government to buy shares from Afribank with a fictitious company.

He was alleged to have also transferred N5 million to his personal account at Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) illegally from the account of the Delta State government, “and which you knew represent the proceeds of crime with the aim of concealing the nature of crime”.

Another charge against him reads: “That you, James Onanefe Ibori on 10 November 2004, transferred N1 million to your personal account at GTB which forms part of the fund from the account of the Delta State government.”

The presiding Judge, Justice Mohammed Lawal Shuaibu, refused to grant him bail based on the submission of the EFCC counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, that he might jump bail.

Jacobs buttressed his argument with the fact that Ibori had been convicted twice in England for fraud related charges and that he might abscond if granted bail.

Even though Ibori’s counsel, Daudu, pleaded with the court to grant him bail, Justice Shuaibu declined to do so and ordered that he be remanded in EFCC custody until Monday, 17 December, when the court is expected to further consider his application for bail.

Security was tight at the premises of the court as armed anti-riot policemen frisked lawyers and judicial staff moving into the premises.

Despite the tight security, some protesting youths were seen with placards commending the EFCC for a job well done.

The inscriptions on some of the placards read: “ICPC, EFCC, CCB, Well Done’; ‘No Hiding place for corrupt leaders’; ‘With leaders like Ibori, Niger Delta Doesn’t need an enemy’; ‘No To Black Market Rule of Law’, etc.

Ibori was arrested yesterday by officials of EFCC at about 11 a.m. at his Asokoro residence in Abuja and taken to the EFCC office where he is currently being interrogated.

He was said to have escaped to the Kwara State government lodge in Abuja when he discovered the presence of EFCC officials around his house.

His arrest brought to an end the cat and mouse game between him and EFCC officials who have been trying to bring him to book to answer charges bordering on alleged financial impropriety while he was governor of Delta State between May 1999 and May 2007.

The London Metropolitan Police had earlier arrested his wife, Theresa Nkoyo, while she was about to board a Virgin Atlantic flight to Lagos.

The police said her arrest was “in connection with an ongoing money laundering enquiry.”

Ibori has been the subject of money laundering investigation in the UK, where his assets, worth N5 billion, have been frozen.

The investigating team of the Metropolitan Police has made several visits to Nigeria on the matter.

Also under arrest were some of Ibori’s associates, including Adebimpe Pogoson, described as Ibori’s special assistant, who is said to control a number of companies and bank accounts in Nigeria and several other countries; Christine Ibori-Ebie, James Ibori’s sister and Udoamaka Okoronkwo Onuigbo, said to be James Ibori’s banker.

Under probe are companies and properties said to belong to Ibori, such as Haleway Properties Ltd., Gibraltar; the property at 7, Westover Hill in the UK, valued at over 4 million pounds; the property at 42, Great Ground Street, Shaftsbury also in the UK and the company called Telston Quaye Ltd., (British Virgin Island).

Among allegations levelled against him were that he paid $20 million to Bombardier Inc. of Canada, an aircraft manufacturer, for the purpose of buying a plane.

Also being investigated is a London Barclays Bank account in the name of MER Engineering.

About 2.3 million pounds in deposits were traced to the account as payments by Chevron and NNPC.

The saga continues!