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Tag: AGF

  • AGF and Kogi crisis

    •The Chief Law Officer should obey the principle of separation of power

    The Attorney-General of the Federation, Alhaji Abubakar Mallami, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has once again taken an action deemed to violate provisions of the constitution, and thus drawn the ire of members of the House of Representatives.

    Following the division in the Kogi State House of Assembly and its inability to conduct the law-making responsibility in accordance with the law, the House of Representatives sent a 10-member panel to investigate the impasse and advise the House on what should be done. The panel recommended that, in line with section 11 of the constitution, the House of Representatives should take over the law making function of the state assembly in the interest of good governance.

    Further, the House directed the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, to seal off the House of Assembly Complex to forestall a breakdown of law and order as two factions of members were in open conflict.

    All attempts previously made by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and stakeholders to resolve the crisis failed. A faction loyal to Momoh Jimoh Lawal and believed to be sympathetic to the cause of James Faleke, a Representative comprises a majority of 15 of the existing 20 members. The members have however been barred from gaining access to the chamber. However, five members believed to be loyal to Governor Yahaya Bello purportedly impeached the Speaker and has been encouraged to make laws for the state.

    The political undertone is understandable, but not the intervention of the AGF in instructing the Inspector-General of Police to ignore the National Assembly’s resolution. The AGF based his position on the provision of section 11 of the constitution. The senior lawyer said the constitution only envisages a take-over when there is violence in the state.

    It is curious that the AGF volunteered his opinion uninvited on the matter. Neither the House of Representatives nor the IGP had sought his counsel. This suggests that there is more to the unsolicited legal opinion. The National Assembly has taken a strong exception to the interference and directed a 22-member ad hoc committee to look into the matter, interface with the AGF and the IGP and report to the House.

    The constitution envisages that knowledgeable, experienced and sober senior members of the Bar should hold the office of the AGF. He is not only the Chief Law Officer; he is also the legal adviser to the President. He is the Minister of Justice and is expected to put the interest of the country and professionalism above partisan consideration. This does not seem to have been the case in the Kogi logjam.

    When the crisis erupted last year, the AGF was quick to offer an opinion on what should be the line of action in deciding who should be candidate of the APC in the concluding part of the election. Despite the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) having a legal department and referring critical matters to a consortium of senior lawyers, the AGF controversially literally gave an order that enabled the APC shove aside the running mate to the late Prince Abubakar Audu, picking rather Alhaji Yahaya Bello.

    We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to caution his AGF. He should be told to act within the confines of the law and the powers of his office. At a time when there appears to be tension between the executive and legislative arms of government, the AGF should not be seen as taking actions to denigrate the lawmakers. Besides, we reiterate our position that the office of AGF should be separated from that of the Minister of Justice. As a member of the President’s cabinet, the minister might feel drawn into political consideration. The Kogi impasse should attract the attention of all men of goodwill who accept that the primary purpose of government is promotion of the welfare of the people and security of lives. The Kogi people deserve more than the AGF is offering.

  • N43b ‘fraud’: AGF to prosecute suspects

    N43b ‘fraud’: AGF to prosecute suspects

    Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday ordered the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation to prosecute 16 suspects accused of fraud at the Consolidated Discount House Limited.

    Lawyers representing the AGF and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) disagreed on who to prosecute the case.

    Justice Idris held that following the subsisting fiat given to private lawyers, led by a former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) President Joseph Daudu (SAN), EFCC cannot take over unless the AGF directs otherwise.

    Three separate charges were filed against the suspects. Defendants in the first charge are Stephen Akinretoye, Peter Ololo and Falcon Securities Limited.

    The second charge has Akinretoye, Mudashiru Shittu, Olawale Omisore, Captain Eddy Ndoms, Aquatic Transport Limited, Cross Oceans Limited and Ehco Ventures Limited as defendants.

    In the third charge, the accused are Akinretoye, Shittu, Larai Claude-Eninn, Hassan Gbenga, Ajibola Jolaosho, Omisore Olawale, Omisope Johnson, Onimole Adebawale and Emmanuel Odedina.

    In the first charge, the complainant, Federal Government, alleged that between January 1 and December 31, 2007, the accused defrauded Consolidated Discount Limited by granting loans to Falcon Securities, a company owned by Ololo, without proper documentation.

    The prosecution said they allegedly converted N43.9 billion belonging to Consolidated Discount, in contravention of Section 15 (2) and 15 (3) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2012.

    In the second charge, Akinterotoye and others allegedly defrauded the company in the guise of granting loans to the fourth to seventh defendants and converted N520 milion, N303 million and N600 million.

    The prosecution said investigation showed that Consolidated Discount paid for vessels before the dates of the applications for loan made by the fourth to seventh accused.

    In the third charge, the prosecution said the defendants, as employees of Consolidated Discount, committed fraud by converting its N915.7 million.

    Shittu (as managing director) and Gbenga (as financial controller), between March 2012 and June 2013, allegedly transferred N1.6 billion from Consolidated Discount’s Union Bank account: 0033295449, to companies belonging to them.

    The accused persons took their pleas in respect of the first and second charges (20c and 21c) and pleaded not guilty. The cases were adjourned till May 13.

    However, they could not take their plea in respect of the third charge (22c) because two of the accused have not been served.

    Justice Idris directed that they be served and produced on April 25 for arraignment.

  • AGF and Kogi conundrum

    AGF and Kogi conundrum

    On the surface, the National Assembly does not appear to have any hidden interest in the Kogi House of Assembly stalemate, nor in Kogi as a state, irrespective of the turmoil in that burdened and distressed state. But after waiting for some weeks for Kogi lawmakers to resolve the impasse they created in February when five members led by Hon. Umar Imam purportedly impeached the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Momohjimoh Lawal, both chambers of the National Assembly, one after the other, resolved to take over the state’s legislative functions. The state legislature had been divided into two factions, one labelled as G-15, and the other, G-5. There are no clear indications the G-15 has been depleted in rank; but last week when the G-5 sat to suspend 10 of their colleagues using a crazy political calculus, their rank had swollen to about nine. The House of Assembly is made up of 25 members: 13 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), 10 All Progressives Congress (APC), and two inconclusive state constituencies elections.

    But shortly after the Senate concurred with the House of Representatives to take over the state’s legislative responsibilities, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, wrote the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, who had presumably asked for advice on the Kogi conundrum, to disregard the National Assembly’s order to seal the House of Assembly premises. Incensed federal lawmakers have asked both the AGF and IGP to appear before them to explain their actions. This will be the second time the AGF will be offering legal advice on the conundrums in Kogi. In last year’s governorship election, the AGF waded in after the APC candidate in the election, Abubakar Audu, died after the election, advising the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow for the substitution of candidates in the APC regardless of the completion of the poll. The electoral umpire, anchoring its decision on the incompletion of the announcement of election results, promptly declared the election inconclusive, and Yahaya Bello, without a running mate, was drafted in to ‘complete’ the poll.

    The AGF’s intervention in Kogi raises eyebrows in many quarters. Five lawmakers backed by state executive and coercive machineries have overwhelmed their colleagues and are pretending to make laws for the state. The coercive minority has colonised the Assembly complex. It apparently suits the governor well that the Group of Five is in charge of the lawmaking affairs of the state. When the National Assembly took over the legislative function of the state, the budget had not been passed, and no case was filed in court. It was shortly after the federal lawmakers had waded into the fray that the AGF rose up to interpret the intendment of the constitution, suggesting that in any case, the stalemate in the Assembly could still be resolved administratively or legally. It was not immediately clear which scenario ought to have worried the AGF more: the arithmetic madness in the Assembly, or the federal lawmakers’ adherence to the letter (not the spirit) of the constitution.

    There is no doubt that the intervention of the AGF is superfluous. By suggesting that the status quo be maintained in the Assembly and recourse be made to legal or administrative instruments to resolve the stalemate, the AGF was in no way attenuating the conflict in the legislature. He should be worried that his advice seemed to have indirectly legitimised the actions of a virulent minority, a scenario the constitution never envisaged, whether in letter or in spirit. Aggrieved members have now gone to court, a depressing and irritating admission of the impotence and weakness of the majority. The minority is sitting pretty in the House, and has even gone further, with the help of four defectors, to pass the budget. Had the National Assembly taken over effectively, the usurping minority would have been uprooted, court processes would not be barred in any form, and the disgraceful arithmetic farce reigning in the state would have been avoided.

    There is no creative way to argue that the AGF’s interventions in Kogi have advanced the cause of democracy and good governance. In last year’s election, INEC had a legal department that ought to have managed any misgiving or legal conundrum the electoral umpire had. Any dispute would have been resolved in court, as in fact is being done at a cost to the image of the Justice ministry and INEC’s putative independence. In the present case, had the National Assembly taken over Kogi Assembly, it would have served notice that no ambitious group of minority lawmakers or meddling governor would be allowed to plan a coup against the state legislature. It does not appear that the AGF advised himself about the chequered history of democracy in Nigeria, particularly how in many instances the executive arm manipulated the legislature at federal and state levels to undermine democracy, federalism and the rule of law.

    Had the AGF done his homework well, he would have recalled how both the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), citing the war against corruption, foolishly meddled in the affairs of Plateau State and engineered the removal of ex-governor Joshua Dariye using five lawmakers in 2006. Every time such meddling took place, the powerful national government always cited a cause that resonated with the undiscriminating public. The AGF will also recall that before then, in 2005, that great exemplar of strong-arm tactics, Chief Obasanjo, engineered the removal of ex-governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa State purportedly for corruption, when in fact the reason was not unconnected with the former president’s political struggle with ex-vice president Abubakar Atiku.

    Surely, the AGF could not also have forgotten the crazy impeachment of ex-governor Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo State in 2006, nor even that of Ayo Fayose in the same 2006. The gale of executive lawlessness orchestrated by the Obasanjo presidency did not promote transparency or democracy, nor conduce to good government. Instead, that culture of insidious executive interference in state affairs has continued in one form or the other to the chagrin of federalists and democrats. It is that shameless anti-democratic culture that is now playing out, under a clever pretext, in Kogi State in the current stalemate. Had the right culture been promoted when the Fourth Republic was founded, it would be unthinkable for five lawmakers to muscle out 15 of their colleagues as Ogun State lawmakers also did in 2009 under the governorship of Gbenga Daniel; nor would a dithering governor have clothed that lawlessness with executive imprimatur; nor would an attorney general have attempted to offer creative explanation to defend the indefensible.

    Something is still fundamentally wrong with Nigerian democracy. When they can get away with it, the executive arm and its colluding agencies remorselessly pursue anti-democratic objectives, cloaking them in varying and mesmerising guises. The problem, it seems, is that most Nigerian politicians and leaders saddled with the responsibility of governing Nigeria at different levels are in fact not convinced democrats. They are democrats as an afterthought. They have no deep conviction about democracy, a concept that appears alien to them; and no regard for federalism, which is often to them an inconvenience. Thus, for eight  years, Chief Obasanjo exhibited contempt for a concept (democracy) that required discipline and self-sacrifice, two attributes he neither had in abundance nor was he even willing to give the little he had. His successors, particularly Goodluck Jonathan, struggled and wrestled with the twin principles, and only managed in over five years of his presidency to sustain a semblance of the two, admittedly a little better than Chief Obasanjo did.

    Whether in Kogi or elsewhere, there are no indications President Buhari’s government has got off to a good start on democracy. He has squirmed and voiced his pains in his many and frequent encounters with democratic principles. And whether directly, such as his tiff with the judiciary, or indirectly through the actions and utterances of the AGF, President Buhari must innovate and work assiduously to leave a lasting democratic legacy. To this end, he must have a full understanding of the concept of democracy and be absolutely persuaded of its value in sustaining peace, justice and stability. His predecessors laid a wobbly foundation for the Fourth Republic. President Buhari needs a new, solid and enduring foundation upon which future leaders can build. The AGF’s Kogi excursions do not give confidence that President Buhari has taken charge of all the deep issues pertaining to democracy and good governance. He desperately needs to go beyond fighting corruption and reining in insurgency to tackling the bigger and more ramifying issues of justice, democracy and federalism.

  • Kogi crisis: Reps summon AGF, Police chief

    The House of Representatives yesterday summoned the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase, following the crisis in the Kogi State House of Assembly.

    While Malami is to appear before a 22-member Ad Hoc Committee, headed by the Majority leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, to explain why he advised the IGP to discountenance the House’s directive to seal the Assembly, the IGP is to explain why he sought the AGF’s advice after being given a directive by the National Assembly.

    The committee is to investigate the matter and report in two weeks.

    The resolution followed the passage of a motion sponsored under Matters of Urgent National Importance by Ossai Nicholas Ossai.

    The lawmaker noted that the three arms of government have separate functions and that the House took a position on the Assembly crisis to forestall violence and loss of lives.

    He said he wondered why the AGF would advise the IGP against the resolution of the National Assembly.

    Contributing to the motion, Gbajabiamila said members had a responsibility to protect the institution (House of Representatives).

    He said the AGF was wrong, adding that Section 11 of the constitution empowered the National Assembly to do what it did.

    According to him, the effect of what the AGF is saying is that the gate of the Assembly should be opened to allow five members of the 25 to sit.

    “I believe the AGF has erred by inviting the police to open the House,” he said.

    Minority leader Leo Ogor, quoting Section 36, said the AGF should be invited as the No. 1 law officer, adding that the security and well-being of the country is paramount.

    Pally Iriase, who led the delegation to Kogi State, said contrary to reports at the time the House ruled to take over legislative functions of Kogi Assembly, no matter was in court.

    The Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, noted that the issue should be treated with seriousness because it’s a sensitive matter.

    Aliyu Madaki (APC, Kano) said the AGF created the problem in Kogi State as it was the minister, who advised the Presidency on what to do on the issue in the first place.

    “Please, please, this man (AGF) should go and read his books well,” he said.

    Tajudeen Yusuf said the AGF had no power to direct the IGP to unseal the Assembly and that the Eighth National Assembly should reject executive recklessness.

    Edward Pajok wondered why it took the IGP several weeks to carry out the directive he was given by the House to seal the Assembly, and why he sought the advice of the AGF.

    While some lawmakers asked for removal of the AGF, others were unhappy and expressed disappointment at the utterance of the AGF.

    Mohammed Kazaure (APC, Jigawa) said: “If he thinks we don’t know our job, let us invite him here to teach us.”

  • AGF, take over!

    •With police concluding investigation, alleged forgers of senate rules must be prosecuted

    By the provision of section 150 of the 1999 constitution, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), was created. In that provision, the AGF is referred to as the “Chief Law Officer of the Federation and a Minister of the Government of the Federation”. The high responsibilities of that office are provided in section 174 of the constitution; and of note, section 174(3) provides: “In exercising his powers under this section, the Attorney-General of the Federation shall have regard to the public interest, the interest of justice and the need to prevent abuse of legal process”.

    Recently, there is a report that the police have concluded investigation in respect of the alleged forgery of the senate rules, with which the present senate leadership was consequently inaugurated. According to the report, the police investigation established a prima facie case of forgery, and the police have recommended to the AGF, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), that those indicted should be tried for forgery. For reasons best known to the AGF, he has reportedly refused to prosecute those indicted, or authorise the police to prosecute them, in exercise of his powers under section 174 of the constitution.

    We consider the decision of the AGF a violation of section 174(3) of the 1999 constitution, and we urge President Muhammadu Buhari to weigh in on the side of the supreme law of the land, by supporting the prosecution of the alleged offenders. Indeed, the AGF should not be reminded that the conduct of those who forged the senate rules amounted to a constitutional coup against our grundnorm, from which his enormous powers as AGF, are derived. He should bear in mind the constitutional provision that he is not just a minister of the government, but the chief law officer of the federation.

    As the chief law officer of our country and her nascent democracy, the AGF cannot be seen to show sympathy to law makers who have shockingly turned to law breakers. The AGF must remember that the government of which he is also the minister of justice has been trenchantly fighting corruption since its inception. To now aide or abet corruption, regardless of whose ox is gored, is an aberration, unless he has forsworn allegiance to another authority which he considers more important than the laws of the country and the government that made him a minister.

    No doubt, we appreciate the enormous constitutional powers of the AGF and Minister of Justice, as provided in section 174, which gives him the power “to take over and continue” or “to discontinue at any stage before judgment” criminal proceedings, “instituted or undertaken by him or any other authority or person”. We also recognise judicial pronouncements, as in State vs. Ilori, with respect to power to enter a nolle prosequi, wherein the Supreme Court recognised that under the common law, the AGF is a power unto himself, and that his responsibility is “no doubt a great ministerial prerogative coupled with grave responsibilities”.

    But being a constitutional democracy, section 174(3) insists that the AGF must exercise his responsibility in the overall interest of our country. The AGF’s decision to forestall the fight against political corruption, in our view, is against the interest and general well-being of our country. That is why the President who appointed him should bring pressure on him to act in the country’s interest.  Whatever interest may have made him to act in the manner he did cannot be higher than the constitution and the government he represents.

  • AGF orders probe of Kashamu’s firm

    AGF orders probe of Kashamu’s firm

    The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the involvement of Kasmal International Services Limited believed to be owned by Senator Buruji Kashamu a stamp duties deal with the Federal Government.

    Specifically, the AGF requested the EFCC to establish among others, the legitimacy of the purported consultancy agreement between Kasmal and the Nigerian Postal Service (NPS), for the firm to collect stamp duty from commercial banks and other financial institutions in the country.

    The AGF, who noted Kasmal, acting on the said agreement,  purport to waive all arrears of remittances owned the Federal Government by banks and other financial Institutions from 2004 till the commencement of CBN Circular No CBN/GEN/DMB/02/006 of 15th January, 2015.

    AGF’s media aide, Salihu Isah said, in a statement Wednesday, that the minister has given the EFCC three weeks to conclude the investigation and report to him.

    The AGF’s directive to the EFCC, it was learnt, was contained in a three-page letter dated March, 4, 2016 and signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Saidu Diri.

    Part of the letter reads: “The Chairman of Kasmal International Services Limited is one Prince B. Kashamu, who is a Senator representing Ogun State in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “The Acting Post Master General/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Postal Service is one Mr. Enoch Ade Ogun.

    “You may also need to interview Ibrahim Mori Baba, the former Post Master General of the Nigerian Postal Service and B.S Yakubu, Secretary/Legal Adviser of the Nigerian Postal Service respectively in the course of your investigation,” it said.

    Isah quoted the AGF as observing that the Nigerian Postal Service is an agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria established by virtue of Section 1 (1) & 2 (a) (b) of the Nigerian Postal Service Act, Cap. N127, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

    He added that a total of eleven documents were attached to the letter by the AGF to the EFCC including the Nigerian Postal Service reference No. NIP/LSD/LSA/04/VOL.11/25 dated 30th October 2013; Nigerian Postal Service reference No. NIP/PMG/019/VOL. X dated 06th November, 2013; Nigerian Postal Service reference No. NIP/PMG/019/VOL/XVIII dated 4th, December, 2015; as well as Kasmal International Services Limited letter dated January 16, 2016 to the Post Master General.

    Other documents are Kasmal Group letter dated 28th October, 2013; Kasmal International Services Limited dated 21st January, 2016 to Post Master General; Central Bank of Nigeria memo CBN/GEN/DMB/02/006 dated the 15th January, 2016; Nigerian Postal Service reference No. NIP/PMG/113/VOL.1/57 dated 2nd July, 2014 to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; Nigeria Postal Service reference No. NIP/PMG/019/VOL/XVIII dated 4th December, 2015; Nigeria Postal Service reference No. NIP/PMG/019/VOL.X dated 6th November, 2013 a well as Nigerian Postal Service reference No.NIP/PMG/181/VOL.11 dated 1st February, 2016 to the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation & Minister of Justice.

    Another document is titled, ‘Request for the Investigation of the purported consultancy agreement for collection of Stamp Duty from banking and other financial Institutions (BOFI) between Nigeria Postal Service and Kasmal International Services Limited (also known as Kasmal Group) which led Kasmal Group to Purport to Waive all Arrears of Remittances from 2004 till the Commencement of CBN Circular No. CBN/GEN/DMB/02/006 of 15th January, 2015 which Nigeria Postal Service was entitled under Section 89 of the Stamp Duties Act LFN 2004 to Collect as well as the N20 Penalty on Every Such Unpaid Remittance of N50 as Prescribed by the said Stamp Duties Act’.

    “In the Nigerian Postal Service reference No. NIP/PMG/181/VOL.11 dated 1st February 2016, the Acting Post Master General of Nigerian Postal Service confessed that there is no formal memorandum of understanding/contract MOU agreement between NIPOST and Messrs Kasmal International Services Limited stating any term of engagement yet Kasmal International Services Limited proceeded to grant a waiver to all Commercial Banks and Financial Institutions by letter dated 22nd December, 2015 all arrears of remittances from 2004 till 1st January 2016 which NIPOST was entitled under Section 89 of the  Stamp Duties Act to collect as well as the 20 Naira penalty on every such unpaid remittances of 50 Naira as prescribed by the Stamp Duties Act.

    “See also Kasmal International Services Limited letter dated 21st January 2016 to the Post Master General/CEO, Nigerian Postal Service, Abuja. The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation respectfully request that your Commission investigate this matter and submit a Report to him within three weeks of the receipt of this letter”, the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation directed on behalf of the AGF.

    It was learnt that the Special Assistant to the AGF on Prosecution, Okoi Obono-Obla had, in an internal memo dated 17th March, 2016 advised the minister to take over the representation of the Nigerian Postal Service in the Appeal pending in the Court of Appeal.

    Obono-Obla was also said to have requested the AGF “to take over the representation of the Nigerian Postal Service in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/100/2016 filed by the Kasmal International Services Limited against the Nigerian Postal Service and the Honourable Attorney General and other Federal Government agencies in the Federal High Court, Abuja.”

  • AGF blames forex crisis on saboteurs

    The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN),  yesterday said the Federal Government  discovered that some individuals and institutions were behind the persistent distortions in the foreign exchange (forex) market.

    Malami, who did not disclose the identities of the “individuals and institutions,” said the government would soon expose them and prosecute those found culpable.

    Addressing a press conference in Abuja, Malami identified the activities of those involved to include “round-tripping of foreign exchange sourced from the interbank market, rendition of false foreign exchange utilisation data, non-repatriation of export proceeds, use of foreign exchange for non-eligible purposes, consumption of foreign exchange transactions with inadequate, expired and or forged documents and failure to report exchange end users, who default in the submission of required documents.

    “Government is aware of the insidious activities of certain elements within some of our strategic national institutions, who rather than exert their regulatory powers, have chosen to use their strong accomplices within the system to manipulate the foreign exchange market for personal corrupt gains and to the detriment of the national economy.

    “Let me restate in the strongest terms that theses nefarious malpractices by unscrupulous individuals and institutions will no longer be tolerated. In this regard, measures are already in place to deal with the infractions decisively and relevant security agencies are on the red alert to investigate these infractions and appropriate sanctions shall follow accordingly.

    “I have therefore directed the economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other relevant security agencies to further investigate and confirm the information already available,” the AGF said.

    He said the government’s action was informed by its realisation that the crisis in the forex market was artificial as against the claim that it was from the interaction of market forces. He said those behind it resorted to this because they have failed in their effort to make the government devalue the nations’ currency

    “There is an urgent need to review our foreign exchange market from the perspective of the degree of compliance with extant laws and regulations due to certain disturbing developments which  increasingly are  confirming the initial suspicions of government that the current state of the naira is not the result of neutral economic factors or directly related to demand and supply forces alone,” he said.

  • Alleged fraud: EFCC, AGF’s lawyers clash again

    The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are yet to decide on who will prosecute 16 suspects accused of multi-billion naira fraud at the Consolidated Discount House Limited.

    Lawyers representing EFCC and the AGF were engaged in arguments at the Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday over who is empowered to prosecute the case.

    Justice Mohammed Idris had, on February 23, ordered them to sort out who between them should prosecute the case, but the issue was not resolved, thereby stalling the suspects’ arraignment.

    A lawyer, D.C. Enwelum, who appeared with Adedayo Adedeji for the AGF, said he filed a motion on notice praying the court to resolve the issue.

    In the application, a former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president, Joseph Daudu (SAN), Damian Dodo (SAN), Fabian Ajogwu (SAN) and Enwelum said they were given a fiat by the AGF on May 5 last year to prosecute the suspects.

    Daudu, through a supporting affidavit deposed to by Adedeji, said after they were issued the fiat, the team of lawyers held extensive meetings and brainstorming sessions, and prepared and filed three charge sheets on the AGF’s behalf.

    He said after filing the charges, they were forwarded to the EFCC to help serve the accused persons with them and to facilitate their production in court for arraignment.

    Daudu said surprisingly, when the case came up on February 23, a lawyer from EFCC, A.B.C Ozioko, announced appearance for the prosecution.

    Ozioko had insisted that EFCC would prosecute the suspects, arguing that the suspects were in its custody.

    But Daudu said in light of the subsisting fiat, no other person or agency can prosecute the accused persons except those authorised to do so by the AGF.

    “The action of A.B.C Ozioko constitutes a nuisance to the proceedings and amounts to gross misconduct and abuse of the court processes and proceedings,” Daudu said.

  • N43b fraud: EFCC, AGF can’t agree on who to prosecute

    N43b fraud: EFCC, AGF can’t agree on who to prosecute

    Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday ordered the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation  and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to decide which office will prosecute 16 suspects accused of fraud at the Consolidated Discount House Limited.

    Their arraignment was stalled following a disagreement between lawyers representing the AGF and EFCC on who should prosecute the case.

    Three separates charges were filed against the suspects. Defendants in the first charge are Stephen Akinretoye, Peter Ololo and Falcon Securities Limited.

    The second charge has Akinretoye, Mudashiru Shittu, Olawale Omisore, Captain Eddy Ndoms, Aquatic Transport Limited, Cross Oceans Limited and Ehco Ventures Limited as defendants.

    In the third charge, Akinretoye, Shittu, Larai Claude-Eninn, Hassan Gbenga, Ajibola Jolaosho, Omisore Olawale, Omisope Johnson, Onimole Adebawale and Emmanuel Odedina are the accused.

    In the first charge, the complainant, the Federal Government, alleged that between January 1 and December 31, 2007, the accused conspired to defraud Consolidated Discount Limited by granting loans to Falcon Securities Limited, a company owned by Ololo, without proper documentation.

    The prosecution said they allegedly converted N43.9 billion, funds belonging to Consolidated Discount, in contravention of Section 15 (2) and 15 (3) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2012.

    In the second charge, Akinterotoye and others allegedly defrauded the company in the guise of granting loans to the fourth to seventh defendants and converted N520 milion, N303 million and N600 million.

    The prosecution said investigations showed that Consolidated Discount paid for vessels before the dates of the applications for loan made by the fourth to seventh accused.

    In the third charge, the prosecution said the defendants, as employees of Consolidated Discount, committed fraud by converting its N915.7 million.

    Shittu (as managing director) and Gbenga (as financial controller), between March 2012 and June 2013, allegedly transferred N1.6 billion from Consolidated Discount’s Union Bank Plc account: 0033295449, to companies belonging to them.

    A lawyer from EFCC, A. B. Ozioko, who brought the suspects to court from the commission’s custody, announced appearance for the prosecution, saying the matter was for arraignment.

    But another lawyer, D. C. Enwelum, also announced appearance for the prosecution. He said he was authorised by a fiat by the AGF to prosecute the case.

    Justice Idris said the issue of who has the authority to prosecute the suspects must be sorted out before they are arraigned.

    Ozioko applied that the suspects be remanded in EFCC custody to guarantee their attendance in court at the next date.

    “We apply that they be kept in EFCC custody. That is the only way we can guarantee their production,” he said.

    But defence counsel, including Osaro Eghobamien (SAN), said the suspects were on administrative bail.

    According to them, their clients always reported at EFCC whenever asked and were only detained when they responded to EFCC’s summons on Monday.

    Justice Idris ordered that parties maintain the status quo ante bellum, which he explained to mean that they continue to enjoy the administrative bail granted them before the charge was filed and served on them.

    He adjourned the three cases to March 3 for arraignment.

  • N43b fraud: EFCC, AGF disagree over suspects’ prosecution

    Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to decide which of them will prosecute 16 suspects accused of multi-billion fraud at the Consolidated Discount House Limited.

    The suspects’ arraignment was stalled due to a disagreement between two lawyers representing the AGF and EFCC on who should prosecute the case.

    Three separates charges were filed against the suspects. Defendants in the first charge are Stephen Akinretoye, Peter Ololo and Falcon Securities Limited.

    The second charge has Akinretoye, Mudashiru Shittu, Olawale Omisore, Capt. Eddy Ndoms, Aquatic Transport Limited, Cross Oceans Limited and Ehco Ventures Limited as defendants.

    In the third charge, Akinretoye, Shittu, Larai Claude-Eninn, Hassan Gbenga, Ajibola Jolaosho, Omisore Olawale, Omisope Johnson, Onimole Adebawale and Emmanuel Odedina are the accused.

    In the first charge, the complainant, Federal Republic of Nigeria, alleged that between January 1 and December 31, 2007, the accused persons agreed among themselves to defraud Consolidated Discounts Limited by granting loans to Falcon Securities Limited, a company owned by Ololo, without proper documentation.

    The prosecution said they allegedly converted N43.9billion being funds belonging to Consolidated Discount in contravention of Section 15 (2) and 15 (3) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2012.

    In the second charge, Akinterotoye and others allegedly defrauded the company in the guise of granting loans to the fourth to seventh defendants and converted various sums, such as N520milion, N303million and N600million.

    The prosecution said investigations revealed that Consolidated Discount had already paid for vessels before the dates of the various applications for loan made by the fourth to seventh accused persons.

    In the third charge, the prosecution said the defendants, as employees of Consolidated Discount, committed an act of fraud by converting its N915.7million.