The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bafarawa

  • Turaki, Bafarawa pick PDP presidential forms

    A former Special Duties Minister, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki and ex-Sokoto State Governor Attahiru Bafarawa yesterday picked the presidential nomination forms of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    They hoped that the party would defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 presidential election.

    Ruling out the possibility of stepping down for one of the 12 aspirants as a consensus candidate, Turaki and Bafarawa, however, said any of the aspirants could willingly withdraw from the race.

    Turaki said: “If we say that we are going for consensus, what are we going to do with it? We agree we are all brothers. We see it as a game. Therefore, if anybody is interested in withdrawing from the race, it’s a welcome idea.

    “But talking of consensus, you are going to fall like the All Progressives Congress (APC) where we are going to have one-man show. We don’t want to go for one-man show. We want to practise democracy so that people will choose their own better candidate.

    “For example, if APC is playing democracy, they will allow at least three to four aspirants to aspire for the position. But because the party is a limited liability company, while PDP is a public limited company, it is welcome by everybody.”

    Turaki’s nomination documents were picked on his behalf by the Director of Media of his campaign organisation, Mr. Sola Atere.

    Bafarawa, who came to pick his nomination papers, said he was encouraged by the number of aspirants in the race, stressing that it was an indication of acceptability of the PDP among Nigerians.

    “That is why people are aspiring, more are interested in joining the party, unlike other parties where they run a one-man show. So, it’s very encouraging to all of us who are aspiring for this seat.

    “We are brothers, we are a family. Our ambition is to get rid of APC. Therefore, forget about the number of aspirants in the PDP. At the end of the day, we are all democrats, we must accept (the outcome of the primary, win or lose.

    “Therefore, anybody who wins, I believe collectively we are going to work together and see that we save this country from this mess,” he said.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Vindication of Bafarawa

    There is no doubt that the declaration by the former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Atthahiru Bafarawa, for the 2019 presidential elections, has sent shock waves to the territory of those who do not wish him well. Bafarawa, from the look of things is the handmaid of God. He appears destined for a higher calling. That is why many who have watched him closely over the years are convinced that his presidential project will be a huge success.

    It is significant to note here that his detractors wanted to nail him. They wanted him to be put to shame. But God is always on the side of the righteous. That is why Bafarawa gas come out of a decade-long court case with broad smiles. The courts have set him free, having not found him guilty of any wrong-doing.

    For some 10 years now, Bafarawa, has been in the eye of the storm. He has faced a serial and ceaseless witch- hunt in the hands of his immediate successor, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko and the the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    At a time most state governors were leaving their states with a huge debt overhang, Bafarawa left N12 billion in the coffers of Sokoto State government. He did so in order to protect the state from unforeseen contingencies by providing for the rainy day. Regrettably, his successor, Alhaji Wamakko, who was  expected to give credit to the man who made it possible for his  government to take off on a sound footing, decided to play politics with the legacy that Bafarawa left behind. Wamakko denied the existence of the said money in the accounts of the state government. But Bafarawa would not succumb to that antic. Ever clinical in his approach to issues, Bafarawa went for  all the documentary evidence that was required to back up his claim. And in order to ensure that Wamakko did not get away with any cover-up, Bafarawa approached the EFCC over the matter. He urged the commission to freeze the account of Sokoto State government where the two billion Naira was domiciled so that the governor would not misappropriate the said fund and deny its existence.

    Under this circumstance, the EFCC was expected to beam its searchlight on the financial operations of the Sokoto State government under Wamakko. But rather than do that, the commission  invited Bafarawa to shed light on his letter to it. Bafarawa, strangely, was detained in the process. The complainant instantly became the accused.

    The matter has witnessed a lot of turns and twists since it began in 2008. The Sokoto State government has had cause to turn the table against Bafarawa by slamming more charges against him. In December 2009, Bafarawa and his fellow accused persons were arraigned by the Sokoto State High Court on a 47-count charge bordering on misappropriation and embezzlement. Then in September 2011, the prosecution filed a fresh motion in which it amended its charges to 22 counts. Bafarawa and his co-defendants were accused of misappropriating and embezzling N15 billion belonging to Sokoto State government.

    However, strange things continued to happen. While the EFCC was prosecuting the case it brought before Bafarawa and others accused alongside with him, the state government was busy withdrawing its charges against some of them. Those who switched to Governor Wamakko’s political camp got a reprieve. Their ‘sins’ were forgiven. At this point, it became obvious to the watching world that the trial of Bafarawa was political. That it was a deliberate witch-hunt. A calculated attempt to give the dog a bad name in order to hang it.

    As if the acquittal of some of the accused persons was not enough, five of the accused persons were fully pardoned by the Sokoto State government, thus giving the impression that the accused are necessarily sinners who needed to be pardoned or forgiven. This was part of the shenanigans that we were treated to until the law took its ultimate course three days ago. While delivering judgement on the matter on July 31, Justice Bello Abbas dismissed all the 22 counts over which the accused were being tried. He said the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. The judgment dismissed all the evidence brought by the prosecution as mere hearsay. Consequently, the judge discharged and acquitted Bafarawa and four others who stood trial with him to the very end.

    With this judgement, it had become evident, even to incurable Doubting Thomases, that what Bafarawa has gone through in the past 10 years was mere witch-hunt. During the intervening period, he was harassed, harangued and blackmailed. He was given a bad name which he never deserved. But the court has demonstrated that all that we have been witnessing was  vendetta. Someone wanted to gain an undue advantage over the other on account of politics. This was primitive and bitter politics at its most banal.

    The Bafarawa trial presents us with a lot of ridiculous scenarios. The discharge and so-called pardon granted to some of the accused persons while the case was still in court was an assault on the integrity of the court. By that action, the government of Sokoto State unwittingly passed a judgement of guilt on the accused persons. But we know that it is trite law to assume that an accused remains innocent until proven guilty. But in Sokoto, those accused persons were presumed and pronounced guilty and therefore needed to be pardoned by the state government. This is one of those aberrations that have not made it possible for Nigeria to make progress. We assault the system freely and still expect it to work. Those fellows got the soft treatment because they chose the easy way out. They were ready to procure their freedom by whatever means. And it worked for them. If Bafarawa were not a man of principle, he would have caved in at some point. He would have abandoned his political flag and pitched tent with his traducers. But the man stood his ground. He chose to fight on the side of truth. And truth, in the final analysis, has set him free.

    Today, Bafarawa has stepped out to run for the presidency. Anybody who has followed his track record will readily admit that he is one of the best for the job. His integrity puts him in good stead to be considered for the top job. With the likes of Bafarawa, there is hope for Nigeria. There is light at the end of the dark tunnel.

     

    • Ibrahim writes from Abuja.

  • 2019: I am PDP’s best candidate – Bafarawa

    A presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa declared on Monday that he is the party’s best candidate for next year’s presidential election.

    He said: “As a politician and democrat, I think I am the right person to represent the PDP in 2019 presidential election because I have been trained as a politician, it is my career and my training. I am not a retired military officer or civil servant. I believe that with my experience and capability, I will be able to deliver the best for Nigerians.”

    He, however, said he does not see the PDP presidential ticket as a do- or- die affair as he is ready to support the party notwithstanding the primary election’s results.

    Speaking to journalists after meeting PDP members in Minna, Niger State, Bafarawa said he desires the best for Nigerians.

    The ex-Sokoto governor added: “If we are democrats, we play the game according to the rules. We should respect winning and losing. For those who join the party for the purpose of being the presidential or governorship candidate, they will leave the party after the primaries.

    “I am a democrat and I see it as a game. I will never give up PDP whether I succeed or not. I will support the party in its quest to win the presidential election in 2019.”

     

     

  • Bafarawa seeks Obasanjo’s support for presidential bid

    Former Sokoto State Governor Attahiru Bafarawa, yesterday visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo to seek his (Obasanjo) blessings over his presidential ambition in 2019.

    Bafarawa, who led a delegation of his campaign group to Obasanjo in Abeokuta, told the elder statesman that the visit was to seek his “prayers, advice and support”.

    Bafarawa described Obasanjo as his leader and mentor, attributing his success as Sokoto State governor between 1999 and 2007 to advices from the former president.

    He explained that based on Obasanjo’s advice on savings, he left about N11.8 billion in Sokoto State treasury when he left office in 2007.

    The former governor recalled that Obasanjo visited Sokoto State 14 times to commission various projects, adding that he also replicated an all-inclusive government ran by the former president at the Federal  level.

    Bafarawa hailed Obasanjo for his continued interventions at critical stages of the nation’s history, noting that many Nigerians had misunderstood the intentions of the elder statesman.

    He specifically commended the former president for laying the foundation for the crusade against corruption, saying that nobody can successfully lay claim to fighting corruption without recourse to what Obasanjo had done.

  • Court clears Bafarawa, three others of N13b fraud

    •EFCC kicks, opts for appeal

    A Sokoto State High Court has discharged and acquitted former Governor Attahiru Bafarawa of the alleged N13 billion fraud charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Salihu Maibuhu Gummi and Nasiru Dalhatu Bafarawa, younger brother to the PDP presidential aspirant, were also discharged and acquitted.

    Justice Bello Abbas noted that the evidence advanced by the prosecuting counsel lacked substance, was contradictory and imaginary, and therefore did not substantially prove the case of fraud against the plaintiff.

    Bafarawa, who was governor of Sokoto State from 1999 to 2007, is accused of fraudulent transactions, and the case has lasted over eight years.

    The former governor, with 17 others, faced a 144-count charge in 2009. The charges were however reduced to 34 with some of the accused dropped for lack of evidence against them, others granted state pardon and some deceased.

    Justice Abbas said the count charges had dropped to 22 with only three persons standing trial.

    According to him, the accused persons were discharged and acquitted on grounds that the case could not be established beyond reasonable doubt.

    Bafarawa said justice would always prevail when your hands are clean, quoting President Muhammadu Buhari that “Bafarawa was not a thief when they arrested him in Abuja over the issue”.

    He wondered why he was accused of misappropriating N13 billion when he left N12 billion in the state coffers, another N500 million in the account of the Sultan Muhammadu Maccido Institute for Quranic and General Studies, and an additional N1 billion iron rods investment for the state.

    “I call on President Muhammadu Buhari and the EFCC to investigate these facts so that Nigerians will be convinced that the fight against corruption is not biased,” he added.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) described the ruling as “shocking and unacceptable”.

    A statement by the Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said the agency believes the judge erred in law.

    The statement reads: “In the course of the trial, EFCC called nine witnesses and presented several documents that were admitted in evidence, while the defendants called only six witnesses. Surprisingly, Justice Abbas discharged and acquitted the accused of all counts on the premise that the evidence presented by the prosecution were “mere hearsay”,  and there were “no documentary evidence” to back up the claim of witnesses.

    “The Commission believes that the judge erred in law, and has mandated its counsel to appeal the ruling at the Court of Appeal. The judgment of Justice Abbas is the climax in the series of twists and turns that the trial had witnessed over the last nine years or so.

    “The defendants, with 12 others, were first arraigned on 47 counts on December 16, 2009, before the Sokoto State High Court; they all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    “Soon after their arraignment, the defendants filed a motion asking the court to quash the charges against them. The said motion was dismissed by both the trial court and the court of appeal.

    “On September 29, 2011, the prosecution filed an amended 44-count charge against the accused persons. But while the case was on, one of the accused, Abdullahi Bida, died while Aisha Mohammed Binji was discharged following a nolle prosequi application filed by then Attorney-General of Sokoto State.”

    The EFCC also faulted the state pardon granted five of the defendants.

    The statement added: “Even more shocking is the wholesale pardon of five of the defendants by Governor Aminu Tambuwal. Those pardoned by Tambuwal are Alhaji “Tukur Alkali, who is the Commissioner for Animal Health and Fisheries Development; Commissioner for Home Affairs Isa Achida; Chairman, Governing Board, National Commission for Colleges of Education Alhaji Maigari Dingyadi; the member representing Isa constituency at the House of Assembly, Habibu Modachi; and a Permanent Secretary Isah Bello. The hitherto  five suspects were arraigned on a 22-count charge of conspiracy, criminal misappropriation, theft and receiving of stolen funds.

    “On December 16, 2017, the prosecution closed its case against the defendants who, through their counsel, filed an application for no-case submission which was subsequently dismissed by the court on the January 31, 2018.

    “Justice Abbas, on May 8, reserved July 4 for judgment. However, when the case came up, counsel to the two parties was informed that the judge was out of the state on an official assignment.

    They subsequently agreed to return to court on July 31 for the judgment.”

  • Group backs Bafarawa for president in 2019

    A SOCIO-CULTURAL group, the Arewa Initiatives for Peaceful Co-existence in Southern Nigeria, has urged the former governor of Sokoto State, Dalhatu Bafarawa, to run for president in 2019.

    Its coordinator in Lagos State, Alhaji Kabir Dinar, said the former governor would put an end to the mindless killings in the country, if given a chance. Dinar said the former is the best among those aspiring for the position on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The coordinator who spoke to reporters at a stakeholders meeting in Lagos recently said Bafarawa’s political experience puts him in a position to provide good leadership at the national level. Dinar described the former governor as the architect of modern Sokoto State.

    He said: “This is a man who has been in politics for over three decades and has served the people in various capacities. Something is happening in Nigeria right now, which portrays a ray of hope.

    “Nigerians have been saying loud and clear that too many families can’t make ends meet. That too many people, old and young, are living in poverty. That they have had enough of the same old argument and that they deserve better.

    “That is why we should dare to transform the Nigerian system, once and for all. You have voted for security, but we hear every day of avoidable killings happening all over this country.

    “You have voted for robust and sustainable economy, but still your country is failing by all known economic performance indicators. You have rejected corruption and scandals that tarnish politics, but again, we see the same story.”

    The Arewa coordinator expressed hope that the country would be better if Bafarawa was given the opportunity to serve as the president.

    He maintained that Bafarawa’s local and international connection would make Nigeria great, stressing that he is bold and courageous.

    Dinar said the country is facing a grave challenge, because committed leaders have not been elected to serve in the highest position.

    He added: “You could see that President Muhammadu Buhari has exhausted all the ideas he has about running good government. Today, people are disillusioned and not happy with what is going on in the country.

    “The problem is not limited to one part of the country, but everywhere; it is even worse in the North and I can assure you that northerners are presently looking for a replacement for the President who they believe have not measured up to the expectation of the people.”

     

     

  • Bafarawa’s 10-point political caterwauling

    ON Democracy Day, former Sokoto State governor, Attahiru Bafarawa, poured out his heart in a full-page advertisement decrying the sad turn democracy and the rule of law had taken in Nigeria. He did not fully explain why he addressed the advert to the All Progressives Congress (APC) national leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. But he did that, it seems, because he is persuaded that Asiwaju Tinubu has earned a leadership position in the ruling party and the democracy movement in general on account of his pedigree as a major contributor to the founding of the Fourth Republic, his role in the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), and his pivotal work in the APC. He justifies the open letter to the former Lagos State governor in the expectation that the recipient will, in case he has not already done so, rise to the stature of the conscience of his party, or, more grandly, the conscience of Nigerian democracy.

    The letter is quite more plaintive than it wails. It came from the depths of the former Sokoto State governor’s heart without its swaddling emotions weakening or demeaning the letter’s loud and rousing rationalisations spread over 10 uneven, and in some ways incendiary, paragraphs. The former Sokoto governor focuses on two principal issues in the letter, both of which he says require the intervention of Asiwaju Tinubu. One is Alhaji Bafarawa’s abhorrence of what he describes as the APC government’s abridgment of the rule of law, a cardinal political sin that has led to the witch-hunting of many opposition leaders. The opposition leaders, he sneers, are charged with corruptly enriching themselves, while many APC chiefs, some of whom were until recently members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have been spared the ordeal of prosecution.

    Two is Alhaji Bafarawa’s observation that opposition leaders are being “unjustly arrested and detained” for sundry but unfounded crimes, including spending public funds for political campaigns. According to the former governor, no PDP leader funded his party in the last polls any different from how APC chiefs funded their party’s campaigns. Yet, it is only opposition leaders that are subjected to all forms of indignity, he concludes. It was clear that nearly all his complaints were anchored on the arrest and prosecution of PDP chiefs, of whom he is obviously one.

    But whether his complaints were connected with his own personal troubles with the anti-graft body, the EFCC, or not is hard to say. In the advertisement, he glosses over the court case brought against him by the EFCC for allegedly receiving N600m from a former minister, Bashir Yuguda, who in turn allegedly collected the money from the detained National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, a retired army colonel. Alhaji Bafarawa had sought to decouple his trial from that of Col Dasuki (retd.), but has so far failed. He has said repeatedly that if given accelerated trial, he would be absolved of every wrongdoing.

    The import of the advertisement, therefore, is to alert Asiwaju Tinubu to the gradual attenuation of democratic principles under the APC government, a disaster Alhaji Bafarawa says requires someone of the status of the former Lagos governor to speak up about and possibly arrest the drift. It is tempting to dismiss the whining of the former Sokoto governor, especially considering how really tenuous most of his observations are. But there is no doubt that his observations have been given fillip by the increasing predilection of the APC government to want to personify, rather than be the custodians of, the law and the constitution. A few human rights organisations, some of them with global purviews, have made the same observations regarding how awkwardly the APC government has handled or interacted with the rule of law, the rights of individuals, and democratic principles.

    Given the way the APC is structured, where for the past three years it seldom acted or operated as a well-knit political party, it is doubtful whether Asiwaju Tinubu would heed the plaintive admonition of Alhaji Bafarawa. Even when the former Sokoto governor’s observations are genuine, it is not certain that anyone’s interventions would be of such value as to tug at the conscience of the party or recalibrate the operations of a party led along patrician lines. The party seems increasingly enamoured of populism, and its approval ratings have not quite sagged as its sometimes incompetent handling of statecraft deserved. It is not immediately obvious how many Nigerians think Alhaji Bafarawa’s observations are genuine or justifiable. Nor is it clear whether anyone in the APC would be willing to put his reputation on the line to coax the ruling party into a more futuristic and less populist mode. Nor, yet, is anyone sure that the party leaders are even amenable at all to well-meaning interventions.

    Indeed, it will take a celestial sleight of hand to create a critical mass of opposition politicians and hostile circumstances to force the APC off its high horse. The ruling party is sitting pretty in the saddle, assured that no one of stature in the opposition is able to galvanise the kind of opposition required to force the APC to examine grievances and renew its social contract with the people. Until these take place, Alhaji Bafarawa might just be tilting at windmills.

  • PDP should repent of its sins, says Bafarawa

    •Why Nigerians should return us to power in 2019- Secondus

    Former Sokoto State governor, Attahiru Bafarawa, wants members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to intensify prayers and repent of their sins.

    “It is the sins that the PDP members committed that God is punishing them for,” Bafarawa said yesterday at the PDP Northwest zonal rally in Katsina.

    “Almighty Allah does not make mistakes and that was the reason why when the PDP offended him, he snatched the power and handed it to APC,’’ he said.

    Also addressing the rally, the national chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus said Nigerians should return  PDP back to power next year as the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in his opinion, has failed the generality of Nigerians.

    The APC, according to him, has no business returning to power.

    The National Women leader of the party, Hajia Maria Umar Waziri said the turnout of party supporters despite the fact that the President is spending the weekend in his Daura hometown is a clear indication that the party is waxing stronger in the state despite APC’s claim of a one party state

    She said, “If we lose the next election here, it is pure rigging; we must win the next election.’’

    Immediate past Governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema rejected the blame game and accusations of corruption levelled against him by the incumbent governor, Aminu Bello Masari

    He said: “Democracy is a matter of choices; you have chosen a party before. Now it’s our turn to be chosen in the coming elections. I left behind N14.5b in the account but they said it is false, I improved education and infrastructure, they discredited it saying I borrowed money and am challenging anybody with proof to come forward with evidence.’’

    In his remarks, former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, advised PDP members to close ranks and work towards the success of the party in 2019.

    Aliyu said without unity, the PDP would not return to  the power.

  • N600m slush fund: Bafarawa queries EFCC over non-trial of Odili, Ahmadu Ali, George, others

    N600m slush fund: Bafarawa queries EFCC over non-trial of Odili, Ahmadu Ali, George, others

    A former Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, is angry with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly singling him out for trial over the N600million cash given to six leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by a former Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda.

    The ex-governor wants to know why Chief Jim Nwobodo (South-East), Dr. Peter Odili (South-South), Chief Bode George (South-West), Alhaji Yerima Abdullahi (North-East), and Col. Ahmadu Ali (North-Central) who allegedly shared in the money are excluded from trial.

    He says each of the presidential election contact chairmen for the six (6) geo-political zones was given N100million.

    Bafarawa, in a petition on his ordeal to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) alleged selective corruption prosecution against “my son, Sagir Attahiru and I by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).”

    He said the action of the anti-corruption agency “leaves little to be desired and is discriminatory against me.”

    Continuing, he said: “In 2015, I alongside five (5) other persons  was among other presidential election contact Chairmen for the six (6) geo-political zones in the country.

    “The six persons appointed were Sen. Jim Nwobodo (South-East), Dr Peter Odili (South-South), Chief Bode George (South-West), Alhaji Yerima Abdullahi (North-East), Col. Ahmadu Ali (North-Central) and myself (North-West). We were given N100million  each by a former Minister State Finance, Bashir Yuguda and were directed to disburse same to the state elders of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in our zones for campaign expenses.

    “We were not given any information that it was Federal Government money but since this happened after PDP has raised money for campaign I believed it was from it that this money was given to us.

    “l am Nigerian citizen and a senior at that. That manner in which the EFCC has persecuted me in the name of prosecution is a cause for alarm. May I note that I am not saying I am above the law but I think it is only conscionable for me to be tried for whatever offence I am accused of committing within the ambits of the law instead of the media trial I have been subjected to in the hands of EFCC.

    “What is the rationale to single me out for prosecution while others in the same category with me are left not prosecuted. What is the rationale of EFCC to be prosecuting me without investigating and prosecuting those who are the beneficiaries of the funds.

    “In a civilized society, I ought to be a witness to the prosecution to enable the government get its money back from the people whom I paid assuming it is Federal Government’s money.

    “I urge the Honourable Attorney General and Minister of Justice to conduct an investigation into this complaint and make the necessary recommendations so that my family will stop being dragged in the mud and to enable the cause of Justice have its proper way.”

    Bafarawa, who released the list of those he gave his own share of N100million, said he added extra N200, 000 to what was disbursed to him by the ex-Minister.

    He said: “On my part, I disbursed the said money to PDP Chairmen in my zone with even an additional N200, 000 totaling N1.2million only between January 12, 2015 and March 17,2015. Upon which I am expecting a refund before my arrest.”

    He listed the beneficiaries as:

    1. Kebbi State: Abdullahi Yelwa—0050222873 – Access Bank Mobile No. 08037882327 (N15,600,000.00) 12/1/2015 (Transfer)
    2. Jigawa State: Bashir M. Daihatu—1003873037 Zenith Bank Mobile No 08063029297 (N15,600,000.00) 12/02/2015 (Transfer )
    3. Zamfara State: Bala Mohammed Mande 1001340999 Keystone Bank Mobile No. 07064886648 (N15,700,000.00) 12/01/2015 (Transfer )
    4. Kaduna State: Senator Musa Bello-0025256324 -Diamond Bank Mobile No. 08033078989 (N16,200,000.00) 12/01/2015 (Transfer )
    5. Kano State: Habibu Shuaibu—1002417106 Zenith Bank Mobile No. 08033243111 (N15,100,000.00) 12/01/2015 (Transfer )
    6. Katsina State: Amb. Adamu Saidu Daura—1002074068 Keystone Bank -Mobile No. 08032877665 (N15,700,000.00) 12/01/2015 (Transfer)
    7. Sokoto State: Engr. Mohammad Tori —Mobile No. 08035868876 (N3,300,000.00) 12/01/2015 (Cash)
    8. J Sokoto State : Ahmad Mohd Gusau -Mobile No. 08033034233 (N3,000,000.00) 12/01/2015 (Cash)

    “It is thus baffling to see that l was the only one who was arrested and being prosecuted for an offence I did not commit. The money l got was meant for the purpose of the 2015 elections and same was utilized for the purpose.

    “The EFCC did not deem it fit to invite the persons to which I disbursed the money to. Just like the others, I am an agent of a disclosed principal but due to whatever personal scores the EFCC has with me, I am the only one who has been made a subject of ridicule by the EFCC.

    “You will recall that a chieftain in Ondo State, Chief Olu Falae, also got some certain amount of money but the EFCC has not deemed it fit to prosecute him. What made my case worse is the fact that I did not spend a kobo for myself in the said sum of money but disbursed it as instructed.

    “ The Gestapo manner with which the EFCC operatives stormed my apartment at 6.00am on 19th November, 2015 at Usuma Street Maitama, Abuja is one which would create an impression that l have committed a capital offence even when l have not committed any. The operatives neither presented a warrant of arrest nor a court order giving them authority to arrest me.

    “Fortunately, l was not in the country when this happened but through phone call l caused my lawyers, Lateef Fagbemi SAN & CO to write a letter to the EFCC on the 25th November, 2015 informing them of my intention to honour the invitation on my return to the country while also protesting the illegal invasion of my house.

    “The letter is hereto attached as Annexure B for your attention. Upon my return to the country, | honoured the EFCC invitation on 1St of December, 2015 and l was detained for 3 weeks at the EFCC office before I was transferred to Kuje Prisons on the 22nd December, 2015, l was however released on bail.

    “My travails in the hands of the EFCC continued despite the fact that I stated to the EFCC quite categorically how I disbursed the money in question on the instruction of the party. I gave EFCC names of persons I gave the money to, their bank account numbers (to which I disbursed the money) and their addresses.

    “What I expected and what would have been the right thing to do was to invite the persons whom I disbursed the money to confirm the veracity or otherwise of my statement.

    “The attempt by the EFCC to smear my hard earned name has been extended to my son, Sagir Attahiru, who disbursed funds (N4.5billion) given to him by NSA office only based on the instruction of the NSA.

    “He was arrested by the EFCC on the 24th November, 2015 and detained for over a month and four days both at EFCC cell and Kuje Prisons before his release on bail on 28th December, 2015.

    “My son, Sagir, only acted on the express instruction of Col. Dasuki as can be seen from the document which he has submitted to the EFCC.”

  • $2.1b: Bafarawa loses bid to separate trial

    $2.1b: Bafarawa loses bid to separate trial

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected the bid by former Sokoto State Governor Attharu Bafarawa, and his son Sagir, to separate their trial from that of the ex-National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), in the $2.1 billion fraud case against them.

    Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf dismissed the motion because he said it has been overtaken by events, especially with Dasuki in court.

    He said: “Those with the power to produce Dasuki in court, with Bafarawa, son and other defendants, have produced him and I hope they will continue to produce him.”

    It is speculative to assume Dasuki will not be present in court, he noted.

    At yesterday’s hearing, Bafarawa’s lawyer Dr Kayode Olatoke (SAN), who argued for a separation, said they should be prosecuted separately to ensure a speedy trial.

    He claimed that a joint charge against them and others for the same offence does not prevent a separate trial since other defendants will not be prejudiced.

    “My lord, their trial outside Dasuki will guarantee their constitutional rights to a speedy trial, within a reasonable time, in line with Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution.”

    According to him, the trial, which began in 2015, could not progress because of various motions by other defendants.

    He argued that the continued detention of Dasuki by Department of State Sevices (DSS), and the inability of officials to produce him in court, have negatively affected the trial of others, causing delays that have disrupted their activities.

    Justice Baba-Yusuf rejected their application and adjourned the matter till December 6 and 7 for definite hearing.