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Tag: Bribery

  • I accepted Otedola’s $100,000 bribe to expose him – Emenalo

    I accepted Otedola’s $100,000 bribe to expose him – Emenalo

    Former co-accused to Farouk Lawan, the ex-Chairman, House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy, ‎Boniface Emenalo has said he accepted the $100,000 offered members of the committee by businessman, Femi Otedola with the intention of exposing his (Otedola’s) plot to influence the outcome of their investigation.

    Emenal, who the prosecution later substituted as its witness, leaving only Lawan as the accused, spoke Tuesday while testifying in Lawan’s trial before a High Court of the Federal Capital territory (FCT) in Lugbe, Abuja.

    Lawan is being prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) for allegedly “corruptly” collecting $500,000 out of the $3m bribe he requested from Otedola.

    Lawan is accused of accepting the bribe in exchange for the removal of Otedola’s company’s name, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd from the list of firms indicted by the House committee for allegedly abusing the fuel subsidy regime in 2012.

    Emenalo, who had on March 7, 2016 given details of how he collected the $100,000 from Otedola in $100 bills, denied Tuesday, while being cross-examined by Lawan’s lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), some of the allegations against Lawan by the prosecution.

    The witness said, on Otedela’s invitations, he met with him (Otedole) on April 22, 2012 ‎and on Tuesday April 24, 2012‎ at his home in Aso Drive, Maitama, Abuja.

    He said at his first meeting with Otedola, they had discussions on issues including those relating to the work of the committee and areas he (Otedola) could make suggestions.

    Emenalo denied receiving ‎$20,000 bribe from Otedola during their first meeting.

    The witness confirmed that it was during the second meeting that Otedola gave him the $100,000 which he claimed to have handed to Lawan as exhibit.

    “The money I collected from Mr. Otedola was meant to be an exhibit to prove that members of the ad-hoc were being pressurised. I informed my chairman (Lawan) and handed over the money my chairman.”

    When asked to read part of the two statements he made to the police during the investigation, he insisted that Otedola gave the money to him as a bribe.

    The statements,‎ one of which was dated June 14, 2012 and the other undated were tendered by Ozekhome and admitted as exhibits without any objection from the prosecuting lawyer,  Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN).

    Emenalo confirmed that Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd belonging to Otedola was one of the companies indicted by the ad-hoc committee for obtaining foreign exchange for importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) under the fuel subsidy scheme, but diverted it.

    He said Zenon got $232,975,385.13‎‎ foreign exchange, but failed to use the money for fuel importation.

    The witness also said Otedola wrote a complaint letter to the secretariat of the committee on April 18, 2012 asking for his company’s name to be removed from the list of indicted firms.

    He said his committee could not do anything on his case, because by then, the report had been submitted on the floor of the House.

    Emenalo denied calling the then Managing Director of Zenon Petroleum, Kareem Otaru, to ask for direction to Otedola’s house.

    When told that Otaru had claimed in his statement that that ‎he (the witness), was the one who called to ask for direction to Otedola’s house, Emenalo said, “never; I did not call him. He was the one who called me. I will be very surprised if he said I called him, asking for Mr. Otedola’s house,” he said.

    The witness equally denied collecting Otedola’s phone number from Otaru.

    In his evidence-in-chief, Emenalo had, on March 7, ‎ 2016 said, “I came across Femi Otedola during this assignment on April 24, 2012. I received persistent calls from Mr. Otedola in the morning and reported to Lawan and he asked him to play along with him and that he was with him the previous night.

    “When Otedola called again, he asked me to come over to his house, gave me the discription, when I got there, he also confirmed that he was with my chairman the previous night. He gave me two bundles of dollar bills in $100 denomination. Each bundle was $50,000 making it $100,000 that was not converted.

    “When I got back to the office, I wrote a memo forwarding the money to my chairman that same April 24, 2012 which he took from me.”

    A copy of the memo was admitted by the court in evidence. Emenalo concluded his evidence Tuesday when defence lawyer, Ozekhome told the court he was through with his cross examination of the witness.

    The trial continues today.

     

  • IGP vows to end bribery among Police rank and file

    IGP vows to end bribery among Police rank and file

    The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase has sworn to remove all elements capable of leading policemen into bribery and corruption which has been bringing the force to disrepute in recent times.

    Speaking in Umuahia while addressing officers and men of the Abia state police command at the police headquarters, Arase said that the Nigerian police force should be one that Nigerians should be proud of.

    Arase said that every policeman in the country ought to dress appropriately with a certain carriage while on duty in order to elicit respect and confidence among the public.

    The IGP said that he is prepared to ease the sufferings of the junior officers through improved welfare packages such as promotions as and when due, scholarship awards to their children and ensuring that all their emoluments and allowances are given to them.

    Arase said, “You are the ones who stand on the road to ensure security, stay late in the offices, tell me what don’t you do, there is every reason for you people to be catered for to discourage corruption and enthrone integrity in service.”

    The IGP said that he is proud to be a policeman and advised his officers to cooperate effectively with their immediate environment in order to make their job easier.

    Arase also advised the policemen to always analyze situations before taking actions to be able to identify and differentiate between criminal and civil matters and handle them accordingly.

    In his response the Commissioner of Police [CP] in the state, Joshak Habila, appealed to the IGP for another area command in Abia North senatorial zone of the state to meet up with security challenges in the area.

    Habila said that the command has recently encountered challenges in the agitations by MASSOB and IPOB but stated that they have handled them effectively without any problems.

    He informed the IGP that the state government has made available a large expanse of land with certificate of occupancy for the construction of housing estate for policemen in the command.

  • EFCC nabs another operative for alleged bribery

    EFCC nabs another operative for alleged bribery

    Barely a week after Abduraman Muhammed Biu, an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), was arrested for allegedly collecting bribe from military officers, another operative may have come under interrogation for his alleged role in a bribery scandal.

    The operative was said to have been questioned at the weekend for allegedly tampering with files of a court case.

    Sources said he was working with a former politician from the North, to remove incriminating items from the files to weaken the case in court.

    The politician and one other, it was learnt, are being prosecuted by the commission for their alleged involvement misappropriation of public funds.

    An EFCC source said the commission had been closely monitoring the operative’s activities, his telephone calls before he was pinned down at the weekend.

    Among others, the embattled operative was accused of collecting money from his ‘clients’.

    The suspected officer was said to have been detained while investigation continues.   EFCC has invaded his official residence in Abuja, where they recovered incriminating documents and other items.

    It was learnt that the telephone lines, especially the hidden ones being used by the detective, were detected and placed under monitoring. His official residence is also being monitored.

    “The investigation will determine his fate in the system, although the communication devices have established that he had contacts with prominent politicians. But we are still reading or studying the devices,” said an EFCC source, who did not want to be named.

    EFCC spokesman Wilson Uwujaren said: “I have not heard of anything like that but I will crosscheck.”

  • Alleged bribe: FG reopens Farouk Lawan’s trial Tuesday

    Alleged bribe: FG reopens Farouk Lawan’s trial Tuesday

    The Federal Government will Tuesday reopen the trial of a former Chairman, House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy, , and its ex-Secretary, Boniface Emenalo for allegedly obtaining $620,000 bribe money from Femi Otedola, chairman of Forte Oil.

    Lawan and Emenalo were first arraigned on a seven-count charge before Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Maitama, Abuja on February 2, 2013.

    They were, in the charge filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Commission (ICPC) accused of receiving the $620, 000 as bribe from Otedola, ostensibly to exclude the names of Otedola’s companies – Zenon Petroleum and Gas as well as Synopsis Enterprises Limited – from the list of companies found to have allegedly defrauded the Federal Government of billions of naira in the petroleum subsidy scam, which their committee was created to investigate.

    Before the prosecution could proceed to trial, Lawan and Emenalo appealed the decision of a High Court, to the effect that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against them

    On May 12, 2014 the Court of Appeal, Abuja dismissed their appeal on the ground that was without merit. But before proceedings could resume again at the trial court, Justice Oniyangi was elevated to the Court of Appeal, prompting the court’s Chief Judge to reassign the case to another judge, Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the Gudu division of the High Court of the FCT.

    Lawan and Emenalo later compelled Justice Banjoko to withdraw from the case when they wrote a petition against her, alleging that she was likely to be bias in handling the case.

    Lawan had in a petition addressed to the court’s Chief Judge,  sought the  re-assignment of the case to another judge on the ground  that Justice Banjoko was close to Otedola, who was the accuser and a proposed prosecution witness in the case.

    Shortly after the petition, Lawan’s lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN) filed a motion and requested Justice Banjoko to disqualify herself from further handling the case on the same grounds of likelihood of bias.

    Justice Banjoko subsequently withdrew from the case on November 2014 and returned the case file to court’s Chief Judge.

    The Nation learnt Monday that the case has since been reassigned to Justice Angela Otaluka of the High Court of the FCT in Lugbe, Abuja, before who the case is to start afresh today.

  • Ibori: Met Police in bribery scandal

    Ibori: Met Police in bribery scandal

    The London Metropolitan Police investigating a case of money laundering against former Delta Sttate governor, Chief James Ibori have been accused of bribery and corruption by Mr.BhadreshGohil, a lawyer who represented Ibori.

    According to several United Kingdom (UK) newspapers published yesterday, there have been calls for an independent investigation into the bribery allegations leveled against the police. According to the Sunday Times of London, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is currently facing “serious questions” over allegations of bribery that could jeopardise investigations into Ibori’s case.

    “ The Crown Prosecution Service  (CPS) is facing serious questions over an alleged cover-up that could jeopadise the high-profile conviction of a billionaire Nigerian politician.

    “ The crisis follows the dramatic collapse of a case involving BhadreshGohil, a lawyer who represented James Ibori, a former governor of Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta state. Gohil was cleared at Southward Crown Court last week after the CPS withdrew a charge of perverting the course of justice.

    “ Gohil had been accused of leaking fabricated documents to media organizations and MPs on the home affairs select committee. The documents claimed a police officer involved in the Ibori inquiry had received corrupt payments from RISC Management, a private detective agency that worked for Ibori.

    “The decision to prosecute Gohil backfired when CPS lawyers were accused of withholding key documents, which could have proved police corruption.”

    The Guardian of London also reported that the CPS was accused of suppressing police corruption evidence in what has been called a “misconduct of a particularly serious nature”.

    The paper said: “The accusation has been made in the trial of two men charged with fabricating claims of corruption  involving Metropolitan police officers. The trial collapsed last Thursday at Southwark crown court in London after senior lawyers at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided to abandon the case. The CPS said new information has come to light, but did not elaborate.  It did not comment ibt he allegation of serious misconduct.”

    Mr. Gohil has been accused of perverting the course of justice by faking documents to make it look as though,  the Metropolitan Police were taking bribes. Gohil, who had already pleaded guilty to a charge of money-laundering said he was trying to expose corruption in the police.

    “ I was a whistle-blower and instead of investigating what I had uncovered and put forward, I was persecuted,” he said.  In court, defence lawyers had alleged that there was “clear and compelling evidence” of police accepting bribes in return for “unlawfully providing sensitive information” to private detectives. It was also alleged that the police own investigation into the matter was “deliberately designed to find no evidence of corruption and that the prosecution service “deliberately withheld evidence.”

  • ICPC cautions VIOs against extortion, bribery

    ICPC cautions VIOs against extortion, bribery

    The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has advised Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) in Kaduna State to avoid extortion and other forms of corrupt practices.

    The ICPC North-West Zonal Commissioner, Mr Olusegun Adigun, gave the advice on Thursday at a two-day workshop for VIOs in the state to enlighten them on the need for integrity and transparency.

    The workshop with the theme, “Combating Corruption in Vehicle Inspection System: The Role of ICPC’’, was organised by the ICPC in collaboration with the Kaduna State Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport.

    Adigun said the level of extortion and bribery by VIOs had continued to deny the state government huge revenue, adding that such practices must be stopped.

    “Corruption simply occurs when a person in a position of trust and responsibility suppresses the rules in order to advance his or her personal interest at the expense of the public.

    “A reasonable number of VIOs extort money from motorists instead of charging them for the offences committed, thereby reducing the Internally-Generated Revenue of the state.

    “Such practices must be stopped for us to make progress,’’ he said.

    Adigun blamed the persistent deterioration in values, decency and transparency in the country on the deliberate circumvention of ethics and discipline to facilitate self-interest.

    According to him, one major clog in our wheel of progress as a people is the issue of bribery and fraud, particularly now that the nation is ushering the needed change for sustainable development.

    Adigun said the workshop was to enlighten and challenge VIOs to abhor corruption and imbibe integrity and transparency in the course of their duties.

    “The workshop provides an opportunity for ICPC to further drive home the anti-corruption message in fulfilling its mandate of educating the public on corruption, indiscipline, unethical character and dishonesty.

    “We need your support as we fight to create and sustain a corrupt-free and transparent working environment in all government institutions and parastatals,’’ he said.

    Adigun was represented by the Zonal Assistant Commissioner, Malam Musa Alkali.

    Also, the State’s Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport, Alhaji Usman Hassan, represented by the Director of Engineering in the ministry, Malam Mohammed Badamasi, commended the ICPC for the initiative.

    Hassan said the workshop was the first in the history of the Vehicle Inspection Department in the last two decades.

    He urged the VIOs to utilise the knowledge derived from the exercise to drive the desired change in the vehicle inspection profession.

    The Chief Vehicle Inspection Officer, Alhaji Ali Dantsoho, thanked the ICPC and the state government for ensuring that the VIOs performed their duties diligently, transparently and effectively.

  • Bribery: Why ICPC is focusing on airports, by Nta

    Bribery: Why ICPC is focusing on airports, by Nta

    The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta, said the agency is focusing on eradication of bribery at the airport to check acts capable of denting the nation’s image.

    He added that the airports serve as gateways to the country, adding that existence of corruption in these areas would speak volume about the country’s integrity.

    Nta said although ICPC was not out to put its operatives permanently at airports, the agency would rid these entry points of bad eggs.

    He made the clarifications at ICPC stakeholders’ meeting on Corruption Risk Assessment in aviation sector at NCAA Annex Murtala Muhammed Airport.

    A statement by the Resident Media Consultant to ICPC, Mr. Folu Olamiti, quoted Nta as saying:  “The reason why the commission  is paying attention to the aviation is because airports are the gateways to international community.

    “International airports are first points of contact to the outside world. It speaks volumes about Nigeria’s image.

    “We hope to achieve the same standard of services offered in any recognised airport in the world. When corruption is eliminated in the aviation sector, passengers would have safety.

    ’’I am very happy at the state of affairs at our airports. The days when officials openly demand for bribe are gone.”

    Nta expressed the hope that after the corruption risk assessments in all the aviation agencies, open corruption by officials would be a thing of the past.

    The anti-graft boss, however, reiterated that the risk assessment was not in any way an investigation into the agencies concern, stressing that similar thing was done in the education sector.

    Nta said the commission would not station any of his officials permanently at the airport.

    The commission, he added, was carrying out one of its mandates of enlightenment for attitudinal change among Nigerians to curb corruption.

    He called on security agencies at airports to ensure they discharge their duties optimally with screening of passengers, which must be all inclusive of people passing through the airports.

    Nta, who described the car hire service operators as the best public relations officers at the airport, urged them to represent the nation well, particularly before foreigners coming into the country.

    The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Aviation, Hajia Binta Bello, hailed the ICPC for the drastic reduction of open bribery and corruption at the international airports.

    She said passengers coming into the country were now testifying to the good conduct of airport officials as against the open bribery and corruption known hitherto at the airports.

    The permanent secretary said the stakeholders’ meeting was part of efforts to fight corruption in the aviation sector

    Binta added:  ‘’We cannot do it alone, hence our partnership with ICPC. Since we started this partnership since October 2014, there had been tremendous changes in the attitude of our officials, particularly in Lagos and Abuja airports.

    “This meeting is on the risk assessment to be carried out in all the aviation agencies. The collaboration between aviation and ICPC is working.”

    Over 200 stakeholders attended the interactive session.

    Members were drawn from NDLEA, FAAN, Customs, NAMA, Nigerian Quarantine Service, AIB, Immigration and Travel Agents.

  • Alleged bribery: UK tells Buhari of Diezani’s arrest

    Alleged bribery: UK tells Buhari of Diezani’s arrest

    EFCC team likely for London

    Jonathan, ex-ministers meet in Abuja

    President Muhammadu Buhari  has been told of former Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke’s arrest in Britain, The Nation learnt yesterday.

    The Presidency also confirmed last night that the Department of State Service (DSS) was collaborating with the National Crime Agency (NCA) in Britain to get to the root of the bribery and money laundering allegations against the former Minister and four others, who are yet to be named.

    The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, in an exclusive chat with our correspondent last night, said:  “Nigeria is aware of the arrest of the ex- Minister; the government has been informed.

    “The arms of government  dealing with investigation, particularly the Department of State Service (DSS), are actively collaborating with the relevant agencies in the UK.”

    Asked to expatiate on the matter, Shehu said: “Nobody wants to say anything as a Mark of respect for the agencies carrying out the investigation. We also want to show that we are serious about this anti-corruption war.”

    When pressed to explain if Nigeria will ask for the ex-minister’s extradition, Shehu said: “I won’t give details other than telling you that the DSS is collaborating with the relevant agencies on this case.

    “We want to do things differently from the past.”

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) plans to send a team to London to be part of the former minister’s trial.

    Mrs Alison-Madueke, who is on bail, is expected to be charged to court in London for alleged money laundering and other related offences by  the NCA.

    Most cabinet colleagues of the ex-minister have been indifferent to her travails because they “saw it coming”.

    Although some of the former ministers met with ex-President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja at the weekend to review the situation, they had “little concern” for her.

    Jonathan was said to be trying to get in touch with the ex-minister  to “get first hand information” on her arrest.

    The International Corruption Unit (ICU) of NCA on Friday arrested Alison-Madueke and four others.

    The EFCC collaborated with the NCA in investigating Mrs Alison-Madueke in the last two years.

    It was gathered that the EFCC made vital documents, including details of bank transactions of some of her business associates, available to the NCA.

    The search on her residence on Friday was said to be the part of the concluding  stage of the initial investigation.

    A top source in EFCC said: “The arrest and the impending arraignment of Mrs Alison-Madueke have been a joint collaboration between the EFCC and the NCA.

    “There is no way we will not be part of the trial. Definitely, we are sending a team to the UK but I cannot give you the details.

    “If you recall, some of our investigators were in the UK during the trial of ex-Governor James Ibori. This practice will not be an exception in the trial of the ex-minister.

    “We have documents to give to NCA; we have a lot to clarify in confidence. We are also ready to testify.”

    Overwhelmed by the arrest of the former oil minister, some former ministers visited President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday and Saturday for a “review of the situation and other allegations against the immediate past administration.”

    But the details of what transpired were unknown as at press time.

    Two former  ministers however said they were indifferent to Alison-Madueke’s plight.

    One of them said: “I think many of us won’t be surprised because even at FEC we saw it coming.

    “Some of our colleagues, virtually hero-worshipped her even though we were supposed to be equal in the cabinet.”

    As at last night, the NCA was not forthcoming on its website whether Alison-Madueke and four others will be arraigned in court today.

    The agency only said the suspects were released on bail “pending further investigation”.

    It said: “On Friday 2nd October, the National Crime Agency’s recently formed International Corruption Unit arrested five people across London as part of an investigation into suspected bribery and money laundering offences.

    “All five people arrested were released on conditional police bail later that evening, pending further investigation both in the UK and overseas.”

    The investigation began in 2013 under the Proceeds of Corruption Unit, and transferred to the NCA earlier this year.”

    The ICU was established to “ trace and recover the proceeds of international corruption”.

    NCA said: “The International Corruption Unit (ICU) investigates: Bribery of foreign public officials by individuals or companies from the UK; and Money laundering by corrupt foreign officials and their associates.

    “The ICU will also:

    • Trace and recover the proceeds of international corruption;
    • Support foreign law enforcement agencies with international anti-corruption investigations;
    • Engage with government and business to reduce the UK’s exposure to the proceeds of corruption; and
    • Work with business to support increased compliance with the Bribery Act 2010
    • The ICU draws on the specialist support available to it within the NCA, and works closely with other UK law enforcement agencies and overseas partners.

  • Campus survey blames school managements for rape, bribery

    Authorities of higher institutions have been blamed for their poor attitude to the spate of sexual harassment on campuses across the country. The criticism followed a recent survey conducted by the Dream Project for Africa (DPA), a non-governmental organisation dedicated to end bribery and sexual harassment in higher institutions.

    The respondents to the survey, who were students, said school authorities did not sexual harassment seriously.

    Seventy-five per cent of the respondents said harassment was high in the past years. Further analysis, according to DPA, showed that 90 per cent of the respondents were between the ages of 16 and 26.

    Some social commentators, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, said the situation was dangerous for the future of the country, adding that the silence on the part of the management on cases of abuse and bribery could have adverse consequences for the country.

    The DPA said the survey indicated that some of the respondents were afraid to report cases of rape, since actions would not be taken by their school managements.

    On the case of bribery, DPA said 75 per cent of the respondents saw bribery as a major challenge for quality learning in higher institutions. The NGO said 53 per cent of the respondents were of the opinion that schools did not created good system for reporting the crime, while 47 per cent of the respondents had offered a bribe or asked to pay a bribe before.  The study also revealed that most sexual harassment cases were caused by provocative dressing by students.

    Jumoke Awe, a lawyer and entrepreneur, urged higher institutions’ managements to arrest the spate of harassment and bribery on campuses, adding that the acts could become uncontrollable if necessary actions were not taken to address the issues.

     

     

  • Alleged N1.351b bribery: Lamido, sons moved to Kuje

    Alleged N1.351b bribery: Lamido, sons moved to Kuje

    •May get bail soon

    Former Jigawa State Governor Lamido and his two sons (Aminu and Mustapha) were yesterday relocated from Kano to Kuje Prisons in Abuja ahead of the hearing of their application for bail by a vacation judge.

    They were allegedly kept in the same building block with some Boko Haram suspects.

    But their relocation was greeted with excitement as inmates jubilated in anticipation of free Ramadan meals.

    The three suspects are standing trial with Wada Abubakar for a 208-count charge of abuse of public trust and N1.351billion bribery by contractors.

    Although they pleaded not guilty last Thursday, they were remanded in prison custody by Justice Evelyn Anyadike.

    Investigation showed that Lamido and his sons were brought to Kuje Prisons at  1pm yesterday, after spending a few days in Kano Prisons.

    It was gathered that although the suspects would have been moved to a separate detention facility, the order of Justice Anyadike had to be complied with.

    It was learnt that the order was explicit that they should be remanded in a prison custody.

    A reliable source said: “Upon arrival, they were formally registered as inmates, even though they are high-profile suspects.

    “There was however security scares when the suspects were taken to the same block, where some Boko Haram members were detained. But unlike the Central Prisons in Kano, the suspects were kept in neat cells.

    “The fear was, however, temporary as inmates became excited in anticipation that the former governor would assist them to solve some problems.

    “Some of the inmates asked the governor and his sons to provide them better meals to break their Ramadan fast yesterday.

    “The governor and his children were later seen making arrangements for their own feeding outside the prison rations.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “Were it not for the order of the court that the suspects be kept in prison, they would have been relocated to another facility.

    “This is why they will be in Kuje Prisons until their application for bail is granted. I think the EFCC wants them to observe Sallah at home.”

    Findings, however, confirmed that the ex-governor and his children were relocated to Abuja ahead of their arraignment before a vacation judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja for bail.

    A source in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said: “A vacation judge is expected to hear the bail application of the suspects any time this week.

    “So, they have to relocate to Abuja to enable a judge to consider their request for bail. I know that they have been moved to Abuja, but I cannot tell you their whereabouts.”