Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, in this piece, takes a look at former public officials who have been accused of abuse of office and wonders whose turn it would be at the court.
The arrest and questioning of former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, by the United Kingdom National Crime Agency, is more evidence that the world has become a less hospitable place for people who are accused of looting the treasury of their home countries.
The arrest of Alison-Madueke, a principal player in the last federal government led by former President Goodluck Jonathan, was an extraordinary moment for the people of the country. This is because in spite of several allegations against her, the Bayelsa State born ex-minister was hardly reprimanded while the regime lasted.
Her current ordeal also shows how far we have come from the days when government officials empty public treasuries indiscriminately, secured in the knowledge that they would never be brought to book.
Until recently, it seemed that if you stole a little, you went to jail, but if you stole in billions, you usually got away with it, especially in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country.
Times have, however, changed. Just like two former governors, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and James Ibori, before her, Allison-Madueke is now made to realise the days of accountability are here and she must give account, though not to the helpless people of Nigeria, but to the helpful UK National Crime Agency.
Arrested, bailed
The UK National Crime Agency last Friday confirmed on its website the arrest of Alison-Madueke and other persons, over offences related to bribery and corruption it is investigating. “The National Crime Agency’s recently formed International Corruption Unit has arrested five people across London as part of an investigation into suspected bribery and money laundering offences,” the agency had announced.
A former board member of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, Allison-Madueke came into national prominence when she was appointed Minister of Transport by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2007. In December 2008, she was redeployed to the Mines and Steel Development Ministry.
Following Jonathan’s emergence as president in 2010, she was moved to the Petroleum Ministry. She remained in that position until May 29, 2015 when President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in to replace Jonathan as the president, following the former president’s defeat at the 2015 presidential election.
Her tenure as petroleum minister witnessed countless controversies and allegations, especially of wanton corruption and recklessness. But she managed to retain her position even after being indicted by the National Assembly on one occasion. In the midst of it all, she consistently denied all allegations of corruption. In June, after leaving office, Alison-Madueke gaily announced that she never stole a penny from the country’s treasury.
But the arrest and questioning of the “oil goddess”, as she was playfully called by many, by the UK National Crime Agency, opened a new vista in the unfolding story of how she ran the country’s petroleum sector since she took charge of the ministry in 2010.
Following her questioning in London same day, Alison-Madueke was granted bail by a magistrate court after she had been detained for several hours. Back home, the Asokoro, Abuja residence of the former minister was reportedly searched by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Sources said the move may be part of a multinational investigation of the former minister.
Trial
Indications have emerged that Alison-Madueke may be charged to court in the U.K soon. This followed a decision by the Westminster Magistrate’s Court on Marylebone Road, London, to grant an application for seizure of 27,000 pounds recovered from the former minister.
The cash was seized under Section 295 of Proceeds of Crime Act 2012. Sources say the move is part of effort to gather evidences for the trial of the embattled politician. By granting the application, which was filed by the UK’s National Crime Agency, the money would be held in the custody of the court until April 5, 2016.
Reports said a separate application was also made against a relative of the minister for the seizure of an undisclosed amount of money. The money seized by the court was allegedly found recently with Alison-Madueke when she was arrested. Reports also said the former minister may be arraigned with her brothers on bribery and money laundering charges.
There are unconfirmed claims that she was arrested along with her brothers, Abiye Agama, 33, and Somye Agama. Both brothers are directors of Hadley Petroleum Solutions Limited, a company suspected by investigators to have been used for money laundering. The company was said to have been registered in June 2013 in Manchester. By February 2015, it was dissolved.
Back home, sources claim the federal government has concluded arrangement to charge Alison-Madueke and all those fingered in fraudulent activities in the oil sector to court.
Chief among those slated for prosecution in the next two weeks are those indicted in the fraud associated with the petroleum subsidy where billions were allegedly stolen by marketers and those involved in series of fraud in the petroleum sector, a source privy to the investigation said.
One of many of such?
Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, while commenting on the travails of the former minister, described her trial for alleged money laundering as just a tip of the iceberg. Speaking with State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Oshiomhole said the economy had been mismanaged over the past several years and that nobody should be surprised about the trial of the former minister.
The governor explained that it was shocking that with the revenue that accrued to the country consistently, the treasury was empty and the nation was running a deficit budget. According to him, over N3.5tr was drawn down by the previous government from pension funds to support recurrent expenditure.
“For me, I don’t think anybody should be surprised because the most favourable commentator on the Nigerian condition, the economy, the polity and society, everybody agrees that our economy was badly mismanaged over the past several years.
“I have not seen one commentator that disagreed. Even when they talk about rebasing, have you rebased the level of poverty? Have you rebased prosperity? Have you rebased unemployment? Have you rebased homelessness? Have you rebased hunger? So I have not seen anyone that says Nigerian people are doing better,” Oshiomhole said.
Lagos-based lawyer, Fred Agbaje, while urging incoming ministers to learn from the embattled former Petroleum Minister’s ongoing trial, said people like Alison-Madueke were the laws of the land during Jonathan’s regime. According to him, the arrest and trial of the former minister will open and unravel many mysteries.
He said it is not only a welcome development but also a manifestation that the war against corruption is being recognised both locally and internationally, adding that it is a testimony to the fact that there is no hiding place for any criminal in Nigeria again.
Agbaje said Alison-Madueke’s trial was a manifestation that the war against corruption spearheaded by President Muhammadu Buhari was gaining ground and that looters of the nation’s patrimony would not escape justice. He hailed the trial and said it is a good show for the fight against corruption and that it will make the incoming ministers know that there is fire on the mountain.
“The likes of Diezani, who became a tin god in Nigeria when she was in office, should know that the end of culture of impunity has come with the war against corruption in Nigeria. They were the laws of the land during Jonathan’s regime. Jonathan became so helpless in taming the ministers he appointed. The ministers became so powerful beyond redemption,” he said.
Who’s next?
With Alison-Madueke caged in the United Kingdom, the big question is: who is next? While Nigerians are eager to see the former minister go on trial as soon as possible, they are worried that other prominent figures alleged to have been corrupt, are living comfortably all over the world in spite of allegations and even indictments.
One of such is former Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, now a Senator. In January 2014, the committee raised by former President Goodluck Jonathan to probe the N255m bulletproof car scandal in the aviation ministry indicted the then minister, Ms. Oduah. The report of the presidential committee agreed with earlier findings of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Aviation on the scandal.
It was alleged that with the approval of the minister, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) purchased two bulletproof BMW cars at an allegedly inflated rate of N255m. The development sparked a countrywide controversy with many Nigerians and groups calling for her sack. After probing the allegation, the House endorsed the report of its committee and agreed that the minister breached the 2013 Appropriation Act.
It therefore asked Jonathan to sack Oduah for approving an expenditure of over N643m for the NCAA to procure 54 vehicles. Although Jonathan confirmed the receipt of the report of the presidential committee chaired by a former Head of Service of the Federation, Alhaji Sali Bello, he made no pronouncement on it. Oduah was later relieved of her duties as minister following widespread agitation.
In April 2014, operatives of the EFCC quizzed Oduah for over five hours at their Idiagbon House headquarters in Abuja. An EFCC source said the former minister was asked questions and thereafter asked to make a statement that could aid the commission’s ongoing investigation into the purchase of two BMW bulletproof cars by the NCAA at a controversial sum of N255m. She was granted a provisional bail after making useful statement that will assist the investigation of the scandal.
Despite the various allegations against her, in March 2015, Oduah, a senatorial candidate of the PDP in Anambra State, won the Anambra North Senatorial seat. She defeated her major opponent, Chief Dubem Obaze of APGA. She was subsequently inducted into the national assembly as a Senator a month later.
And following moves by the EFCC to reopen investigation into her matter, Oduah, in September, filed a lawsuit against the commission to forestall the agency’s further investigation into her questionable procurement of two bullet-proof BMW cars at $800,000 apiece during her tenure in office. The lawsuit also seeks to stop the anti-corruption agency from possibly arresting her over the shady deal, first exposed by the online medium SaharaReporters.
In the lawsuit filed before Justice Mohammed Yunusa of the Federal High Court in Lagos, Ms. Oduah joined the Attorney General of the Federation, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, and the Inspector General of Police as co-respondents. The case, filed by Ajibola Oluyede, is based on an affidavit by Humphrey Enechukwu, the Director of Finance and Accounts at Sea Petroleum and Gas Company, on behalf of Ms. Oduah.
In the lawsuit, the former aviation minister claimed that, during her tenure, her ministry resorted to approaching embassies to provide armoured vehicles to carry their nationals who visited Nigeria as part of the investigation teams of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) inspection teams. That is the last the nation heard about Oduah’s alleged looting of the treasury as minister.
Another person on the watch list is former Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, who recently reacted to an alleged report of theft of N21billion in his ministry during his term as minister.
Moro has consistently denied having a hand in the alleged theft of N21bn. But there are several petitions before anti-graft agencies linking him with the said theft.
Asides the N21billion allegation, victims of the botched Immigration recruitment exercise are insisting that Moro must continue to appear in court to defend himself whenever the case comes up. They also want Moro to refund the N1,000 the Immigration authorities obtained from each of the victims by false pretence.
Former Director-General/Chief Executive of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Patrick Ziakede Akpobolokemi, is one other chieftain of the last administration with questions to answer, according to allegations against him. In July, President Buhari terminated his appointment as Director-General/Chief Executive of NIMASA, amidst unending allegations and agitations.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, had directed Akpobolokemi to hand over the management of NIMASA and all government property in his possession to the most senior officer in the agency, who would remain in charge until a new director-general is appointed. Reports had it that Akpobolokemi’s removal was due to an anonymous petition, alleging that about N1.3 billion was removed from NIMASA’s account on June 25, 2015 to celebrate the “Day of the Seafarer” in Nigeria. The Seafarer’s Day is a global event marked on June 25 every year. Some sources alleged that one of the directors was used to continually draining the resources of the agency.
Barely two weeks after the president ordered his removal from office, Akpobolokemi was questioned by the EFCC on alleged fraud charges. He was arrested in Lagos and detained at the Lagos office of the EFCC in Ikoyi. He was later released on bail by the commission. Not much has been heard of the matter since then.
A few months back, the EFCC invited former President Goodluck Jonathan’s head of the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme, Kingsley Kuku, to explain allegations of fraud against him. The former Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs to President Jonathan had been invited for questioning at the head offices of the EFCC in Abuja. Kuku and two others are said to be wanted by the EFCC to explain allegations of embezzlement and diversion of hundreds of million naira public funds.
But up till now, Kuku is yet to honour the invitation or return to the country from a visit abroad in the wake of his invitation. However, he responded to the invitation saying although he was ready to assist the anti-graft agency in its bid to probe the accounts of the agency, he would not be able to honour the invitation. Speaking from the United States of America, Kuku wrote a letter to the EFCC dated July 24, 2015, which was signed by his lawyer, Chief Karina Tunyan, SAN.
The letter stated in part: “I’m currently in the U.S for an urgent surgery on my knee and will certainly return to honour the EFCC invitation once I recuperate in September. The record of my stewardship under the Presidential Amnesty Programme is an open document and it is available for scrutiny since I have nothing to hide about what we did.”
In a related development, the EFCC has also quizzed a former Special Assistant on Schools and Agriculture Programme to ex-President Jonathan, Mrs. Baraka Sani.
She was said to have been grilled for over 10 hours by operatives of the EFCC on July 22 over allegations that she diverted funds meant for schools agriculture programme.
According to multiple sources, Mrs. Sani was temporarily released after promising to return with documents that will absolve her of complicity in the alleged scam. It is not clear if she has been charged to court or cleared of the said allegation. Since then, the former presidential aide has been keeping a low profile while agitation for her trial persists.
Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, is one man who is very convinced that former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has a case to answer as to the whereabouts of the $700 million withdrawn from the $1 billion belonging to the Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF). Oshiomhole, who is chairman, National Economic Council Adhoc committee on the management of excess crude and related federation account, insists that it is not true that the money was used to finance the Second Niger Bridge and partially the Kaduna-Abuja rail.
It would be recalled that NEC, after its meeting, reported that the subcommittee which also had the Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo; his Kaduna counterpart, Mallam El Rufai; Akwa Ibom and Lagos counterparts, Mr. Emmanuel Udom and Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode respectively, discovered that most government revenue-generating agencies like the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) were reckless in their financial management under the previous administration.
Speaking further, Oshiomhole stated that the inquiries into the financial dealings of the past government shouldn’t be mistaken to be personal but to re-establish the culture of transparency and accountability in public office. The governor, who said that admittance of the depleted SWF account was done in the open, also threatened to publish the report should there be any denial by those involved.
“When I reported to the media that the Sovereign Wealth people in their report told us, which I have in black and white, clearly that they have only $300 million left in the Sovereign Wealth Fund account, they tried to deny it. We have it in black and white and I can publish it if anybody wants to deny that because it was not submitted to me secretly. It was submitted at the plenary of the committee.
“And then we asked, because I knew that the fund was $1 billion, what was done with $700 million. And they said they have made some investments. We asked them what they invested in and they said the second Niger Bridge and partially in the Kaduna-Abuja rail. That is what they said and I was not alone there. We were about five governors and it was a full plenary. But we know that the Kaduna-Abuja rail was funded with Chinese loan, which even Dr. Okonjo-Iweala spoke about, when they said the loan from China was not used for Lagos, she said it was for Kaduna-Abuja,” Oshiomhole alleged.
But Okonjo-Iweala denied the allegation that a substantial part of $1.1billion loan obtained from the China-EXIM (Export-Import) for a rail project was diverted by the Jonathan administration.
“The alleged diversion has no substance, for the simple reason that the Kano-Lagos project was not even among the projects presented for funding by the China EXIM Bank for several strategic infrastructural projects across the country,” the minister said in a statement signed by her spokesperson, Paul Nwabuikwu. But many Nigerians would prefer the matter, like many such allegations involving public officials, go to trial for the former minister to be able to prove her case.
Well, as the former petroleum czar is awaiting trial, the question on many lips is: whose turn would it be among the other public figures in the former administration?
