The Nation Newspaper

Tag: EFCC

  • Court grants ex-Gov. Shema, three others N1bn bail each

    Court grants ex-Gov. Shema, three others N1bn bail each

    A Katsina State High Court on Tuesday granted a former governor of the state, Ibrahim Shema and three others N1 billion bail and one reliable surety each.

    Others standing trial with the governor are former Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Sani Makana, former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government Affairs, Lawal Safana and former ALGON Chairman, Lawal Dankaba.

    The accused persons are standing trial for alleged conspiracy, forgery and diversion of public funds amounting to N11 billion.

    Justice Ibrahim Bako granted bail to the accused person in a ruling he delivered at the resumed hearing of the trial.

    The judge also held that the court has jurisdiction to try the case.

    He said that the state’s Attorney-General has the right to initiate criminal proceedings against any person in any court of law.

    Bako also held that EFCC as a federal government agency has the right to try any financial crime related cases in any court in Nigeria.

    He adjourned the case to March 28 for the continuation of hearing.

    Earlier, Mr Joseph Daudu (SAN), the counsel to the accused persons urged the court to grant bail to his clients.

    He argued that by virtue of their positions, the accused persons deserved to be granted bail and the offences they are charged with are bailable.

    Daudu also challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the trial.

    The prosecutor, Mr Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), opposed the application for bail of the accused persons and urged the court to hold that it has the jurisdiction to entertain the trial.

    He said that the offences allegedly committed by the accused persons contravene Sections 312 and 364, Cap 96 of the Penal Code, Laws of Katsina State, 1991.

    Okutepa urged the court to remand the accused persons in prison custody.

  • Alleged fraud: 300 house owners petition EFCC

    Over 300 house owners in Abuja have asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the alleged collection of over N1 billion from them under false pretense.

    They pleaded with the anti-graft commission to assist them to recover funds already paid to a developer (name withheld).

    In a petition to the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, the 300 house owners said they suspected they might have paid N1 billion to an “impostor.”

    The petition was submitted to the EFCC under the platform of Winning Clause Estate Residents Association, at Plot 67 Kafe District, Gwarinpa Extension, Abuja.

    It was signed by Mr. Mike Arowosegbe and Mr. Taiwo Adisa, Chairman and General Secretary of the Association respectively, and acknowledged by EFCC on February 20, 2017.

    The  house owners requested for thorough investigation of the activities of Winning Clause Limited and its promoters,  an estate developer and recovery of the ‘’monies’’ collected from them ‘’under false pretense.’’

    The petition reads in part: “We are representatives of the residents’ and home owners’ association of the above-named estate located at Plot 67, Kafe District, Gwarinpa Extension, Abuja.

    ‘’Between 2009 and 2011, most of us subscribed to an Estate located at Plot 67, Kafe District, Gwarinpa Extension, Abuja, then known as Saraha City Estate and which belonged to Saraha/Proform Limited at the time.

    ‘’By 2012, when many had completed their buildings and actually stated living in the houses, another developer named Winning Clause Limited entered into the fray and claimed it was the rightful owner of the plot.

    ‘’A court action was instituted by the claimants and after some pushing and shoving, the parties resolved to enter into a consent judgement in October 2013 and the judgement was delivered by the Abuja High Court number 24 on November 28, 2013.’’

    The house owners said that with that judgement, the said Plot 67, Kafe District was transferred to Winning Clause Limited and their members elected to work with the company in accordance with the consent judgement, saying that to their utmost shock and dismay, another claimant to Winning Clause Limited surfaced in January 2017.

     

  • Court dismisses ex-NIMASA DG’s no–case submission

    The Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday dismissed a no-case submission made by a former Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Calistus Obi.

    Justice Mojisola Olatoregun ordered him to open his defence.

    A no-case submission is a term whereby a defendant seeks acquittal without having to present a defence.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Obi last April on eight- count charge of converting N378, 810,000 from NIMASA.

    He was charged along with Dismass Alu Adoon, Grand Pact Limited and Global Sea Investment Limited.

    His lawyer, Mr. Wale Akoni (SAN), urged the court to hold that the prosecution did not make out a prima facie (obvious) case to secure the conviction.

    Counsel to the second accused, Dr. Joseph Nwobike (SAN), also urged the court to uphold the no-case submission of his client and discharge him.

    But, EFCC’s prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, objected to the no-case submissions, and urged the court to call upon the accused persons to enter their defence.

    Ruling, Justice Olatoregun held: “The central issue to consider having gone through the submissions on all sides is whether there is no legally admissible evidence linking the defendants with the commission of the offence of conversion of money belonging to NIMASA, or that the evidence has been discredited by cross examination, or so manifestly unreliable that no reasonable tribunal or court can act on it as establishing the criminal guilt of the defendant.

    “I cannot at this stage go into evaluation of the evidence before me or whether a particular document was wrongly admitted; the key question is whether those evidence can justifiably secure the conviction of the defendants.”

  • Court adjourns Nyako’s trial to Wednesday

    Court adjourns Nyako’s trial to Wednesday

    Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday adjourned the trial of ex- Governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako and his son, Sen. Abdulaziz Murtala-Nyako till Wednesday for continuation of hearing.

    Abang adjourned the case after taking the testimony of two witnesses – Remigus Ugwu and Nsan Ogar – both staff of Zenith and Access banks respectively.

    Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), the witnesses said that they were both compliance officers responsible for answering inquiries from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) concerning customers’ accounts.

    During cross examination, Nyako’s counsel, Mr. Kanu Agabi (SAN), sought to know from Ugwu if he was testifying only because the previous witness Olabode Farinuola ran away from the trial.

    Ugwu, however, told the court that he was testifying because Farinuola had resigned his appointment with the bank.

    He also told the court that he did not certify or co-signed any of the documents he tendered on Monday.

    One of the defence counsel, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), on his part reminded the witness that he was under oath to speak the truth.

    Maikyau asked the witness why he pushed the Bible on the floor while tendering documents on Monday, adding that it was indicative of the fact that he had no regards for the Bible and would therefore not tell the truth.

    Ugwu, however, said he was a Christian and would never have intentionally pushed the Bible on the floor.

     

  • Senate to EFCC: beam searchlight on CBN, NNPC, others

    Senate to EFCC: beam searchlight on CBN, NNPC, others

    SENATORS yesterday mandated the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to beam its searchlight on some government agencies over what it described as racketeering of foreign exchange (forex) and looting of public funds.
    They asked the anti-graft agency to look into the books of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
    The Red Chamber spoke through when Acting EFCC chairman Ibrahim Magu appeared before its Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes to defend the commission’s vote in this year’s budget.
    They urged the EFCC to unmask the owners of the expensive mansions in Asokoro, Maitama and other highbrow areas of the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja).
    The lawmakers claimed to have established that many public office holders, including directors and permanent secretaries in the MDAs, become overnight billionaires by corruptly enriching themselves.
    They contended that such officials hide their ill-gotten wealth in building mansions in major city centres like Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt.
    Magu led other members of the commission’s leadership to defend the EFCC allocation in the budget.
    The senators, who frowned at the EFCC for always going after former public officials, asked the commission to focus more on financial crimes prevention rather than chasing after officials after crimes had been committed.
    Senator Isa Misau (Bauchi Central) noted that since the EFCC was now interested in encouraging whistleblowers, he was specifically blowing whistle on the CBN, NNPC, and MDAs.
    The former police officer turned politician said: “I can’t imagine the over $9 million recovered from a former NNPC Group Managing Director (GMD). If somebody who left public office has such money stashed somewhere, then, you can just make a guess about the other people who have been on the seat. Therefore, today, I am giving it as a challenge to EFCC to go and see what the NNPC, or the CBN or the finance ministry are doing.
    “Look at the case of somebody who left office about five years ago. This is an era of whistleblowing. I am blowing my whistle”
    But Committee Chairman Chukwuka Utazi (Enugu North) noted that going by the Act and mandate of the EFCC, over 60 per cent of the commission’s task should be specifically on preventive measures while the remaining per cent should be for all other issues combined.
    According to Utazi, the EFCC has failed to focus on preventive measures in its budget defence.
    His words: “Looking at your core mandate, the essence is to curb corruption to a large extent but in the budget you have provided, I have not seen the issue raised in the prayers here. There is no prayer that is talking about enlightenment, which is the money thing you are expected to do.
    “All we hear from the press is negative publicity; chasing people who have been caught. That is what we hear all the time. We want to change the narration to ‘what are we doing to ensure that instead of chasing after people who are giving us headache, why can’t we stop other people from joining the gang?’ There is nothing like that here in this budget.”
    Utazi commended the commission’s efforts in the fight against corruption, urging its officials to put in their best in the fight to save Nigeria from corruption.
    The committee chairman frowned at the commission for always going to the Presidency to ask for funds from Service Wide Vote for its operations.
    Utazi insisted that the commission ought to interface with the National Assembly before going cap in hand to the Presidency to ask for funds to perform its functions.
    He said: “It is expected that the committee has to be informed before such action. There should be interface between this committee and the commission on such issues of going to the Presidency to ask for funds from the Service Wide Vote for operations.”
    On the budget, Utazi said that the 2016 budget performance was not properly computed.
    Decrying the reduction in the Commission’s 2017 by 8.5 per cent, Magu said the reduction came against the projected growth in the activities of the commission.
    He noted the commission’s proposed N17 billion in this year’s budget against last year’s N18.9 billion amounted to N1.7 billion shortfall.
    Magu said that the capital expenditure was N7.1 billion, overhead N3 billion and personnel N7 billion.
    The EFCC chair appealed to the committee to increase the personnel cost from N7 billion to N9.7 billion to accommodate the proposed recruitment of 750 cadets in this year and the 530 already recruited in 2016.
    Magu told the senators that inadequate funding continued to hamper proper implementation of budgets.
    He told the committee that the fragmented nature of the commission’s offices in Abuja posed a challenge to the effective operation of the commission.
    He asked for urgent completion of the commission’s head office.

  • Senate wants EFCC to beam searchlight on CBN, NNPC

    Senate on Monday mandated the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to beam its searchlight on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) over what it described as massive racketeering of foreign exchange and looting of public funds.

    The upper chamber also asked the anti-graft agency to search and identify owners of mansions in highbrow areas of Asokoro and Maitama in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

    The lawmakers claimed that it has been established that several senior officials including directors and permanent secretaries in the MDAs become overnight billionaires by corruptly enriching themselves in public office.

    They contended that such corrupt officials hide their loots in building mansions in highbrow areas of the country including Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt.

    The Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes stated these when the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, appeared before the committee to defend the commission’s 2017 budget.

    Magu led other members of the commission’s leadership to the 2017 budget defence.

    Members of the committee, who frowned at the EFCC for always going after former public officials, asked the commission to focus more on financial crimes prevention rather than chasing after officials when crimes had been committed.

     

  • Reducing EFCC’s budget by 8.5 % will hamper operations – Magu

    Reducing EFCC’s budget by 8.5 % will hamper operations – Magu

    The Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, on Monday urged the Senate to increase budgetary allocation to the commission to able it function effectively.

    Magu made the plea in Abuja while defending the commission’s 2017 budget before members of Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes.

    He pointed out that the commission’s 2017 proposal had been reduced by the Budget Office from N18.8 billion in 2016 to N17 billion, representing 8.5 per cent slash.

    He said that if the 2017 allocation was not increased, operations of the commission would be hampered.

    Magu said that the 2017 capital expenditure was N7.1 billion, overhead, N3 billion while personnel cost was N7 billion.

    He urged the committee to increase in the personnel cost from N7 billion to N9.7 billion to accommodate the proposed recruitment of 750 cadets in 2017 and the 530 already recruited in 2016.

    He also called for urgent completion of the commission’s head office in Abuja, saying that its present office arrangement was impeding effective operations.

    In his remarks, Chairman of the committee, Sen. Chukwuka Utazi, commended the EFCC for its efforts in the fight against corruption.

    However, he urged officials of the commission to put in their best to save Nigeria from destructive tendencies of corruption.

    Utazi advised the commission to interface with the National Assembly and have a good communication relationship.

    He queried the general presentation of the commission’s budget and cautioned it against running to the presidency always to seek for extra funds or intervention.

    He maintained that 2016 budget performance was not properly computed as the percentage of performance was not indicated. (NAN)

  • Oronsaye: Defendant signed statement – Witness

    The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday adjourned till March 29, trial-within-trial in the fraud case filed against a former Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Stephen Oronsaye.

    At the resumed hearing, a prosecution witness, Mr. Mustapha Gadanya told the court during cross examination that the second defendant, Mr. Osarenkhoe Afe, willingly wrote and signed the statement he made to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    “Before his statement on March 16, 2011, I interviewed him about the amount received by his company and what he did with it,” the prosecution witness said.

    “After I interviewed him, I asked if he was willing to reduce it in writing and he said yes. He wrote his statement himself and signed it.”

    Gadanya, who was cross-examined by Afe’s counsel, Mr. Oluwale Aladedoye, told the court that although suspects invited to the commission had to deposit their phones at the gate, it was not always the case.

    The witness also told the court that there is a register where suspects invited to the commission were required to sign on each visit, adding that it was however, a flexible arrangement.

    Earlier, while Gadanya was being led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Oluwaleke Atolagbe, he told the court that he worked for the commission from July 2005 to September 2014.

    The witness, who said that while at the commission, he was the second in command at the pension fraud unit, added that he currently works with a bank.

    Justice Gabriel Kolawale, adjourned the matter till March 29 for the defence to call its witness.

    NAN

  • Ozekhome to court: EFCC suppressed facts on Fayose’s account

    Ozekhome to court: EFCC suppressed facts on Fayose’s account

    Human rights lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), has asked the Federal High Court in Lagos to vacate the order freezing his firm’s account.

    Justice Abdulazeez Anka, on February 7, ordered a temporary forfeiture of N75million found in Ozekhome’s Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) account.

    The order followed an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which prayed the court to freeze the account temporarily on the ground that the N75 million was suspected to be proceed of crime.

    Ozekhome is praying for an order discharging and/or vacating forthwith, the interim ex-parte order of forfeiture to freeze or attach the money for 120 days.

    The lawyer said EFCC did not disclose to Justice Anka the fact that Justice Taiwo O. Taiwo of the Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti had defrozen  Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose’s account, thereby allowing the governor to operate it, before he transferred N75 million to his (Ozekhome) chambers’ account.

    He said at the time Fayose transferred N75million to his chambers account, there was no court processes filed or served on the applicant, indicating that the EFCC was on appeal, or asking the court to stay the execution of the order defreezing the governor’s account.

    “The applicant did not state that the order of court was served on Zenith Bank and that the money was transferred with the full co-operation of the bank who was the 2nd defendant at all material times,” he said.

     

  • EFCC probes how suspect defrauded from prison

    EFCC probes how suspect defrauded from prison

    THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is investigating  how a suspect, Adeolu Adeyanju, defrauded some people of about N9 million from prison custody.

    It has confirmed the arrest of a potential investor, Benjamin Aduli, for allegedly collecting $154,146 to facilitate a phantom loan of $30million from Dubai.

    EFCC Head of Media and Publicity Mr. Wilson Uwujaren made these disclosures in a statement in Abuja.

    The statement said: “EFCC is currently intensifying investigations into the shady activities of a serial fraudster, Adeolu Adeyanju, who in spite of being behind bars, is still defrauding unsuspecting individuals.

    “His fraudulent activities out of the prison yard came to the fore after a complainant, a friend to a director at the Petroleum Products and Marketing Company (PPMC), petitioned the EFCC that Adeyanju conned him into paying him N9million.

    “His modus operandi was to clone the telephone number of the director, using same to instruct the petitioner to ‘make a payment for 50 trucks of petroleum products to Detwinx Global Services Limited’, which he did.

    “But on the receipt of the money, Adeyanju found a way to get N7.4 million transferred to a bureau de change operator, who converted same to its dollar equivalent, while keeping N1.5 million in his personal account.

    “The suspect is said to have several aliases with which he uses to defraud people, and at the moment also has cases pending before the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police. He would be arraigned as soon as investigations are concluded.”

    Also yesterday, the EFCC said it arrested Benjamin Aduli for criminal breach of trust and obtaining by false pretence.

    The EFCC accused the suspect of collecting about $154,146 from a petitioner to assist in obtaining a $30 million from Dubai.

    The statement said: “Operatives of the EFCC got wind of his nefarious activities through a petition by one of his victims.

    “According to the petitioner, Aduli claimed that he could ‘help source for a loan facility of $30 million in Dubai’ that would be used to finance fleet farms, a company belonging to the petitioner.

    “Having convinced the potential investor of the ‘good deal’, he demanded for a contributory fee of $154,146, which he claimed would be remitted to ABA investment LLC in Dubai as ‘a condition for accessing the loan’.

    “Not sensing any foul play, the petitioner paid the said sum to a Micro Finance Bank on the instruction of Aduli, for onward remittance as promised.

    “However, since payment was made, no loan was provided for the petitioner, while the money was never returned.

    “The suspect will be charged to court as soon as investigations are elapsed.”