The Nation Newspaper

Tag: EFCC

  • Court adjourns hearing in El-Rufai’s case

    Court adjourns hearing in El-Rufai’s case

    The Federal Capital Territory High Court on Thursday adjourned hearing to May 7 in a case of alleged irregular land allocation and abuse of office brought against Nasir El-Rufai by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

    The adjournment was to enable El-Rufai’s Counsel, Mr. Kanu Agabi (SAN), to certify the document to be tendered.

    Agabi had earlier craved the indulgence of the court to tender a copy of an agreement letter entered into by the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) and Rosehill Group for the development of the post office site in Maitama.

    Prosecution Counsel, Mr. Adebayo Adelodun (SAN), opposed the admissibility of the document, saying the document was not properly tendered before the court.

    “My lord, we oppose the admissibility of this document and the defence counsel ought to have certified this document before coming to court because you know what you are coming to defend in court.

    “You should have certified your entire documents; so we oppose this,’’ Adelodun said.

    Both counsel, however, agreed on a short adjournment after exhaustive argument on the admissibility of the document.

    At the resumed hearing, Prosecution witness, Arch. Adeyeye Olu, who was Deputy Post Master-General of NIPOST, told the court that plot 3350, which was formally known as plot 3776, located in Maitama District, belonged to NIPOST.

    He said that NIPOST applied for and got allocation of the plot from the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) in 1994.

    “We went to FCDA and verified if the plot was allocated to any organisation before we applied and it was confirmed that the land was not allocated to anybody.

    “We wrote application for allocation to the FCDA and we made all necessary payments, and in 1994, the plot was formally allocated to NIPOST.

    “We submitted our certificate to FCDA for the approval of our building plan and paid all necessary fees; I have a copy of the approval slip and the payment slip of Aso savings,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the prosecution witness as saying at the hearing.

    He said that he had a copy of the application letter and the letter of allocation which the authority issued to NIPOST.

    Olu further explained that the reason why NIPOST was unable to develop the plot as at that time was as a result of economic down-turn experienced in the organisation.

     

  • Subsidy scam: Ahmadu Ali’s son used forged documents – Witness

    Subsidy scam: Ahmadu Ali’s son used forged documents – Witness

    A prosecution witness, Mr. Chidi Onyedikwe, on Wednesday told an Ikeja High Court that some documents used by an oil marketer, Mamman Ali, to collect N4.4 billion subsidy fund were forged.

    Onyedikwe was testifying at the resumed trial of Mamman, who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over a subsidy scam.

    He was charged alongside Christian Taylor, a Sierra Leonean; Oluwaseun Ogunbambo, an oil marketer, and Nassaman Oil Services.

    Onyedikwe, the Lagos branch manager of Inspectorate Marine Services Nigeria Limited, had, on February 21, testified that the defendants used fraudulent documents to obtain the money.

    Under cross-examination by counsel to the defendants, Mr. Kolade Obafemi, and Mr. Adebayo Adenipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the witness maintained that his company did not issue the documents.

    Onyedikwe listed the documents to include cargo transfer, certificate of quantity, certificate of quality and haulage, all bearing the logos, signatures and stamps of his company.

    He said: “As I said, we went through our operational records, our laboratory records and account records.

    “Those documents did not emanate from our company even though it was bearing our logos, stamps and signatures.”

    Onyedikwe said the haulage report showed that the defendants had imported the petroleum products and that his company had inspected the products.

    He said the company did not assign any of its inspectors to carry out the said transaction.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the EFCC had in its charges, claimed that the defendants presented the documents to the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to obtain the subsidy.

    The case, which is being heard by Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, was adjourned to May 28.

     

  • Alleged oil fraud: EFCC arraigns NIPC boss

    Alleged oil fraud: EFCC arraigns NIPC boss

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday began the trial of Mr. Vincent Usiahon, a Deputy Director with Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), over alleged oil business fraud.

    Usiahon is facing a 29-count charge of intent to defraud and obtaining about N15.8 million under false pretenses from the complainant, Mr. Sonny Atumah.

    He allegedly collected the monies in installments over 16 months by deceiving Atumah, his friend of over 25 years that he would invest them in oil allocation business.

    The alleged offence is contrary to Section 1(1) (a) and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.

    At the trial before Justice Abdul Kafarati of the Federal High Court, Abuja, the Prosecution Counsel, Austin Emumejakpor called the first Prosecution Witness (PW1), Mrs. Lolade Longe.

    Longe, an Assistant Detective Superintendent with the EFCC recalled that the agency on January 17, 2011, received a petition from Chris Nwonu, a legal practitioner.

    “After receiving the petition, we wrote an invitation letter to the accused which he honoured. In honouring the interview, he volunteered a statement under caution. At a time he admitted that all he had been saying was a lie. He said he would like to discard it and tell the true story, and he did so.

    “I countersigned the statement as a witness my lord after which I took him before a senior officer to endorse statement. He made an additional statement stating the existence of one Dave Agbai”, she told the court.

    The matter has been adjourned till May 23 for continuation of trial.

     

  • Audu: EFCC accused of abuse

    •’Re-arraignment politically-motivated’

    A civil society organisation under the aegis of Kogi Justice and Freedom Forum (KJFF) yesterday described the fresh suit instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against former Kogi State Governor Abubakar Audu as an abuse of court process.

    The President of KJFF, Bamidele Zacheaus, in a statement in Abuja, said the re-arraignment of the ex-governor was nothing but an “innuendo-laced crap” and a “dishonourable low-level cheap shot media manipulation” aimed at rendering him “unsellable, unelectable and unmarketable.”

    He said the EFCC appeared to be carrying out a politically-motivated vendetta against Prince Audu.

    “We are aware that the allegations against him are being tested in court, and it is our policy to be reticent about issues before a court of competent jurisdiction,” Zacheaus said.

    He added: “There is increasing negative media campaign against Prince Audu and there is a coordinated network of different websites and newspapers that have vowed to sustain their campaign against him until he is destroyed.

    “Some of them have packaged him as the face of corruption; others have branded him as the greatest obstacle to Nigeria’s development. We have come out of our reticence. He is none of the above!”

    The forum said the new suit was meant to browbeat the former governor into submission.

    The statement reads: “Arraigning Prince Abubakar Audu before Justice Adeniyi of the FCT High Court in Abuja in the face of a pending charge duly initiated by the same EFCC at the High Court of Justice presided over by Justice S. T. Hussaini and the Court of Appeal, Abuja in Appeal No: CA / A / 381c/2011, alleging the same offences committed during the same period and arising from the same facts as the pending and extant charges smacks of an ill-conceived agenda to perpetually browbeat him into political submission.

    “Any organisation serious about fighting corruption in Nigeria should know that Prince Audu cannot legally be arraigned and/or prosecuted by the EFCC or any other person or authority within the Federal Republic of Nigeria in respect of the offences allegedly committed during his tenure as the Governor of Kogi State between May 1999 and May 2003 when there is a subsisting charge pending before a court of competent jurisdiction, alleging the same offences committed during the same period and arising from the same facts as the pending and extant charges.

    “Whether the EFCC likes to hear this or not, the shabby manners in which corruption-related cases against political and other public office holders have been handled in the courts are because the anti-graft agency usually ignores the need to carry out thorough investigations before rushing to the courts for prosecution simply because it wants to score cheap political points.

    “So, the real problem is with the prosecutor, in this case the EFCC.

    “The agency seems to be more interested in satisfying the aspirations of its sponsors rather than doing an honest job of digging beyond the surface into alleged cases of corruption and misappropriation of public funds.

    “One day, the true story of Nigeria’s accursed anti-corruption lies will be told and Nigerians will know the real faces behind the masquerades they have been misled to applaud.”

     

  • Alleged fraud: Judge’s absence stalls Bankole’s trial

    Alleged fraud: Judge’s absence stalls Bankole’s trial

    The absence of Justice Donatus Okorowo of Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday stalled the hearing of N894 million fraud charge filed against the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole.

    Okorowo, who is now a judge of the court in Jalingo, Taraba, was said to have been engaged in some official duties at his new posting.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a new date for hearing of the matter has not been fixed.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in June, 2011 filed a 16-count charge of contract inflation amounting to N894 million against the former Speaker.

    Bankole has lost two attempts to stop the trial.

    NAN reports that Okorowo on December 19, 2011 dismissed an application urging the court to quash the charge.

    The accused person’s objection against alleged absence of authorisation for Mr. Festus Keyamo to prosecute the case was equally dismissed by the court.

    In his ruling then, Okorowo held that the prosecutor must be given the liberty to prosecute the case, considering that the charges had shown enough “prima facie’’ against the ex-Speaker.

    The court further held that Bankole lacked the authority to question lawyers who were employed to prosecute the case.

     

  • Pension convict Yusuf granted bail

    Pension convict Yusuf granted bail

    Reprieve came the way of the pension convict, Mr. John Yakubu Yusuf, on Monday.

    A Federal High Court, Abuja, granted him N10 million bail with one surety in like sum, who must not be below the rank of a director in the civil service.

    The surety who must be a resident in Abuja must show evidence of landed property with the title document submitted to the Chief Registrar of the court for authentication.

    The court also ordered Yusuf to deposit his international passport and that he cannot travel without the permission of the court.

    Ruling on the bail application, Justice Bello said, “I have carefully considered the application with due regards to the affidavit evidence.

    “It is clear that parties agreed in granting bail, the court must exercise its discretion judicially and judiciously.”

    Observing that the prosecution highlighted that Yusuf had been convicted of a similar crime by an Abuja High Court, the Judge said the two cases were different.

    According to him, the accused is presumed innocent in the present case since he pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    Justice Bello said he earlier remanded the accused in prison because of the uproar that greeted his earlier conviction and to keep him from the public glare for his safety.

    “Considering that investigation had been concluded and trial commenced in this case, I have decided to exercise discretion in his favour”, the Judge said before adjourning till April 22 for trial.

  • Presidential jailbreak

    Presidential jailbreak

    The President’s pardon for men of corrupt past undermines EFCC and encourages official sleaze

    For President Goodluck Jonathan it was another low in the country’s annals when on Tuesday he approved presidential pardon for some Very Important Personality ex-convicts. Prominent among these was Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, the former Governor of Bayelsa State. Others included Gen Oladipo Diya, the Chief of General Staff during the reign of military dictator Gen Sani Abacha, who was accused of coup plotting; former Managing Director of the Bank of the North, Mr. Shettima Bulama, who was also convicted of fraud; former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, the late Gen Musa Yar’Adua; former Minister of Works, the late Maj.-Gen Abdulkareem Adisa, who was also found culpable in the alleged coup that landed Diya in prison. Others included ex-Major Bello Magaji, Mohammed Lima Biu and former Major Segun Fadipe.

    No doubt the constitution permits the president the privilege of granting such pardon, after consultation with the National Council of State (NCS). Specifically, section 175 (1) of the constitution says that the president may (a) grant any person concerned with or convicted of any offence created by an Act of the National Assembly a pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions;

    (b) grant to any person a respite, either for an indefinite or for a specified period, of the execution of any punishment imposed on that person for such an offence ; (c) substitute a less severe form of punishment for any punishment imposed on that person for such an offence; or (d) remit the whole or any part of any punishment imposed on that person for such an offence or of any penalty or forfeiture otherwise due to the State on account of such an offence.

    Questions ought to have been asked about why soldiers who were convicted for plotting to overthrow the government of General Abacha should be pardoned. But, that, too, is covered by the constitution. Subsection 3 of Section 175 covers persons concerned with offences against the army, naval or air force law, or convicted or sentenced by a court-martial. However, in all the cases, it could not have been the intention of those who drafted the constitution that the prerogative would be so recklessly abused. It is assumed that whoever occupies the presidential seat will pardon deserving persons like prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in the overall national interest. At any rate, Nigerians seem not too interested in the pardon for the coup plotters as they are in those convicted for corruption probably because the Abacha government itself was not a product of a democratic process. Hence, the focus is on Mr Bulama and, more important, Chief Alamieyeseigha.

    We acknowledge that it is not in all cases that such a pardon is popular, but never in our wildest imagination could we have seen Chief Alamieyeseigha as a beneficiary of such magnanimity. This was a man elected Governor of Bayelsa State in 1999, and was re-elected in 2003 for a second term but could not complete the term as he was arrested for money laundering in the United Kingdom in September 2005. At the time of his arrest, the Metropolitan Police found about £1m in cash in his London home. He was alleged to have disguised as a woman and jumped bail in the United Kingdom (although he has denied this) and returned home in December of the same year (2005). Public outcry compelled the state’s House of Assembly to remove him from office, preparatory to his prosecution and conviction. This paved the way for the then deputy governor, Goodluck Jonathan, to become governor.

    But discerning Nigerians must have seen this pardon coming. Chief Alamieyeseigha has been too cosy with the seat of power. This in itself is reprehensible, but that is for a government that has a modicum idea of what is decent and what is not. As a matter of fact, President Jonathan recently described the former governor as his ‘political benefactor’. This may be true given the accident of history that brought both of them together. But if the intention is to rehabilitate a former boss, there are better ways to do that than by ridiculing the entire nation in the eye of right-thinking members of the international community, by granting such a convicted felon whose crime extended beyond the country’s borders, presidential pardon.

    We wonder what the Jonathan administration is teaching by such a precedent. As far as we are concerned, anyone who does not want to get wet ought not to go near the brook; in the same vein, anyone who cannot live with the stigma of ex-convict for life should respect the eighth commandment, ‘thou shalt not steal’. The pardon is a big blow to a country that is under the firm grips of corruption. It is unfortunate that the Jonathan administration is fighting corruption in reverse.

    Since the president took the decision with the Council of State, he cannot be accused of committing an illegality. But the morality of the decision is one that will haunt his administration and some of the ex-convicts, especially, Chief Alamieyeseigha, for long. The president abused the grand prerogative of his authority and demystified the grandeur of his position’s moral dignity.

    He has encouraged a cycle of immorality, which says a person in office can commit a moral outrage and expect the shining generosity of presidential forgiveness. It implies that we have officially deployed forgiveness for the service of criminality.

    If he compels his mercies to pardon soldiers, how do we place a name like Beko Ransome-kuti beside those of the former Bayelsa State governor and the ex-banker Bulama. Beko stood for a high idea with the heroic flavour and potential of martyrdom. But the other two represented the vile and base conducts of a drifting society. Clearly, if there were pardons, they were unequal. The one shames the other.

    In a country wanton with corruption, the show of mercy is tainted and subverted. The quality of mercy has been strained. A friend and former subordinate turns the lofty principle of the prerogative of mercy to save a friend and former boss. It is not only cronyism but also nepotism. Corruption cannot be more vile.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seems unnecessary and its efforts to corral the corrupt among us futile with this slew of pardons.

    It will take some time for Nigerians to recover from the rude shock of the uncommon generosity. But if Chief Alamieyeseigha and Bulama could be pardoned, we see no reason why there should be anyone behind bars in this country for fraud or corruption. So, in the interest of fairness, the gates of our prisons should be flung open for such prisoners so they can ‘go but steal no more’. That is the least we can learn from a government that says it is not corrupt but most of its actions point in the direction that its hands are too soiled to fight corruption.

  • Court picks May 24 for trial of oil marketers

    Court picks May 24 for trial of oil marketers

    A Lagos High Court in Ikeja on Wednesday fixed May 24 for trial of two oil marketers, Aro Bamidele and Abiodun Bankole, accused of N1.3 billion fuel subsidy fraud.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had arraigned the marketers on October 5, 2012 alongside their company, ASB Investment Limited.

    Justice Lateefat Okunnu set the trial date following the absence of the lead counsel of the marketers, Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), from court.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Idigbe sent a letter through a counsel from his chambers, Mr. N.K. Oragwu, informing the court that he was outside the country.

    He urged the court to vacate the earlier dates fixed for the trial and pick fresh dates for the proceedings.

    The EFCC counsel, Mr. Toyosi Kutayi, did not oppose the call for the adjournment.

    The judge therefore fixed May 24 and 27 as well as June 5 and 6, as fresh trial dates.

     

  • EFCC deepens ties with Ghana’s FIC

    EFCC deepens ties with Ghana’s FIC

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) and Ghana’s Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) yesterday resolved to deepen the level of cooperation between the two agencies.

    The agencies agreed to collaborate when FIC’s Chief Executive Officer Mr Samuel Thompson Essel, the agency’s Head of International Cooperation Edward Mussey visited EFCC’s chairman Ibrahim Lamorde, in Abuja .

    A statement by EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said Lamorde called for synergy among anti-graft agencies in West Africa .

    The statement said: “While acknowledging the rich history of cooperation between Ghana and Nigeria, and the trans-national dimension to organised criminal activities in the sub-region, Lamorde stressed the need for law enforcement organisations in West Africa to build a synergy of lasting cooperation.

    “He expressed the willingness of the EFCC to assist the FIC in building its capacity through training and intelligence sharing, adding that joint training and frequent interface by officers of the two agencies should be encouraged to forge understanding and good relationships.

    “Essel thanked Lamorde for the warm reception and briefed him on measure already taken by FIC to enhance the fight against organised crime and money laundering in Ghana. He noted that his agency has faced challenges in compliance by Designated Non-Financial Institutions with Anti-Money Laundering Regulation especially as it affects the rendition of Suspicious Transaction Reports, STR.

    “He, however, acknowledged the fact that training received at the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, by some of his analysts has been a catalyst for his organisation, Essel appealed to Lamorde to encourage his staff to visit the FIC, while also extending invitation to him to visit Ghana.

    “The FIC officials were guests of their Nigerian counterpart, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

    Also yesterday, the EFCC arraigned one Patrick Fernandez, 50, before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja on a five-count charge bordering on obtaining money under false pretences and issuance of dud cheques worth N44.9million contrary to Section 1(1) of the Dishonoured Cheques Act Laws of Federation of Nigeria 2004.

    “In his ruling, Justice Onigbanjo granted the defendant bail in the sum of N2million and two sureties in like sum

    “He adjourned the matter till April 17 and 19 September, 2013 for commencement of trial.

  • EFCC arraigns bank manager for N245m scam

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday arraigned a former Oceanic Bank Plc’s branch manager, Usman Salifu, before Justice Dije Aboki of the Kano State High Court, Kano on a 12-count charge of theft and misappropriation of about N245 million.

    According to a statement by the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, the manager of Oceanic Bank Plc (now EcoBank Plc) allegedly forged signatures and withdrew N245million from the fixed deposit account of a customer, Yusuf Saleh Dunari.

    Some of the charges read: “That you Usman Salifu on or about December 29, 2009 in Kano within the Judicial Division of the High Court of Justice Kano State while being an officer of Oceanic Bank Plc (now Eco Bank plc) committed theft by stealing the sum of N30 million from the Oceanic Bank fixed deposit account of Yusuf Saleh Dunari and that you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 289 of the Penal Code.

    “That you Usman Salifu on or about December 9, 2010 in Kano within the Judicial Division of the High Court of Justice Kano State with intent to defraud, forged a signature of Hadiza Abdullahi on Oceanic Bank Plc (now Eco Bank plc) fixed deposit investment certificate dated December 4, 2010 for the sum of N40m and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 362 and punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code.”

    The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    The prosecuting counsel, Ibrahim Ahmed, requested for a date for trial.

    The EFCC also arraigned Emmanuel Akabueze before Justice Fatu Riman of the Federal High Court, Kano on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy and obtaining by false pretence.

    The commission said: “Akabueze, who is serving a jail term, having been convicted in another matter investigated by the EFCC, arrived at the court from prison to take his plea on the fresh charge.

    “The accused, who is also known as ‘Temple Obiora Nnaemeka’, alongside his accomplice, Tony Momoh (now at large) allegedly defrauded a certain Moses Gana of the sum of N410,000 over a phony business proposal to supply ‘Solar 15A’ equipment, to some foreign partners.”

    Akabueze pleaded not guilty to the charge. The prosecuting counsel, Salihu Sani, asked for a date for the hearing of the case.

    The case was been adjourned to March 25 for continuation of trial and the accused remanded in prison custody.