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Tag: fraud

  • Public Accounts Committee and NASS’ alleged N2b fraud

    Public Accounts Committee and NASS’ alleged N2b fraud

    Public expenditure in the past few years has been bastardised and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have become lords unto themselves, spending public money with abject impunity. The MDAs employ creative accounting practices, device new and fool- proof strategies to move funds into oblivion. Corruption was the new trend and the insatiable lust for wealth was being sated at the expense of accountability and good governance. Billions hidden, billions stolen, billions misappropriated. Ministers, Director-Generals, Executive Secretaries, etc, courted profligacy with funds meant to provide infrastructure for the hapless citizens in the country. Honesty was the new low, and the more cunning you were at the helm of affairs, the better your bank balance.

    But what solution did the National Assembly proffer to this profound conundrum…The Public Account Committee!

    In the House of Representatives, the Public Accounts Committee oversights the office of the Auditor- General of the Federation and all MDAs of government in respect of audit queries on public expenditure. The committee examines the accounts in context of the appropriation given and what the Auditor- General’s reports had to say concerning their expenditure, especially where there are financial questions which needed clear-cut answers.

    And in order to do this, according to the House of Representatives Standing Orders, the PAC has the power to “summon persons, summon papers and records, and report its findings and recommendations to the House from time to time.”

    In the 8th House, the onerous responsibility of calling MDAs to financial order and ensuring that sanity holds sway in the issues of public spending rests on Hon. Kingsley Chinda.

    And of a truth, the manner of approach the lawmaker has adopted is a remarkable model which has the intent to achieve maximum impact.

    Quite a number of interesting things have happened in the course of the committee’s sittings in the 8th Assembly. The committee recently started a probe of the Budget Office over an alleged double payment of N46.5 billion for contracts of the Airport road and Kubwa Expressway in Abuja. This was part of a 10- point query by the Office of the Auditor- General of the Federation against the Budget Office for 2010, 2011 and 2013. The issue, which has remained unresolved, is still being addressed by the committee. Naturally, the committee has requested for relevant documents, including bank statements. This is just one issue in a myriad of infractions. Other questions have been directed at other MDAs concerning transactions that mystifies. Documents have been requested and stringent directives given in certain situations. Yet a few hours in a Public Accounts Committee sitting will crystallize to anyone interested the depth of wanton corruption in the country as regards the spending pattern of MDAs.

    But, is there likely to be a shift in the corrupt tendencies of people at the helm of affairs in the MDAs, particularly in a government that fights against corruption as the main fulcrum of its administration?  That would depend a lot on how well the committee carries out its assignment in the 8th House.

    In line with this belief that the PAC under Chinda is not going to be a pushover in its responsibility, particularly with the stance of the lawmaker that sessions of the committee would not be business as usual, the faith of Nigerians in the committee has moved to an all-time high. It is therefore expected that PAC under Chinda will have no sacred cows.

    Against this background, the PAC is expected to torchlight an alleged N2 billion fraud said to have been perpetuated in the National Assembly and discovered by the Auditor- General. According to the narrative, the fraud was perpetuated in 13 transactions of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, the NASS Management, National Assembly Service Commission and the National Institute of Legislative Studies (NILS).

    The breakdown in the report states that the House has N1.1 billion written against it, NASS Management N347.8 million, NILS N246.5 million, Senate N205. 7 million, Legislative Aides N70 million, while NASC had N30 million written as infractions against it.

    Definitely, all those concerned in these gory allegations would soon be sitting before the Kingsley Chinda-led committee.  Any last words to the hardworking and cerebral lawmaker; do not compromise standards.

  • Ngilari: Gov for one year jailed for N167.8m fraud

    Ngilari: Gov for one year jailed for N167.8m fraud

    • Ngilari: I’ll appeal 

    A Former governor’s political career crashed on Monday at a prison gate.

    Former Adamawa State Governor Bala James Ngilari was jailed five years for a N167.8m contract scam.

    [quote]Ngilari, who was governor between October 1, 2014, and May 2015, was found guilty of violating the state’s procurement laws.[/quote]

    Justice Nathan Musa of the Adamawa High Court did not give Ngilari an option of fine. He vowed to appeal the verdict.

    He was convicted for awarding a N167.8 million contract for the supply of 25 units of Toyota Camry 2.8 to a contractor known only to the ex-governor. No other government official knows about the transaction.

    The former governor was found guilty of 17 charges levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for awarding contracts without the due process.

    The ex-governor is free to choose Yola Main Prison or any prison yard in the country to serve his term.

    The judge acquitted the former Secretary to the State Government, Andrew Welye; and former Commissioner for Finance Sanda Lamurde, who stood trial with the former governor on same charges.

    magu2
    Ibrahim Magu

    EFCC Acting Chairman Ibrahim Magu investigated Ngilari and established a prima facie case against him.

    Justice Musa delivered a 75-minute judgment in Yola, which sealed Ngilari’s fate.

    Relying on Section 58 sub-section (5) of the Adamawa Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) law, the judge said any public officer who “violates the law is liable to a minimum of five years imprisonment without an option of fine”.

    He said: “Court cases are decided based on the evidence before the court and not on the opinion of the counsel.

    “Your (Ngilari) defence counsel has failed to prove before the court that the permanent secretary, Adamawa State Ministry of Finance, was the officer to be held responsible as the accounting officer of the ministry for the contract scam.

    “From the evidence before the court and oral confessions of the second accused person (Secretary to the State Government Mr. Ibrahim Welye) to the EFCC proved before the court that the tender board headed by the permanent secretary was sidelined in the award of the contract.

    ”The court’s hands are tied by this law; so, I cannot do otherwise. The only thing is to give you the minimum sentence of five years, which you will serve in Yola Main Prison.”

    Justice Musa read the SSG statement which was one of the exhibits: “The governor summoned me and directed me to write a memo for the purchase of vehicles for commissioners.

    “When I raised the issue of due process by contacting BPP, the governor told me he was under pressure. After I raised the memo, some few days after, the governor called me that the contractor failed to supply eight vehicles out of 25.

    “She supplied only 17 units of the vehicles and that I should call her.  I could not call her because I did not have her phone number.”

    The judge dismissed the argument of the counsel to Ngilari that the purchase was borne out of “emergency so that the prices of the vehicles will not go up”.

    The judge said Ngilari “failed to prove that he carried out a market survey on the prices of the vehicles and that the prices were increasing fast.

    “Since the vehicles were not security vehicles, hiding under emergency cannot be covered by law. This defence lacks legal protection and merit.

    “The former governor unlawfully awarded a contract to a contractor known to him alone. His action amounted to executive rascality and lawlessness,” he said.

    Justice Musa said the prosecuting counsel, Ahmad Muttaka, proved his case beyond reasonable doubt against the first accused.

    He discharged and acquitted the former SSG and ex-Commissioner for Finance because they were not part of the contract.

    He said the verdict was a “warning to other political office holders that the law will not respect anyone that abuses it using the powers of his office”.

    “It is my hope that this conviction and sentence will serve as a deterrent to serving governors.”

    Although the judge said Ngilari could serve the sentence in the prison of his choice in the country, “but for now he should start with Yola Main Prison”.

    The Adamawa State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General Mr. James Silas Sanda, who was once a key member of the EFCC staff, praised Justice Musa’s courage.

    He said it was unfortunate that a former governor will be sentenced to prison and advised all political office holders to learn some lessons from the judgment.

    The counsel to the convict, Mr. Samuel Toni (SAN) pleaded for leniency “in view of his (Ngilari’s) invaluable contribution while he was governor during the trying moment of insurgency.”

    Before he was taken to prison, Ngilari said: “I will file an appeal against the judgement.”
    The EFCC arraigned Ngilari on September 21, 2016 for violation of procurement laws in the award of contract of N167.8million to El-Yadi Motors Limited for supply of 25 units of operational vehicles (Toyota Corolla).

    The EFCC had instituted a 17 count charge against Ngilari, his former secretary to the government, Ibrahim Andrew Welye and his former Commissioner for Finance and Budget, Sanda Jonathan Lamurde.

    EFCC accused them of conspiracy, lack of “No objection Certificate, No competitive bidding” and others in procurement.

    There was, however, excitement in EFCC on the judgment of the court.

    Magu and the staff were happy that the judge gave the case a speedy trial.

    A source said: “It is interesting that Magu investigated the case and it is during his tenure that a conviction has been secured. This gives him and all of us a sense of personal fulfilment. It was not easy establishing the facts against Ngilari. There was pressure but Magu resisted the lure to get to the roots of the fraud.

    “If you know how these politically exposed persons used to take advantage of the law to delay cases, you will share this victorious moment with us.

    “For Ngilari, this is just the first case. He has an outstanding case with us on the N450million poll bribery funds allocated to the state by ex-Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

    “We had interrogated and detained Ngilari at the commission’s zonal office in Gombe. When we are ready for his trial, we will arraign him.”

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  • Police arraign Apostle Suleman’s ex-lover for terrorism, fraud

    Police arraign Apostle Suleman’s ex-lover for terrorism, fraud

    •Pastor denies claims by Canada-based lady

    Police operatives attached to the Federal Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID) Alagbon yesterday arraigned a purported lover of the General; Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries Apostle Johnson Suleman.
    The woman, Stephanie Otobo, a Canada-based Nigerian was arraigned before a Chief Magistrates’ Court, Tinubu, Lagos on four counts of terrorism, fraud and blackmail.
    She pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against her under Sections 1(1)(a)(c) (i) (ii) of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 and 301, 303 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2015.
    Chief Magistrate Kikekomo Bukola Ayeye heard that Otobo and her co-defendant, Wisdom Godstime, allegedly planned to extort the founder of Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle Johnson Suleman and to terrorise him.
    The police alleged that with intent to blackmail a man of God, the defendants unlawfully demanded that Apostle Suleman paid Otobo one million dollars to avoid being accused of committing adultery at a news conference.
    Otobo was accused of threatening to kill the pastor for falling to fulfil his promise of marriage to her.
    The Magistrate admitted Otobo to bail at N100,000 with a surety in like sum.
    She ordered that Otobo be remanded in the court’s holding cell pending the fulfilment of her bail conditions.
    The woman’s lawyers were said to have been denied access to her since her arrest on Friday and had no prior knowledge she would be arraigned today.
    She was arrested by policemen from Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos. Otobo claimed to have being in a relationship with the “Man of God” who is married.
    She accused the cleric of flying her to different parts of the world with a promise to marry her.
    She claimed that the pastor told her his wife no longer satisfed him sexually.
    But Apostle Suleman denied all her claims, saying she approached him purportedly to give her life to Christ, but had other intentions. The pastor added that he had never met her physically.
    But Otobo said trouble started between them when she got pregnant for the pastor but the cleric said he was no longer interested.
    Otobo said: “I have not done anything wrong to Apostle Suleman. The man has been threatening to kill me. He’s been chasing me everywhere. The only thing I did since I came to Nigeria is to get lawyers involved.
    “His agents called me to come and collect money for settlement. But I refused because I don’t want to collect any money. I went to Festus Keyamo’s chamber to complain and they were at the point of sending a petition to him when he got me arrested.
    “Since I got into Nigeria, Suleman has not given me peace. He has been fighting me physically and spiritually.
    “We started having issues in 2015 when I got pregnant.”He showed me the good life. He showered me with money and gifts. I was almost worshiping Apostle Suleman.
    “Because of him, I jettisoned a Canadian man I was seeing. I returned everything the man gave me and I stayed committed with Apostle Suleman. We went on several trips together. He flew me around the world. I met him mid 2015 when he had a programme in Canada.
    “Our first trip was to Napoli in Italy. He flew me from Canada to Napoli because he was having a conference there. After the event, he gave me €8,000 (eight thousand Euros).
    Her lawyer Keyamo has sent a petition to Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris, accusing the cleric of harassment, intimidation and brutality on Otobo, using the police.
    The Marc 4 letter chronicled the relationship between Suleman and Otobo, adding that the cleric told the lady he had divorced his wife.
    He notified the IGP of a previous letter to Suleman dated March 3, demanding N500 million to be paid to Otobo as damages for breach of promise of marriage.
    Keyamo appealed to the IGP to request for the case file, with a view to setting Otobo free and prosecuting Suleman for deliberately giving the police wrong information.
    But the Apostle has denied all her claims. A statemenmt by Communications manager to the pastor, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, said: “The lady was arrested by operatives acting on a tip off that the lady had repeatedly tried to blackmail the fiery preacher, including demanding N500 million from him, failing which she threatened to expose a purported amorous relationship between her and the Senior Pastor.
    The statement of Omega Fire Ministries was in reaction to two letters written by Lagos lawyer,Festus Keyamo demanding the same N500 million on behalf of the said lady and also accusing Apostle Suleiman of procuring policemen to intimidate and detain his client unlawfully, having earlier promised to marry her.
    But Shaibu said the lawyer was misled into believing that there was an amorous relationship between Apostle Suleman and the said Miss Otobo, pointing out that the lady was caught up by her own machinations as she was arrested while trying to withdraw money paid into her account by the Church in a sting operation coordinated by the police.
    “Unknown to Keyamo, the police was alerted following several attempts by the said lady to blackmail Apostle Suleiman. The police also recorded her conversations making the frivolous demand. The highpoint of the drama was her attempt to withdraw money paid into her account at the instance of the police. The lawyer should know that his client was arrested by the police with abundance of evidence confirming that she is indeed a serial blackmailer”, he said.
    The Communications Manager debunked Keyamo’s claim of an amorous relationship, a promise to marry and that the Senior Pastor had actually made the initial move towards marriage by seeing her parents, wondering how such a transaction could have taken place without any iota of evidence.
    “Let me place it on record that, the lady in question is a self-confessed stripper in a nite club in Canada, who like thousands of people that seek help from Apostle Johnson Suleman, called to pretentiously convey her intentions to embrace Christ and also needed financial help to keep body and soul as she no longer had a means of livelihood after quitting as a stripper.”
    “Does Keyamo or his serial blackmailing client have pictures of the visit by Apostle Suleiman or his representatives to her parents? In any case, how could such a relationship have existed when the Apostle and the said lady never met physically? How could he have made a promise of a house and a lifestyle comparable to what she has in Canada when he has never been to her house or seen her physically as to have an idea of her living standards?” he asked.
    Shaibu contented that the Lagos lawyer must have been misled to write the two letters
    The spokesman of the church advised Keyamo to drop the proxy war and focus instead on defending his client in court adding that all attempts to impugn the integrity of the fiery preacher or the Omega Fire Ministries would fall like a pack of cards.

  • Senate uncovers N10tr petroleum industry fraud

    •NNPC, independent marketers implicated

    The Senate said at the weekend it discovered a N10 trillion fraud allegedly perpetrated by officials of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) between 2006 and last year.

    It said officials of the NNPC  connived with independent oil marketers and some others in the petroleum industry in the deal.

    Senate Joint Committee on Upstream and Downstream and Gas broke the news at a briefing in Abuja.

    Chairmen, Senate Committee on Petroleum (downstream) Kabiru Marafa, who spoke on behalf of the joint committee, said of the N10 trillion, NNPC is to account for N5.2 trillion it collected as subsidy from the Federal Government for importation of petroleum products, particularly  Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) between 2006 and 2016

    The amount, he said, was aside the 445,000 barrels of crude oil allocated to it on yearly basis for the country’s refineries for local consumption.

    Marafa (Zamfara Central) noted that records showed that during the period under investigation, “NNPC imported fuel into the country that was more than 40 per cent of local consumption apart from gross under-utilisation of the 445,000 barrels it collected for local refining for local consumption on yearly basis”.

    He said: “NNPC, being the custodian of crude oil resources of the nation, is responsible for 51 per cent of petroleum products importation into the country over the years aside the 445,000 crude allocations it gives itself on yearly basis for sales for local refining. It must account for the N5.2 trillion available records show that it has spent on subsidy on its own 51 per cent of petroleum products importation between 2006 and 2016 aside the N3.8 trillion spent on similar subsidy for independent marketers and about $1.5 billion yet to be accounted for by other key players in the industry,” he said.

    Marafa added that the committee also discovered another dimension of fraud in the industry through disappearance of PMS from storage leased by NNPC without any accountability and or return of the value of the stolen product.

    He said it was discovered that 100 million litres of PMS worth N14 billion was stolen by two different companies without sanction by the NNPC.

    Marafa said: “This committee has established the missing of 100 million litres of PMS from such storage arrangement. We expected NNPC to have taken action against the two companies that carried out the theft. But since it has not, we hereby order it to do so immediately, precisely within this week, failure of which we shall make the whole details known to the public.

    “All key players in the sector along with their collaborators who have taken the country for a ride during the period under review, must be brought to book through exhaustive investigation to be conducted soon because President Muhammadu Buhari and the Senate leadership are very much interested in unmasking those behind the scam perpetrated during the Presidency of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and by extension, the present presidency.

    “President Buhari is highly supportive of this move by the Senate and we shall not fail in carrying out the needed holistic investigation on obvious sharp practices in the sector. Needed documents for the onerous task are already in our possession.”

    The committee listed those to appear before it for further hearing as past and present chief executives of NNPC, their counterparts from the independent marketers, licensed inspection agency, Nigeria Ports Authority, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Customs Service and NIMASA.

    Marafa said the whistle-blower approach being adopted by the Federal Government in unravelling fraudulent practices of corrupt public officials would be adopted in fishing out those involved in the massive oil sector fraud.

    The joint committee chairman warned that sanctions await players in the sector who might want to frustrate the investigation by deliberately refusing to honour invitation sent to them or concealing needed information.

  • Alleged $801m fraud: Ex-minister Adoke dares EFCC

    Alleged $801m fraud: Ex-minister Adoke dares EFCC

    •Challenges anti-graft agency to say who got what
    •Says Malabu oil deals were done with presidential approval

    A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke(SAN), yesterday rejected accusation by the  Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) that he  and 10 others shared $801million bribe from the auctioning of the $1.6billion Malabu Oil Block.

    He branded as  spurious and malicious the three charges leveled against him and the 10 others by the anti-graft agency.

    He asked the commission, which he used to supervise as Justice Minister ,to release the details of how the alleged $801million bribe was shared including the release of a list of who got what.

    He claimed that he did nothing wrong as  the Settlement Agreement and all transactions on Oil Prospecting Licence 245 (Malabu Oil Block) were effected with requisite Presidential Approvals.

    He said the decision to go into Settlement Agreement by the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan saved Nigeria over $2billion in damages from the ICSID Arbitration that was instituted by Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited (SNUD).

    Adoke, who made the clarifications in a statement in Abuja, accused EFCC of colluding with  some powerful individuals whom he resisted in office, to now rubbish him.

    He said the powerful individuals wanted to use the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation during his tenure to settle their private business interests.

    He said he was being witch-hunted because those  powerful individuals were angry that the interest of the Abacha family in the oil block was not protected.

    He denied benefitting from any $2.2million bribe of the $801m in question.

    Adoke asked the EFCC to release the fact-sheet on the bribery to Nigerians.

    He said: “Furthermore, Nigerians should be given details of the alleged bribes paid. We are interested to know who got what? From whom? and the relevant dates.

    “It is not enough for agencies of government to label former state-actors as corrupt in the public space without putting information upon which they assert their claim to the public for proper scrutiny.

    “The EFCC relies on a gullible populace that does not ask pertinent questions to perpetrate injustice and this should not be allowed to take firm roots in our polity or else the war against corruption will not only be tainted with corruption but also hijacked to satisfy the whims and caprices of a few powerful individuals with the right family and political connections to this administration.”

    The ex-Minister dismissed the charges against him and the  others as a ploy by the EFCC to taint the OPL 245 Agreement with illegality.

    He said the “renewed move to taint the transaction with illegality is coming at the heels of the spirited moves being made by the EFCC to defend the Interim Forfeiture Order they secured against the beneficiaries of the Block (Shell and ENI) who are challenging it.

    “While it is not within my province to join the fray, as the beneficiaries are capable of vigorously asserting their interests, I am however concerned that the EFCC has continued to allow its investigations/operations in respect OPL 245 to be micro-managed and/or tele-guided by some non-state actors and powerful families with professed ownership interests in the Block.

    “These non-state actors are hell bent on using state institutions as proxies in their nefarious quest to outsmart each other to the proceeds of MALABU’s divestment from OPL 245.

    “I had informed Nigerians in my previous reactions that I had become a target of these powerful individuals for refusing to allow the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to be used to settle their private business interests and the fact that they had vowed to use their connections in government and with the EFCC to settle personal scores with me.

    “It is now clear to me that the EFCC is working hands in glove with them and lending its institutional support to this devilish scheme.

    “Has the EFCC gone overboard? How else can one explain the Commission’s deliberate suppression of facts at their disposal and the orchestration of falsehood in a bid to portray me to the public as a corrupt official?”

    Adoke said it was reckless of the EFCC to link the N300million mortgage he took from Unity Bank Plc with the $2.2million allegation.

    His words: “What is responsible for this reckless and reprehensible move by the EFCC to link my mortgage repayment to Unity Bank of Nigeria to the alleged bribe of $2.2 million, when the documentation in the bank in respect of the mortgage is available for any objective person to appraise and come to an informed conclusion?

    “While not going into the merits, it is pertinent to state that I had applied for a mortgage loan in the sum of N300million from Unity Bank of Nigeria to purchase a property from Aliyu Abubakar, a property developer in Abuja.

    “The bank paid the loan sum directly to the developer and when I could not meet up with the repayments or pay the balance; he opted to repossess the property. I consented to this option and the developer directly paid the bank the loan sum and the Certificate of Occupancy was released to him.

    “The EFCC is aware of this transaction and the fact that the developer subsequently sold the property to the Central Bank of Nigeria. If this were not the case, they would have applied to have the mortgaged property forfeited.

    “Despite this information, the EFCC in furtherance of its preconceived plan to ridicule and tarnish my name has hinged on this mortgage transaction to slam me with a preposterous charge of collecting a bribe of $2.2 million on the OPL 245 resolution transaction.”

    Adoke insisted that the Settlement Agreement was legal with requisite presidential approvals.

    He also said the decision of the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to enter into the agreement saved the nation about $2billion.

    He said: “I wish to restate, once more, that to the best of my knowledge, information and belief, there was nothing illegal or shady about the resolution of the dispute over the ownership and operation of OPL 245.

    “All the state actors that midwifed the settlement including my humble self, acted in the national interests.

    “We had the requisite Presidential Approvals to enter into a negotiated settlement, execute the OPL 245 Resolution Agreement & the OPL 245 Re-Allocation and all other ancillary steps required to ensure that the transaction was consummated.

    “It is disheartening to note that the EFCC is only focused on impugning the OPL 245 Resolution Agreement without informing Nigerians on the benefits that the Nigerian State has derived from the settlement.

    “It is on record that our actions saved Nigeria over $2billion in damages from the ICSID Arbitration that was instituted by SNUD; resolved claims of MALABU against the Federal Government of Nigeria over the Ownership of OPL 245, and settled the competing claims of MALABU and SNUD over OPL 245 that had over two decades prevented the BLOCK 245 from being operational despite the immense economic benefits derivable from its operation.

    “Instead, we hear of how the interests of the Abacha family in OPL 245 were not protected or that the records of MALABU with the Corporate Affairs Commission were altered to exclude certain powerful individuals with close links to the EFCC and this administration.”

    He attributed his travails to his refusal to allow the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation to be hijacked by certain powerful individuals.

    He said: “It will be recalled that I had asserted, while in office, that the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation would not be used to settle the personal interests of these powerful families and individuals and that the law courts were available for them to ventilate their so called “ownership or shareholding disputes in Malabu Oil & Gas Limited”.

    “But, regrettably, it would appear that times have changed; state-actors are now willing to align forces with them either for pecuniary gains and/or political exigencies to use state machinery to impugn and set aside the transaction for their benefit.

    “I am perceived to be an obstacle to the realization of this ignoble objective, hence this renewed and persistent attacks and harassment on my person.

    Nigerians are invited to x-ray the transaction, ascertain who had title to OPL 245, the competing claims against the Federal Government of Nigeria from Malabu and SNUD, the terms of OPL 245 Resolution Agreement and OPL 245 Re- Allocation Agreement, whether signature bonus on OPL 245 was paid to the FGN, whether the Escrow account was jointly operated by FGN and Shell.”

  • N2.8bn Fraud: Trial of Ex-NBC Boss, Mba, Others Begin

    N2.8bn Fraud: Trial of Ex-NBC Boss, Mba, Others Begin

    The trial of former Director-General of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission, NBC, Emeka Mba, who is facing a 15-count charge of money laundering and procurement fraud to the tune of N2.8billion commenced on Tuesday with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, presenting its first witness, John Ejim

    Mba is standing trial alongside a former Director of Finance of NBC, Patrick Areh; Basil Udotai (trading in the name and style of Technology Advisors) and Babatunde Amure (trading in name and style of Divine Partners) before Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

    They were alleged to have at various times connived and transferred state funds to the tune of N2.9billion from the account of NBC through various proxies for personal gains.

    Mba was also alleged to have used his office as former DG to award contracts without following due procurement process.

    Ejim, an operative of EFCC, while being led in evidence by counsel to EFCC, Prince Ben Ikani, told the court that his investigation was an offshoot of a petition dated December 30, 2015, to the Presidency by one Okey Nwafor and copied to the Executive Chairman of the EFCC.

    “The petition alleged among others things: a diversion of proceeds of sale of 700Mhz of Spectrum to an account held by NBC in Zenith bank and that the amount diverted was illegally paid to 5 setup proxies and manufacturers under the digital switch platform”, he said.

    When Ikani sought to tender the document (copy of the petition) in evidence, Mba’s counsel, S. I. Ameh, SAN, objected, saying, “the witness cannot be examined on a document he did not make.”

    Also counsel to the second, third and fourth defendants  –  I. F Chude, P. Erukoro and Ikoro M. Ikoro respectively aligned themselves with the objection raised by Ameh, while Erukoro added that there was no evidence of stamp duty paid by the prosecution on the document as stipulated by law.

    Responding, Ikani noted that the witness, as an investigator, was only stating what led to the investigation and that in law, what matters is the relevance of the document tendered.

    In a bench ruling, Justice Kolawole overruled the objection saying, “the document sought to be tendered is relevant to the case” and admitted it as exhibit 1.

    Continuing, the PW1 said he invited the account officer as well as the compliance officer of Zenith bank who brought along the account opening documents in which it was discovered that Mba was a co-signatory to the account.

    “The documents revealed the deposit of a lump sum of N34.1billion and a transfer of N2.8billion from the said account to Technology Advisors.

    “We invited Emeka Mba and Patrick Areh to further interrogate them on the matter.”

    “I attended to Patrick Areh who volunteered his statement after I availed him a copy of the petition”, Ejim stated.

    Ikani sought to tender the document (2nd defendant’s statement) in evidence, but its admissibility was objected by Chude, who said that the statement was not voluntarily obtained.

    Justice Kolawole, thereafter, adjourned to March 8, 2017 for a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of the statement.

  • Alleged N190m fraud: Ex-Head of Service Oronsaye knows fate May 4

    Alleged N190m fraud: Ex-Head of Service Oronsaye knows fate May 4

    A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama, has adjourned till May 4, ruling on the no-case submission by former Head of Service of the Federation Steve Oronsaye.

    The judge, Olasumbo Goodluck, adjourned the case after listening to submissions by counsel in the matter.

    Oronsaye, who chaired, Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force set up by former President Goodluck Jonathan, was arraigned for breach of trust and diversion of the committee’s N190 million.

    The prosecution called six witnesses to prove its case and closed its argument on November 15.

    On December 9, the defence filed a no-case submission on the grounds that the prosecution had no case against the defendant.

    At the resumed hearing yesterday, the defence counsel, Kanu Agabi, argued that there were omissions of essential elements in the charges against his client.

    He said on that account, the charges were imperfect.

    Agabi said the charge was initially two counts, later amended to seven, explaining it was a sign something was wrong with the charge from the beginning.

    He said the prosecution failed to specify the amount entrusted to the defendant, nor the mandate of the committee the defendant chaired.

    Agabi said the prosecution did not prove the offence to warrant the defendant to enter defence. He, therefore, urged the court to grant his no-case submission.

    But the prosecuting counsel, Offem Uket, told the court the prosecution proved its case.

    Uket said it was not right to bring up the issue of imperfection of charges now, as it was against sections 220 and 221 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, (ACJA) 2015.

    He said there was a prima facie case against the defendant and urged the court to dismiss the no-case submission.

  • Two brothers charged with $50,000 fraud

    Two brothers, David and Graham Okwuanalu, were yesterday arraigned before an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court for allegedly duping two bureau de change (BDC) operators of $50,000.
    David, 26, and Graham, 28, were charged before Magistrate W. B. Balogun.
    They are standing trial on a four-count charge of conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretence and fraud.
    Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Henry Obiazi, said the defendants and others at large committed the offences last August in Ikeja, Lagos.
    Obiazi alleged that David deceived a BDC operator, Alhaji Mukaila Tella, to transfer $20,000 to his foreign account, promising to pay the naira equivalent but he fled after the transfer was made.
    He said Graham also deceived another BDC operator, Alhaji Abdullahi Seriki, to transfer $30,000 to his foreign account but failed to pay the naira equivalent after the transfer was made.
    The defendants pleaded not guilty.
    Magistrate Balogun granted them N5million bail. He adjourned till March 21.

  • Judge orders final forfeiture of Diezani Alison-Madueke’s N34 billion

    Judge orders final forfeiture of Diezani Alison-Madueke’s N34 billion

    A federal court sitting in Lagos on Thursday ordered the final forfeiture of about N34 billion linked to former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

    Justice Muslim Hassan, had on January 6, issued an interim forfeiture order on the funds.

    In his ruling, Justice Hassan said he was satisfied with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) argument that the monies were proceeds of illegal activity.

  • Alleged N1.162b fraud: Court adjourns Dariye’s suit till March 2

    Alleged N1.162b fraud: Court adjourns Dariye’s suit till March 2

    Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the FCT High Court, Gudu, yesterday adjourned till March 2, the N1.162 billion fraud case against ex-Plateau State Governor Joshua Dariye by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Dariye is facing a 21-count charge on breach of trust and diversion of N1.162 billion Plateau State’s ecological fund.

    The adjournment will give the defendant time to study a response to two motions he filed.

    The motion by EFCC was served on him on February 13.

    The first motion by the defendant on December 6 was for the prosecution to recall two of its witnesses, which included PW1 and PW9, for re-examination.

    Prosecution witness (PW1) was the EFCC Investigation Police Officer (IPO), Mr. Musa Sunday, while PW9 was a witness from the United Kingdom, Mr. Peter Clark.

    The second motion, filed on December 13, sought the withdrawal of Justice Banjoko to disqualify herself from the matter.

    It prayed that the case be transferred to the Chief Judge of the FCT for re-assignment to another court.

    In a letter addressed to the judge, Dariye accused her of “manifest and undisguised bias,’’ among others.