Startling revelations are emerging from submissions made to the Senate ad-hoc Committee investigating the circumstances surrounding the surreptitious re-appearance and re-absorption into the civil service of former Chairman, Presidential Taskforce Team on Pension Reform, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina.
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Malami, in a 13 page memorandum dated November 14, 2017 which he submitted to the committee linked over 270 allegedly missing recovered properties and assets to Maina.
The 270 properties which are yet to be accounted for, Malami said, were recovered from pension fraudsters when Maina headed the Task Team.
The weighty document said to have been submitted to the Chairman of the investigative panel, Senator Emmanuel Paulker personally by Malami, listed the properties to include real estates and high class motor vehicles.
The AGF raised posers which tacitly indicated that the recovered properties and assets were likely to have been fraudulently shared by top government officials and their cronies.
He specifically mentioned a property situated at No. 42, Gana Street, Maitama Abuja which he claimed is worth N1 billion but was allocated to senior lawyer to buy.
The No. 42 Gana Street, Maitama property was said to have been recovered from Dr. Shaibu Teidi, a former Director of Pensions Accounts, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.
The AGF said Nigerians were “blind folded” from getting answers to the following two pertinent questions: “a. What happened to the monies recovered from the syndicate? What about the 270 properties comprising of real estate and motor vehicles one of which is a mansion worth N1 billion situated at No 42 Gang Street Maitama Abuja allegedly given to a senior lawyer meant to crave for his ‘ “buy in” in maximizing media hype aimed at distracting the attention at the public pension fraud?
“The perceived compromises in the investigation, prosecution and charges of real syndicate over the pension related matters.
“Let me conclude by commending the committee led by its Chairman, Distinguished Senator Emmanuel Paulker for the opportunity afforded me to speak to Nigerians directly by rising above the conspiracy of the pension predators that set in aggressive press negative campaign against me and allowing me an opportunity to address Nigerians there by upholding the national interest as against the interest of the chain of pension predators.”
In what appeared a twist in the investigation, the AGF is said to have told the committee that his signature on the memo which sought the re-instatement of Maina into the civil service was forged.
Malami, a source close to the committee which is sitting behind closed door said, insisted that he did not author the memo seeking the reabsorption into the civil service.
The AGF was said to have claimed that desperate people bent on smearing his image might have been behind the alleged forgery.
Another document also submitted to the committee, a group of concerned pensioners claimed that the 270 properties recovered by the Taskforce Team were in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Part of the document read: “These properties are under the custody of the EFCC. The properties as we speak, have been shared among top officials of the commission, friends and family members, including lawyers of the agency.”
The group which went ahead to list over 63 estates and properties with names of the original owners prayed the Senate to dig deep to unravel how the recovered properties and assets were shared and who got what.
Malami who is said to be central to the investigation has so far appeared before the Senate ad-hoc committee three times.
A source said that the AGF is expected to put up more appearances to respond to allegations made against him in some documents.
He is also expected to provide answers to what the EFCC did with the recovered properties and those who benefited from the sharing of the assets.
The Senate Thursday extended the sitting period of the ad-hoc committee.
The upper chamber also expanded the scope of work of the committee to include tracing the whereabouts of recovered properties and assets.
The approval followed a point of order, by Senator Paulker.
Paulker, whose committee was given one month to submit the report of its findings, asked for an additional time of two weeks.
The request was granted.
