Apartment 7B, the Osborne Towers expensive home where $43.4m was found, may be sold, it was learnt yesterday.
A Presidential Investigative Committee is probing the suspended Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Ayo Oke, over the cash and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, for a N200million contract awarded to a company, Global Vision Limited, linked with him.
There were indications yesterday that:
•the committee may have concluded the SGF’s case, which a source described as “straightforward”;
•the Presidency is of the opinion that the National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Babagana Monguno, has no case to answer on the $43.4m; and that
•the committee may not ask Monguno, who is one of its members, to step aside.
It was learnt that a directive had been given to the agency to put the apartment in the property market.
The apartment may fetch the agency about N200 million, a source said.
The outcome of the Osinbajo Committee’s report will determine whether or not the EFCC has any further role to play on the seized $43.4 million and the N200 million alleged contract scandal.
A source in the anti-graft agency said: “Once the report is submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari, whatever we should do will be communicated by the Presidency through the committee.
“If any public officer will further be investigated or prosecuted, it is the committee which will determine the next step.
“So far, it is becoming clearer that more public officers might have cases to answer.”
The EFCC has filed an application before Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court, Lagos for the permanent forfeiture of the $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218,000, which it recovered at the Osborne Towers apartment to the Federal Government.
Any person or agency claiming ownership of the cash is expected to appear before the judge on May 5, with proof, to show cause why the money should not be permanently forfeited to the government.
There were speculations that the SGF had been recommended for trial but no committee member or presidency official could confirm this last night.
“I think Lawal has got wind of the decision of the committee but he is unruffled,” a source added.
There were indications that Gen. Monguno may not be asked to step aside from the committee.
Oke had claimed that the NSA was in the picture of the seized $43.4 million, which he said was part of a $289 million Special Intervention Funds.
He told the panel that he wrote a memo to the NSA on January 26, 2016 on the $289 million released to NIA and attached a list of nine projects being executed.
He also said the NIA raised a committee in February 2016 to assess the projects.
The suspended director-general said on May 17, 2016, the NSA informed him via a memo that the “detailed report of the NIA’s projects and exercises had been presented to the president and the president was pleased with their work”.
A source told The Nation: “When Oke appeared before the committee, he repeated all these official procedures in the presence of the NSA who did not make any comments.
“It is on this basis that Oke told the committee that the NSA knew about the $43.4m cash.
“And there has been pressure on the committee to ask NSA to step aside.”
But a source in the Presidency last night said the panel saw no reason for Monguno to step aside.
The source said: “Some forces are just eager to drag the NSA into this crisis without taking note of the fact that he had nothing to do with it.
“The NSA can even be described as the whistle-blower. He was mandated by President Buhari to raise a committee to probe arms procurement. It was the committee which actually detected that $289 million extra-.budgetary cash was allocated to NIA.
“The NIA DG wrote the NSA after the arms probe panel made the discovery. It was not as if it was a willing thing.
“The President put the NSA on Osinbajo panel because he has a comprehensive report and deep knowledge of the funds disbursed through the Central Bank of Nigeria, NNPC accounts and other agencies.
“When the government read the report of the NSA/NIA DG ‘clash’, it was strange because NSA was never a party to the cash haul at Osborne Towers.
“And what is being investigated is not the $289 million per se but $43.4 million found in the apartment in Osborne Towers.
“The Presidency has made up its mind that the NSA will serve on the Osinbajo panel to the end.”
A source in NIA explained why it was important for the NSA to step aside.
“We expect the panel to invite and interrogate him on some issues tabled by the DG.
“You cannot approbate and reprobate at the same time. He cannot sit in judgment over a matter he knew about.
“We hope the President will drop the NSA from the panel.”
A former spokesman for the Goodluck Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, said the suspended NIA director-general did not spend any money on the former President’s campaign organisation.
Femi-Kayode made this statement in a tweet on Monday. He said: “The attempt to rubbish the D-G of NIA and destroy him by certain elements in govt. will fail. He did not spend one kobo on GEJ’s campaign”.
Tag: NIA
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$43.4m: NIA may sell apartment
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Expectations for the Week
Senator Danjuma Goje of Gombe state claimed last week that men of The Nigerian Police Force took away documents containing the 2017 budget last week and this sent down cold down the spines of many concerned Nigerians.
Quickly, the Nigerian police came out to clear the air, they said they found some millions (although, this is no longer news to many Nigerians) and some incriminating materials too. The masses were happy, they leaped for joy, and they wanted to see where the investigation will lead to.
Alas, their expectations were cut short when all materials and monies gotten from the former Gombe governor were given back to him. Now, why were the monies and materials returned? We may never know the full truth but many suspect that it was settled “politically”. Is this good for our democracy?
Well, some may argue that we can’t separate politics from governance and such settlements are bound to happen.
For the second time, the suspended boss of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayo Oke will be interrogated by the Vice President Yemi Osibanjo-led panel to listen to his side of the story concerning the cash found in an Ikoyi private home recently.
Hopefully, the truth behind the found billions will be exposed to the world and it will serve as a deterrent to other public office holders.
Will he proceed to release that? Time will tell but we can all continue to hope for the betterment of his health for the benefit of the country.
By @Segun_Odunayo
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$43.4m: Osinbajo panel to quiz NIA boss again
Cash not slush fund, says NIA
DSS boss offers to testify at panel
National Intelligence Agency (NIA) boss Ayo Oke is to face the Presidential Investigative Committee today —the second time in two weeks.
He will be questioned over the $43.4million recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Oke will explain today how the cash got to Apartment 7B in Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, The Nation learnt.
The cash haul is suspected to be part of the slush funds for the failed re-election of former President Goodluck Jonathan
But Oke, who has submitted a document to the committee, is said to be insisting that the $43.4million was part of the $289million special intervention funds for NIA which he spelt out in a memo to the National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Babagana Monguno.
In the document, Oke accounted for the $289million, which he said was spent on nine key projects.
He stressed that the $43.4million was no campaign funds.
The NIA is, according to a source, worried about the leaks from the panel, which it claims have been destroying its image.
The committee last night sent text messages to Oke and some government officials whose names were not immediately known.
A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Oke has been re-invited because the committee has not been convinced about where he got the $43.4m and how the cash got to Apartment 7B in Osborne Towers, Ikoyi.
“These are the two questions he needs to clarify before we round off our work. We want to give him the benefit of doubt.
“Oke admitted that NIA got $289 million Special Intervention Funds for nine projects and he has accounted for how the funds were spent on the completed and ongoing projects.
“The only area of disagreement is that the panel suspects that the $43.4 million is not part of the $289 million. It believes the cash was part of the campaign slush funds for the re-election of ex-President Jonathan.”
An NIA source said last night that the fresh invitation to Oke was unnecessary because he had provided the committee with all the documents it needed.
“In fact, NIA accounts have been scrutinised and no infractions were found. Some forces are just desperate to find faults.
“It is as if there is pre-determined agenda.”
A document obtained by our correspondent indicated that the NIA DG in a memo of January 26, 2016 to the NSA, gave the following breakdown of the Special Intervention Funds:
- Total amount—$289, 202, 382
- Payment already made on nine projects as at January 2016—$98,891,067.57
- Actual balance—$190, 311.314. 42
- Cash at hand—$89,298.759.43
- Cash in the bank—$101,012.555
But the suspended NIA DG in the memo insisted that the $43.4million was part of the $289million Special Intervention Funds.
A top NIA source said: “The $43.4million was part of the $89.298million cash at hand with the agency. We have not paid all the bills. As of January 2016, this agency declared the cash to the NSA in a detailed memo. This cannot be controverted.
“The NIA was never given any money for the campaign. If the $43.4million was part of the campaign, what will the agency be doing with it for about two years after the election?
“The $43.4million was part of the funds meant for an ongoing security classified project in Lagos. The money cannot even complete the project; it is part of the project. If this money is taken away, the project cannot be completed.
“When the NIA DG appeared before the committee, he insisted that the cash recovered was not slush funds in any manner whatsoever.
“He even listed the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) , Mallam Lawal Daura, as one of his witnesses who knew about the classified projects. Daura has formally written to the panel to testify. But the panel has not permitted Daura to appear before it.
“Up till now, nobody knows why a vital witness was yet to be allowed to testify before the committee.
“All we are reading about borders on some leaks from the committee which are rubbing off on the image of NIA.
“As a professional organisation, we believe that some of the leaks were sheer lies from the pit of hell.”
A source in the Presidency confirmed that the DG of NIA wrote a memo to the NSA and the NSA did a memo to President Muhammadu Buhari and the President was briefed about the nine projects being executed with the $289million.
“The NSA was said to have raised a committee to inspect the projects. “It is a different ball game whether or not the funds spent on the projects were justified,” the source said, pleading not to be nambed because of the “sensitivity” of the matter.
The Osinbajo panel is yet to do cost analysis, he added.
“The only issue outstanding before the committee is the suspicion that the $43.4 million was campaign slush funds. It is unclear if NIA does not want to open the Pandora Box,” he said.
There were indications last night that the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, may have been co-opted into the committee.
It was not clear if it was based on the directive of the President or not.
A source close to the committee said: “The presence of the Minister is to clarify the release of some funds, including budgetary and extra-budgetary or for special intervention.
“I think the committed is at liberty to call on anyone to assist it.”
But the involvement of the minister has created some disquiet in government circles, with some wondering why those with knowledge of intelligence were not involved in the committee’s work.
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NIA kept Buhari in dark over Ikoyi $43m – Sources
• Osinbanjo panel may wind-up sitting on Wednesday
• Panel gets documents on presidential approval for
release of $289m to NIA
• Committee to untie seven knotty posers for SGF,
NIA DG
• PINE may be removed from office of SGFAs the Presidential Investigative Panel into the $43million cash recovered from an apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos, winds up its assignment later this week, there are indications that the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), which claims to own the money, kept President Muhammadu Buhari in the dark on its existence.
The panel headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is due to conclude its assignment on Wednesday, it was gathered last night.
It has already interrogated the suspended Director general of the agency, Mr. Ayo Oke and is now in possession of documents showing approval for the release of $289m and other funds to the NIA and some security agencies by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
But the panel is not inviting Dr. Jonathan because of what sources said are certain security decisions within the Executive powers and discretion of a sitting president.
Besides, the committee is said to be only interested in tracking how the cash was sourced; how it was disbursed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); the projects it was used for; and what happened to what is left of it.
Oke was first grilled on Monday for about 10hours and on Tuesday for another two hours.
Also quizzed in respect of the money were heads of relevant government agencies including the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele and some staff of NIA.
A presidential source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity yesterday said that the Presidency was not aware of the existence of such the huge amount of money.
The source denied a report that the current National Security Adviser, Babagana Munguno, who is a member of the panel, was aware of its existence.
According to the source, Oke did not brief the NSA at all about the funds-$289m- or the projects they were meant for when the Buhari administration took office in May 2015, even though the money had been released in March the same year.
The NSA office, he said, only got to know of the existence of the money during the work of the Presidential committee that audited the Defence Equipment Procurement in the Armed Forces.
The Committee, he said, had observed certain payments from the CBN to the NIA and raised questions drawing the attention of the NSA.
When the suspended DG of the NIA discovered that that Committee was raising questions and to forestall the NSA from blowing the cover, the source said, Oke then gave a report to the NSA on the existence of the funds.
Even then, he reportedly told the Committee that its job did not cover the activities or the finances of the NIA.
He said “The Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement, in the course of its assignment came across information that the NIA received a huge sum of money in early 2015 from the former President.
“Based on this, the NSA carried out a preliminary investigation during which the NIA claimed the money was released for some projects aimed at commencing the Agency’s 30th anniversary. This was in January 2017.
The source added that subsequently, a team was constituted to ascertain the situation.
He said that the first suspicion of a potential abuse was noticed at that stage, especially considering the amount of money involved and the purposes stated.
“This was how the NSA and the Presidency learnt of the existence of such funds. We were not told by anyone in NIA until the committee saw something, and raised a red flag,” the source said.
Besides, Oke did not inform anyone in the Federal Government or presidency that he kept $43m of the said funds in cash in a private apartment anywhere in Lagos or any part of the country, when compelled to explain what was happening.
Another top government official, who does not want his name in print as he was not authorized to speak on the matter, said: “This is the issue: the NSA was not told that NIA had this lump cash stashed away in the place it was eventually discovered by EFCC.
“In any case, extant rules are clear that such money ought only to be placed in the NIA headquarters or in CBN vaults.”
Stressing that there were also instances where CBN actually paid out some of the funds directly to some NIA contractors, the source queried why the suspended NIA boss needed to put aside such huge cash in a private apartment.
He said that the projects for which the former President approved the $289m included two in Lagos which total cost was about $28m.
As at January this year, the source said that funds for the Lagos projects had actually been released to the tune of $18m, meaning that only about $10m was left to be paid four months ago, before the $43m was found in the Lagos apartment recently.
He added: “So let us even assume that the NIA DG wanted to keep funds in Lagos for the Lagos based projects, he did not need that much for the total of the Lagos projects at all. And apart from that it is completely untenable to stash away agency money in a private apartment instead of keeping it with the CBN or inside the NIA head office where the money would be well-secured and its disbursement well protected. ”
Sources said yesterday that the panel is close to meeting the deadline given it.
“The task at hand is cumbersome because many officials were involved,” a source said.
He added: “In fact, in the last segment of its duties, the committee interacted with officials from the Central Bank of Nigeria and representatives of Julius Berger and other companies that executed projects for NIA.
“Some officials of Rholavision, which executed PINE projects, also appeared before the committee.
“Barring last minutes change of mind, the committee is likely to wind up its sitting on Wednesday. The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is working with his team to meet the deadline given by the President.”
Sources confirmed that the committee was is possession of documents indicating presidential approval for the release of release of $289m and other funds to the National Intelligence Agency( NIA) and some security agencies.
One source said: “The committee is to untie seven knotty issues on the $43.4million and the N200m PINE contract.
“Some of the issues are as follows:
*What informed ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s approval of such huge funds to NIA and other security agencies in 2015?
*Where were the funds sourced from;
*How was the cash disbursed by the CBN;
* What projects were the funds used for; and
*What has happened to unspent funds?
* Was it appropriate for the $43.4m to be in the Ikoyi apartment?
*Were there infractions committed by SGF Lawal and NIA DG Oke?
“The committee has discovered some anomalies in the system bordering on extra-budgetary spending. It has a task to overhaul the system and make far-reaching recommendations.”
Apart from the $43m recovered at Osborne Towers in Lagos, the Osinbajo panel is also probing a N200m curious contract awarded by the Presidential Initiative on the North-East (PINE).
The panel was constituted on April 19 and given 14 days to complete its assignment.
Investigation suggested that the presidency may excise PINE from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation which is currently overseeing its activities.
“The issues in PINE are not limited to the over N200m weed cutting contract, we have the questionable allocation of N188.69 million for Nigerian refugees living in Minawao, Republic of Cameroon? and alleged squandering of N12billion budget,” another source said.
“The government may remove PINE from the control of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF). It is becoming another ATM.”
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Jonathan’s kinsman in trouble over $289m special votes for NIA
•Presidency rules out soft landing for Lawal, Oke
•Searchlight to be beamed on all linked private, public officials
•Osinbajo panel opts for closed sessions
•Committee may not summon JonathanA former boss of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) may have some questions to answer from the Presidential Investigative Panel on the $289 million allegedly withdrawn from the company’s accounts ostensibly for national security.
NAPIMS is a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The investigative panel, headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, is currently probing the $43.4million haul made recently from the Orborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, and the N200m curious contract awarded by the Presidential Initiative on the North-East.
The erstwhile NAPIMS boss, said to be a kinsman of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, was in charge of the company when the huge withdrawal was made during the last political dispensation.
The Ikoyi cash is believed to be part of the leftover of the NAPIMS funds.
But he won’t be the only to face the panel.
The committee said yesterday that it will invite “all relevant officials and private individuals who may be connected to both cases.”
For now, it is unlikely that Dr. Jonathan will be summoned by the committee, contrary to widespread speculations.
Media reports had suggested that Jonathan gave the go ahead for the release of the $289 million to the NIA and other security agencies from the account of NAPIMS.
It was also gathered yesterday that there will be no soft handling of anyone implicated in the $43.4million haul and the N200m contract award.
Two top government officials – Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ayo Oke – were sent home last Wednesday over their suspected involvement in the matters.
President Muhammadu Buhari is understood to have told the investigative panel not to spare the rod or give soft landing to anyone found wanting.
Buhari demanded a thorough job no matter whose ox is gored, sources told The Nation.
The panel announced yesterday that its assignment will take place behind closed doors to avoid speculations and distractions.
Sources told The Nation that Buhari’s instruction to the Osinbajo Committee is straight forward.
“The President directed that there should be no cover up for anybody no matter how highly placed. He said there will be no soft landing for the suspended officials or any official or anyone closer to him who is involved,” a highly placed source said.
“And Buhari demonstrated this on Wednesday when the affected officials were suspended. Before the announcement was made, SGF Babachir Lawal earlier wanted to see him but he sent a message to him to go and see the Vice President.
“As a matter of fact, he had expected that one of the two suspended officials would have resigned given overwhelming public opprobrium on the allegations against him but he refused. “The President then decided that he cannot be bearing the burden of anyone.
“So, this committee is not the Kangaroo type or a soft landing panel to save anybody.”
The committee yesterday shed light on its mode of operation.
It said its sessions will be closed to the public to avoid speculations and distractions.
The committee made the clarifications through a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity to the President (Office of the Vice President), Mr. Laolu Akande.
It said: “The Presidential Committee ordered earlier this week by President Muhammadu Buhari to probe certain allegations against the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Engineer Babachir Lawal, and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, Mr. Ayo Oke has commenced its work in earnest.
“President Buhari on Wednesday established the three-man panel headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, with Attorney-General & Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami and National Security Adviser, Rtd Major General Babagana Monguno as members, to investigate allegations of legal and due process violations made against the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF and the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) in a residential apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos.
“In the discharge of its work, the panel is expected to invite all relevant officials and private individuals who may be connected to both cases.
“It will also obtain and scrutinize documents that may throw some light on the issues raised in both cases. All its proceedings will however be in closed sessions to avoid speculations, allow for full disclosure and enhance the pace of proceedings.
“The panel which is expected to submit its report to the President at the expiration of the 14-day deadline, will conduct its work with utmost diligence and without fear or favour.”
Investigation confirmed last night that ex-President Jonathan might not be summoned by the Osinbajo Panel.
On the alleged huge withdrawal of funds from the account of NAPIMS termed Special Intervention Funds for the NIA,the source said: “”Since Jonathan’s kinsman was in charge of NAPIMS, it was convenient for the former administration to withdraw some funds from the account of the agency.
“Apart from NIA, some security agencies and offices benefitted from the Special Intervention Funds.
“The Presidential Investigative Committee may interact with a former Group General Manager and some select officials of NAPIMS who disbursed the Special Intervention Funds.”
A separate source said:”There are so many documents, EFCC investigative report, Senate Committee report and public officers involved in some of the projects or activities and funds being probed.
“The committee is unlikely to summon ex-President Jonathan. He is actually not on our radar. Let each public official carry his or her own cross.”
The three-man committee is expected to:
- enquire into the circumstances in which the NIA came into possession of the funds,
- how and by whose or which authority the funds were made available to the NIA,
- and to establish whether or not there has been a breach of the law or security procedure in obtaining custody and use of the funds.”
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SGF, NIA and a burdened presidency
THE suspension last week of both the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayo Oke, is not just a testament to the attempt by the Muhammadu Buhari presidency to reinvigorate the anti-corruption war, it is an even more unflinching indication of the disorientation afflicting the highest seat of power. Given the presidential pussyfooting over the muddied case of Mr Lawal, whom the senate had accused of gross wrongdoings and abuse of office, Nigerians had wondered whether any proof would come to show that President Buhari had the courage to walk his talk. That proof has belatedly come, but it appeared to have been coaxed out of a reluctant presidency that has formed the habit of circling the wagons whenever its political piety and hypocrisies are questioned.
Last December, the senate had accused Mr Lawal of masterminding the award of fraudulent contracts in the Northeast and profiting from the distress experienced by internally displaced persons, victims of the Boko Haram war. The lawmakers called for his removal and prosecution. But in January, the presidency stuck with their man and virtually exonerated him. This led to a four-month period of back and forth between the senate and the presidency, culminating in furious and bad-tempered exchanges between the two powerful arms of government. Indeed, it seemed against the run of play when suddenly, in the heat of the scandal involving the NIA, Mr Lawal was asked to go on suspension, almost as a balancing act. The former SGF himself appeared puzzled by the drastic action, for everyone knows, as well as he, that he belonged to a powerful group in the presidency.
The suspension of Ambassador Oke was a bolt from the blue. It followed the discovery by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of about N15bn, mostly in foreign currencies, stashed in a so-called safe house in Ikoyi, Lagos. Alarmed that such a huge sum was in the possession of an arm of the intelligence agencies, and bewildered that the money was idle for about two years or more, the president was said to have indicated his resolve to finally reinvigorate his flagging anti-corruption war after first expressing dismay. There were unconfirmed reports that the intelligence community tried to close ranks to defend and save Ambassador Oke, fearing that there would be no end to the meddlesomeness of the anti-graft agency in dealing inexpertly with the arcanum in which the secret service operates. If there was indeed such an effort, it stood little chance of succeeding in the face of an embittered populace sick and tired of graft and the squalor and indignity Nigeria’s distressed economy had sentenced them.
The public is sold on the idea that the sacking of Messrs Lawal and Oke is an indication of the fairness and fearlessness of the anti-graft war. They are entitled to their obsessions. They however need to cling to this hope in a country where nothing seems to work, and where everything that goes wrong can sensibly be blamed on the monies stolen and therefore not available to be ploughed into developing infrastructure or paying workers. The EFCC chairman himself has avidly sold that opinion and thus justified the open show he makes of every recovery of looted funds. Even though the EFCC has no direct hand in the fall of Mr Lawal, the agency can take pride in the influence it has garnered in the past few years, and the endorsements it has received from inside and outside the country. The fall of the NIA D-G, directly attributable to the EFCC, is a spectacular coup in this regard.
Even then, President Buhari faces a great dilemma. The aggressiveness of the EFCC, its successes, and the approving remarks of the public rub off well on the presidency. Considering how passionate he is about promoting his mostly laudable agenda and programmes but how enfeebled he is by his uncooperative body, President Buhari has sensibly come round to also endorsing Mr Magu as one of the few bright spots in his otherwise lacklustre presidency. However, despite the denials by his aides, the president also knows that his presidency is not as united as he would have loved it to be. Aso Villa only gives a facade of unity. Underneath is a powerful undertow of forces and interests that is difficult to navigate even by the most diplomatic and surreptitious of men. The president is limited in ideas, and he has found the rapids and falls along the journey dismaying and threatening. Mr Magu is not the most diplomatic of men. He is brash, self-righteous and eager to engage in a fight. He has no desire to tiptoe around the presidency or around the job entrusted to him. He senses he is surrounded by enemies, but he does not care.
The DSS, claiming to be doing its work diligently and without fear or favour, had twice tried to unhorse the swashbuckling Mr Magu, probably in collusion with a miffed and pugnacious senate. Instead, it was Mr Magu that exposed and unhorsed the boss of one of the intelligence services, the Nigerian equivalent of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It is a rare but dangerous feat made infinitely more explosive by the manner of the exposure. It could have been done better, more effectively, perhaps more secretively without diminishing the importance of the discovery or compromising even the assignment of faults and punishment. But Nigerians want blood, and they want it openly, copiously and extraordinarily. Mr Magu has no intention of denying them the catharsis they clamour for.
President Buhari may be enfeebled by illness, but his aides have no desire to slacken their competition for the souls of the president and the presidency. The cost of sacking the SGF and NIA will become evident in the coming weeks, and it is likely to be excessive and punishing. With the National Assembly untamed but scorched and dangerous, with the presidency itself divided along powerful interests despite denials, and the ruling party weak, divided and devoid of passion and energy, the Buhari government is probably the most uncoordinated in the history of Nigeria. The disunity is self-inflicted. Increasingly, more people and politicians will be persuaded that 2018 will be a momentous year, a year in which the post-Buhari era will coalesce and be defined by powerful and ambitious interests. The politicians will struggle to view all that is happening with disinterest, but they will not let up in their contingency plans.
One way or the other something will have to give. It is hard to see both the SGF and the NIA D-G returning to their offices. They may not be found guilty of violating any law, but they will be shoved aside for multiple indiscretions, perhaps for lapse of judgement. The senate has observed these developments with cautious concern. Mr Magu, their nemesis, appears to be on the ascendancy both with the public and the presidency despite the exhausting and excruciating stalemate he gifted the lawmakers. That stalemate benefits only the EFCC chairman. To break the stalemate, the lawmakers will have to go to the courts to secure a favourable interpretation of Section 171. But should that interpretation favour Mr Magu, the senate would be in a quandary how to proceed next, seeing that the presidency secretly harbours the wish of finding the formula to castrate the legislature, and many Nigerians want it sacked altogether.
Between now and next year, when the hands of the Buhari presidency would be considerably weakened by time and political attrition, the struggle within the Aso Villa, whether they like it or not and whether they confess it or deny it, will take on titanic proportions. It would be a miracle for that epic war to end in clear victory for any of the combatants. For unlike a military regime where one powerful person can determine a lot of things, democracy thrives on consensus building, and consensus rests on compromise, diplomacy and sometimes phony wars. Mr Magu’s enemies and friends now know clearly that the EFCC would be undiscriminating in its work. If that epiphany does not concentrate their minds as viciously as a death sentence stupefies a convict, and stiffen their resolve against him to the utmost, nothing else on earth can.
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Suspended NIA DG denies crying
The suspended Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke on Thursday denied media reports claiming that he cried when he visited the Presidential Villa on Wednesday.
According to him, he was only concerned about avoiding the journalists on his way to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s office.
A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu reads: “Widespread reporting that Ambassador Ayo Oke of the National Intelligence Agency had cried are unfair and charitable.
“Witnesses to his visit to the Vice President and his own personal account, say that he arrived to a swarm of journalists which he wanted to avoid.
“He asked his driver to make a quick turn and instead, he headed to the Glass House, the Headquarters of the Department of State Services, DSS. From there, he put a call to the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina and requested that he help to clear the journalists so that he can make a quiet entry to the VP’s office and that is what happened.
“In an SUV with darkened windows, no one could have seen an occupant crying,” Shehu stated. -
NIA and $43m
Last week, the EFCC made another stunning discovery of over $43 million funds, some of it in other foreign currencies, hidden in a luxury apartment on Osborne Road, Ikoyi, a plush haven for the rich in one of the most affluent areas of Lagos. The discovery of the hidden funds was highlighted by the media and caught the attention of the public as never before. Media reports of huge looted public funds recovered by the EFCC have become commonplace and almost a daily affair in our country. But what made the latest discovery of these hidden slush funds more disturbing is that, unlike other similar cases of looted funds discovered, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) actually claimed ownership of the hidden funds as soon as it was discovered by the EFCC. It also claimed ownership of the luxury apartment in which the huge slush funds were hidden. The annual rent on the apartment was given as N20million. In fact, it was reported by the media that the Director-General of the NIA, Amb. Ayo Oke, made a spirited and desperate effort to save the funds from seizure by directly remonstraining with President Muhammadu Buhari to stop the EFCC operations. Wisely, the President declined to intervene in the murky matter and gave the EFCC a free hand to conclude its operations and investigation of the source and ownership of the hidden funds. Had President Buhari halted the EFCC operations, he would have been widely suspected by the public of an official cover up, or of being selective in his anti-graft war, the only thing going for this government.
Now, the NIA has claimed that the funds in question were duly authorised and allocated to it by former President Goodluck Jonathan for covert domestic intelligence operations, which were to cover the whole country. Obviously, the alleged covert intelligence operations either did not take place, or were incomplete before President Jonathan left office in 2015. The NIA did not specify the nature of this planned covert domestic intelligence operations and why, two years after President Jonathan left office, the funds had not yet been returned to the treasury as it should have, but carefully concealed instead in the expensive Osborne Road luxury apartment, where it was eventually discovered by the EFCC. It is disturbing that the source of the huge funds remains unknown. The CBN, which should know, as most of the funds are in foreign currencies, says it has no idea of the source of the funds. This means it did not directly sell or authorise the sale of the funds to the NIA. The only other possible source of the foreign funds is the bureaux de change, and this suggests very strongly some form of round tripping by the NIA in converting the funds from naira to foreign currencies.
Since he has been named directly in some of these slush funds, former President Jonathan has a duty and honour to come out into the open and assist the nation over this matter. He should come clean and, if the claim of the NIA is true, admit that he authorised such huge funds for covert intelligence operations in our country. The public now expects the EFCC to invite and question him over the matter. He cannot continue legally or morally to claim immunity on matters such as these which are clearly criminal and damaging to the international image of our country, now at its lowest ebb. It is understandable that the Buhari government is being very careful about humiliating a former president. But it is time for the government to stop treating ex-President Jonathan with kid gloves on matters pertaining to massive public corruption under his watch, and his alleged involvement in many of these slush funds. It is also in former President Jonathan’s interest that his involvement, or not, in these sordid financial affairs be investigated and determined so as to end the growing speculation regarding his role in the slush funds being discovered all over the country.
The claim of the NIA that it got the huge slush funds from ex-President Jonathan cannot be entirely ruled out. It is quite plausible. Fearing his defeat in the 2015 presidential election, former President Jonathan is believed to have handed out huge sums of money to all and sundry, people of shady character, who he thought might swing the election in his favour by outright rigging of it. Most of the looted funds and covert domestic intelligence operations in the 2015 presidential election, including the brazen bribery of INEC officials all over the country, have been traced by the EFCC to these men of questionable character. It all proved futile in the end as Jonathan lost the election. But there are probably a lot more of such slush funds hidden, in all sorts of places in the country, which were not fully utilised in the election, and not yet recovered. The Osborne Road fund is probably one of such funds that, if not found, could easily have ended up in private pockets.
But there is another dangerous dimension to the disgraceful financial saga worth further official investigation. The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), through the Directorate of State Security (DSS) is normally responsible for covert domestic intelligence operations. This is why, as claimed by Col. Dasuki (retd), the former National Security Adviser to ex-President Jonathan, now under investigation and prosecution, his office secured $US3.5b from Jonathan for covert domestic intelligence operations in the country in the 2015 presidential election. The purpose of the slush funds was obviously to criminally subvert the election and the democratic process in our country..
The remit of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) is different. It is in foreign intelligence, not domestic intelligence, or covert domestic operations. It should not normally be involved in covert domestic intelligence operations. It is the Nigerian equivalent of the British MI 16, while the DSS is the equivalent of the MI5. In the US, the FBI is responsible for domestic security intelligence operations, while the CIA handles foreign intelligence operations. Of course, there is some collaboration between the two agencies, but the public in Britain and the US would be aghast and horrified if it were to find out that the MI6 or the CIA were being used for covert domestic intelligence operations. In fact, the NIA is the successor of the defunct Research Department of the Foreign Ministry, and the National Security Organisation (NSO), both of which handled our foreign intelligence operations. With the exception of the late Umaru Shinkafi, the heads of both the NSO and its successor, the NIA, have been drawn from the Foreign Ministry. This is why, if true, the alleged plan to involve the NIA in covert domestic intelligence operations is disturbing. The job of the NIA is to spy on foreigners, not on Nigerians. Now, it is being made to spy on our people as well. This is unacceptable as, in effect, we would have two separate intelligence agencies, and several others, involved in domestic intelligence operations and spying on Nigerians. With this overloading of intelligence agencies in our country, Nigeria is looking increasingly like a police state. This is why the Nigerian public has become so disdainful of our security agencies.
Many Nigerian ambassadors and senior diplomats were often directly involved and engaged in some highly sensitive foreign intelligence activities that required the financial support and collaboration of the NSO. But the funding of such operations were paltry and fully accountable. That was in the 70s and 80s. I am sure the NSO did not then have ‘safe houses’ in which it hid slush funds. Obviously, since then a lot has changed in our foreign and domestic intelligence agencies which now so casually, and without any accountability, handle billions of funds in foreign currencies.
This trend of hidden slush funds by the intelligence agencies represents a direct threat to the security of our nation. We cannot afford a situation in which the security services may become collectively richer than the entire nation. This can easily lead to the subversion of our fledgling democratic process. As is well known, the security agencies have often been complicit in the overthrow of both military and elected civilian governments in our country. They were certainly involved in the overthrow of President Shehu Shagari in 1984 with dire consequences for our country. And their role in the political crisis that led to the death of MKO Abiola is despicable. The situation calls for a complete overhaul and reorganisation of our entire security services to make them slimmer, less costly and more professionally competent.
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Nigerians fault NIA link
Nigerians have faulted a claim by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) that it is the owner of the $43.4 million, 7,000 and N23 million uncovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at an apartment in Lagos.
A renowned former diplomat, Ambassador Dapo Fafowora, said it was most unlikely and highly improbable that the NIA would keep cash of such magnitude in a residence.
He admitted that the agency keeps cash for covert operations but not such volume of cash.
“lt is a ruse if indeed the NIA is claiming ownership of the money. $43million cash? That will be strange, “he said in an interview yesterday.
Fafowora, who was one time Deputy Permanent Representative of Nigeria at the United Nations, said when he worked with the late Umaru Shinkafi , then head of the security service in the seventies and early eighties, the agency kept some money usually not more than some thousands of dollars or pounds for discreet operations, but certainly not huge cash that would be difficult to explain.
Constitutional lawyer and rights activist, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), said the claim that the money belongs to the NIA was “facical”.
He said there was no way a reasonable person would agree that an intelligence agency would hide money in an apartment.
The SAN urged EFCC to name and shame the owners, saying someone must own the apartment.
Ozekhome said: “We seem now fixated to name, shame and humiliate Nigerians with the paint brush of shame, odium, obloquy and denigration.
“How can about N15 billion be found in highbrow Osborne Road, Ikoyi, by no means a back squalid street?
“How can the equivalent of CIA keep such hard currency in cash at an unguarded apartment, tucked away with many other apartments in a block of flats, not in a separate heavily fortified and fiercely guarded stand-alone building that has “keep off” carefully imprinted on it?
“What was it meant for and who approved it, and in which budget? Who was the whistle-blower that could identify that such money was ‘hidden’ in the bedroom in flat 7A, leaving out flat 7B, yet not knowing who kept the money there or its ownership?
“Why was EFCC not pictured or captured in video going into the apartment before we suddenly saw an arranged ‘counting’ of money?
“Are there no CCTV in such a highbrow? Can we see the footages please?
“Only last week, N49m orphaned sum was ‘arrested’ at Kaduna Airport! Then, suddenly, another sum of orphaned N448m was ‘discovered’ in an ownerless shop in Victoria Island. Who owned the plaza? Who sold there? Are there no CCTV there? Can we see them please?
Another SAN, Seyi Sowemimo, said if the money truly belongs to the NIA, the agency should come forward to explain the purpose.
“I find it strange that a public agency like the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA) would come forward and admit that it kept the money there.
“”What could be the reason for keeping such money there? Is it in any way tied to its official duties? What was the purpose?
“It is only when the NIA discloses this that one can know if it is concerned with its functions and I don’t know if this is something that they should do without disclosing it to maybe an institution like the Central Bank.
“The position as I have always understood it is that you cannot keep such monies in a private residence. But I am even going beyond that in order to come to a view of the matter. It isn’t enough for the NIA to say ‘it is our money’.
“They need to go beyond that and say whether it is in any way connected to their statutory duties and how they came about the money. Why should a minor institution like that not have the money in a bank? To me, it does not add up.”
Alarmed by the report, the youth wing of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum said the government should set up a panel to address the controversy surrounding the recovered money.
The national leader of the group, Comrade Shetimma Yerima, described the report as ridiculous, wondering how the agency could come about such sum of money.
Shetimma said: “It is very funny. How did NIA come about such money? What business are they doing that would make them keep such sum of money in their office? If such statement could come from the NIA, then it means that we don’t have a government in place.
“For such to have happened, it means that there is a foul play somewhere. It shows that the agency cannot be trusted. The Federal Government should set up a panel to investigate this. It simply leaves one to wonder if the agency has now become an extension of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“If NIA claims that the money belongs to the agency, the boss should come out and explain how they got it.”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Ladi Williams, also charged the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency investigate the development.
“It is not out of place for an individual or an agency to keep any amount of money at home as long as it is legally acquired. What is required is for the owner to prove this, and once he does that, there is no problem.
“The NIA should tell Nigerians the source of the money because they don’t manufacture money. If the NIA truly claims that the money belongs to them, then it is the government’s money and should go to the CBN.
“The government should investigate the whole thing and if the money legally belongs to the NIA, the CBN should release it to them. From what is happening now, it is obvious that there is no cohesion between the EFCC, NIA and DSS.
Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Chief Niyi Akintola blamed government policies for why people keep money at home and frowned at what he described as media driven nature of anti -graft agencies in the country.
“Some government policies are responsible for why people keep money at home. Nigerian policy makers don’t do proper thinking. Again, our anti -graft agencies are too media-driven. They should strategise and do less talking.”
The National President, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Malachy Ugwummadu, said the true owner of the money must be exposed.
“It raises questions of the legality of warehousing those kinds of sums. If the NIA claims it owns the money, to what extent has it also explained the need for such humongous sums kept outside the banking system?
“Was it for an operational purpose? What purpose requires those kinds of amounts and needed to be done only by the disbursement of the money in the manner that they were found?
“When were they kept there? For how long have they been there? Who authorised them to be kept there? For what purpose? These are questions that must be answered by anyone who shows up claiming to be the owner of that kind of money.
“Otherwise, it would raise suspicion that we are looking at a system that encourages even official financial transgressions and that supports the kind of temerity we are seeing,” Ugwummadu said.
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NIA: Inspectorate Department’s relocation logical
The Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA) yesterday said the relocation of the Inspectorate Department of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) from Abuja to Lagos made economic sense.
It said it is a good development for the industry.
NIA is the umbrella body of 58 insurance companies in the country. Its support is coming against the backdrop of protest embarked upon by NAICOM’s workers over the relocation of the department to Lagos.
NIA Chairman, Eddie Efekoha who spoke during a press briefing in Lagos said the association has not met with its regulator, NAICOM but has been reading and listening to media reports on the matter.
Efekoha said the relocation made sense as the operators have about 95 per cent of their operations and head offices located in Lagos.
He said for them, the relocation brought about productivity and efficiency in their direct daily contact with NAICOM.
He further stated that the regulatory body was doing well in terms of regulation.
He said: “It makes sense to relocate or to make sure that those who are in direct and daily and regular contact with NAICOM as a regulator are just next door to them. I think it brings about productivity and efficiency. They are here in Lagos and we don’t need to catch the next flight from Abuja to Lagos.”