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Tag: Raymond Omatseye

  • Alleged N1.5b fraud: Omatseye accuses Adoke of persecution

    Alleged N1.5b fraud: Omatseye accuses Adoke of persecution

    Embattled former Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Raymond Omatseye, yesterday accused the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Mohammed Adoke (SAN ) of persecution.

    Omatseye who is standing trial before Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of a Federal High Court in Lagos, on 27 counts of contract splitting and bid rigging claimed he was being persecuted for refusing to do Adoke’s bidding.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had alleged that the suspended NIMASA boss perpetrated contract scam of N1.5billion.

    But giving evidence before the trial judge, he alleged that his refusal to discontinue NIMASA’s suit against Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) on Adoke’s request prompted his trial.

    Led in evidence by his counsel,  E.D. Onyeke, the suspended NIMASA chief had pleaded with the court to allow him give a background  in order to appreciate his predicament.

    According to Omatseye, in 2010, the Executive Director, Cabotage services in NIMASA, Ibrahim Zailani approached him and said he was in a meeting with Adoke who requested a withdrawal of the suit against NLNG.

    “Zailani told me the AGF had directed him to tell me to withdraw a case between NIMASA and NLNG. I told him I was unable to withdraw the case because it was a board decision,” he said.

    He alleged that he also received a call on November 14, 2010, between 12-1pm, from one Tunde Ayeni, who passed the phone to a man that introduced himself as Mohammed Adoke.

    The man said: ‘I sent Zailani to you to withdraw the NLNG case and you have refused. Mr. President has called me twice on this matter to instruct you to withdraw this case.

    “I responded: ‘My AG sir, either you please send me a memo to that effect or a message through my minister to direct me accordingly; I am not in a position to unilaterally withdraw the case’.”

    Explaining further, Omatseye said Adoke reminded him that he (Adoke) was the chief law officer of the nation and queried if the NIMASA boss was unaware of a directive that no government agency should drag another to court without his permission.

    “I told him that the NLNG is majorly owned by foreigners and therefore cannot be considered as a government parastatal or agency.

    “At that point he said: ‘I have given an instruction and you have refused to obey, this would be your waterloo’.”

    Exactly 10 days after the phone call, Omatseye said three EFCC operatives took him to the agency’s Ikoyi office for interrogation, adding that also invited were NIMASA’s Directors of Procurement and Finance.

    He told the court that he called the Transport Minister, Yusuf Suleiman to notify him of the development  as he was being ferried to EFCC, adding that Suleiman asked him if he had any issue with the AGF.

    Omatseye further alleged that the EFCC flew all three of them to their headquarters in Abuja, where he was shown a petition against him written by the Transport Minister.

    While acknowledging that the threshold for contract approval for NIMASA was N2.5million for supply and N5million for goods and services,  Omatseye told the court that the stipulations were not in place as at the time he gave approvals for the contracts for which he was being prosecuted.

    According to him, while the charges captured contracts awarded between December 2009 and February 2010, the contract award  threshold for NIMASA was only put in place by the Bureau of Public Procurement in November 2011.

    His testimony continues today.

  • How NNPC, PPMC violated shipping laws – Ex- NIMASA boss

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) on Wednesday urged the Federal High Court in Lagos to strike out a suit accusing them of violating the Cabotage Act.
    A former Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director-General, Mr Raymond Omatseye, through his firm Polmaz Limited, is seeking an order directing NNPC and PPMC to cancel all contracts with foreign flagged vessels operating in Nigeria’s coastal waters without licence.
    The plaintiff is also urging the court to direct the defendants, except NIMASA, to pay fines stipulated in the Cabotage Act for their alleged violation of the law.
    Polmaz said NNPC and PPMC engaged the vessels in domestic coastal trade without requisite licenses being issued or any waivers granted to them as stipulated in the Act.
    It urged the court to determine whether Nigeria’s shipping laws have not restricted foreign flagged vessels, or vessels not owned or built by Nigerians and registered in Nigeria from engaging in domestic coastal trade within the country’s territorial waters.
    Joined in the suit as third to ninth defendants are NIMASA and the vessels’ operators, namely Olimpex Nigeria Limited, Unibros Shipping Corporation, Africulti Limited, Marika Investments Limited, Nidas Marine Limited and Prometheus Maritime Limited.
    The plaintiff, in its originating summons, sought a declaration that the operation of the foreign flagged vessels operated by the fourth to ninth defendants and their engagement by NNPC and PPMC in domestic coastal operations are in clear violation of Section 5 of the Merchant Shipping Act and several sections of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act, No. 5 of 2003.

     

  • Absence of prosecutor stalls ex-NIMASA DG’s trial

    The absence of the prosecution on Monday stalled the trial of Raymond Omatseye, a former Director-General, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), charged with contract scam.

    When the case was mentioned, the Defence Counsel, Mr. Olusina Sofola (SAN), informed the court of the absence of the prosecutor, Mr. Godwin Obla (SAN), whom he said was indisposed.

    He, therefore, prayed the court for a short adjournment to give the prosecutor time to get well enough to attend court trials.

    Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia adjourned the case till February 5, for continuation of the trial,

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Omatseye is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended 27-count charge of alleged contract scam.

    He was re-arraigned on January 21, 2013, and had pleaded not guilty to the charge and was admitted to bail.

    At the last adjourned date on December 3, 2013, the prosecution had called its second witness, a former Director of Procurement, NIMASA, who testified that Omatseye never executed any contract for the supply of generator sets.

    NAN recalls that In the charge, the accused was said to have been involved in contract splitting and bid rigging, estimated at over N1.5 billion.

    The offences contravene Sections 14(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004, and Sections 58(4) (d) of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.

     

     

  • Probe of NIMASA contract scam ‘inconclusive’

    A Federal High Court, Lagos, on Wednesday heard that investigation of alleged contract scam at the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) was inconclusive.

    An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecutor Ibrahim Ahmed said there were no documents showing whether the contracts, which were alleged to have been split, were indeed supplied.

    He was testifying in the trial of former NIMASA Director-General Raymond Omatseye.

    EFCC re-arraigned him before Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia on an amended 27-count charge bordering on contract scam.

    Omatseye pleaded not guilty to all the counts.

    His re-arraignment was due to the transfer of the former trial judge, Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako.

    The accused person was charged with alleged illegal transfer of the agency’s fund and contract splitting estimated at over N1.5 billion.

    During cross-examination by defence counsel Olusina Sofola (SAN), Ahmed said he asked for the “performance” documents, but was not given.

    “I made request for the documents orally from the people who made statements. I also requested for the documents from the contractors,” he said.

    The witness said he was, therefore, unable to determine the “performance” of the contracts allegedly awarded by Omatseye.

    “According to statements made by the accused person and the contractors, the items were supplied.

    “The contractors said the contract was performed. I requested for documents showing performance of the contracts but was not given.

    “Because the documents were not available, I wasn’t able to confirm the contract performance,” he said.

    Asked by Sofola if he stated his inability to confirm the contract performance in his statement before the court, the witness said he did not write down everything.

    “It’s not everything I did in the course of my investigation that is contained in my statement,” Ahmed said.

    The EFCC witness, however, said the materials supplied to NIMASA were “almost the same thing” and ought to be awarded to a single contractor.

    He added that the contracts were allegedly split to come within the approved threshold for management approval.

    Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia adjourned till December 3 for continuation of hearing.

     

  • Ex-NIMASA boss didn’t benefit from contracts, says witness

    Ex-NIMASA boss didn’t benefit from contracts, says witness

    Aprincipal prosecution witness in the trial of former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Raymond Omatseye, has said the accused did not financially benefit from contracts awarded during his days is office.

    The witness, Ibrahim Ahmed, an investigating police officer with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told a Federal High Court in Lagos that investigation did not reveal that Omatseye financially benefited from the contracts.

    Ahmed, who was cross examined last Friday by defence lawyer,Olusina Sofola (SAN), said the contracts were approved by the agency’s board.

    He referred to a memo indicating that the chairman of NIMASA’s board, Senator Baba Tella directed that quotations for the contracts be submitted for approval.

    When asked whether his investigation could not establish that there was a submission of quotations for the contracts, Ahmed said on page 17b of the memo (tendered before the court), the chairman NIMASA board told the ex DG to bring up quotations to board for final approval.

    Ahmed, who told the court in an earlier testimony that contracts were split by NIMASA to avoid exceeding the DG’s approval threshold, said he did not investigate the companies that benefited from the contracts and others that bidded.

    On claim that there was manipulation in the contract award process, Ahmed said he could not establish that because he could not reach the companies.

    Asked if, in the course of his investigation, he discovered that

    the companies met to agree on the bid they were to submit,

    Ahmed answered in the negative.

    He said the companies’ quotations were not shown to him and that there was no other memo that stated the quotations were submitted.

    On whether his investigation was able to establish that

    the accused person had an agreement with the companies in submitting their quotation, Ahmed answered in the negative. Sofola asked him if he thought the accused person benefitted financially the bid for the Blackbery phones supply contract, the witness said investigation did not establish so.

    Omatseye is being tried on a charge of 27 counts, containing allegations of contract splitting, bid rigging and allegedly awarding contracts exceeding the threshold allowed a D.G. by the Public Procurement Act, while he was in office.

    Ahmed had on Wednesday told the court that an award letter from NIMASA to a firm, Kolal Riska International Nigeria Limited, for the supply of office accessories at a contract sum of N4,930,000, was clearly above the stipulated threshold of less than N2.5million allowed a DG under the Act.

    The award letter, Ahmed stated , was signed on behalf of Omatseye by one M. K. Shehu who was the Director of Procurement at the time.

    Led in evidence by prosecution lawyer, Godwin Obla, Ahmed identified signatures on some internal memos and other contract documents presented before the court and which were tagged exhibits 17 and 18, as belonging to Omatseye.

    Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia has fixed May 30 for continuation of trial.