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Tag: scandal

  • Malabu: APC asks Jonathan to come clean on another monumental scandal

    Malabu: APC asks Jonathan to come clean on another monumental scandal

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to speak out and take action on the monumental Malabu oil scandal rocking his administration and putting Nigeria under the global searchlight as a corrupt nation.

    In a statement in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said President Jonathan must end his silence on the matter since half of the $1.1 billion paid to Malabu Oil and Gas for oil field OPL 245 by two oil majors was allegedly used to bribe Nigerian officials, who in turn used the proceeds to buy jets and armoured limousines.

    It said since the deal to pay Malabu the huge money was brokered and defended by the Jonathan administration, it stands to reason that officials of the same administration will know one or two things, and perhaps are part and parcel of the whole scandal.

    “The only way to know for sure is if there is an independent investigation of the allegation, which has been published by the international media after Italian prosecutors intensified their probe into the deal. This is where President Jonathan comes in. He must allow an unfettered probe of this scandal that has again put Nigeria in bad light. Whatever happens, however, the names of those who received the bribes will soon be known, thanks to the determination of the UK and Italy to show that no one, who violates their laws, will go scot-free.

    “Just like the Halliburton and Siemens bribery scandals that were also exposed from abroad, this Malabu scandal has again damaged Nigeria’s standing in the comity of nations. While US, France, Italy and Germany have jailed officials and imposed fines on the foreign firms, which bribed Nigerian officials in the Halliburton and Siemens scandals, none of those who received the bribes here in Nigeria has been touched. The Malabu scandal must not go the same way,” APC said.

    The party said Nigeria has never had it as bad, in terms of runaway corruption that has cost the nation billions of dollars in money that would have gone into national development, as it is having under the Jonathan administration.

    “There is no better way to say this. The Jonathan administration is swimming in corruption and the President has allowed it to fester because his government is feeding fat on the proceeds of graft. He has even tried to use semantics to cover up the extent of sleaze, saying stealing is not corruption,” it said.

    APC said besides the Malabu, Halliburton and Siemens scandals, the Jonathan administration has done nothing to tell Nigerians what happened to the $20billion in diverted oil money; the multi-billion naira fuel subsidy fraud for which no person has been brought to justice; opaque crude swaps at the expense of encouraging domestic refinery; payment of billions of naira in kerosene subsidy without appropriation and the gargantuan police pension fraud.

    “Under your watch, Mr. President, there is massive looting of the commonwealth by the same people being paid by taxpayers to ensure a judicious utilisation of the scarce national resources. There is a growing culture of impunity because no one is punished for the looting. Now you have another chance to turn things around for the better.

    “The Malabu scandal provides such a chance. Those who collected millions of dollars in bribes in the illegal transaction must be identified and brought to justice. We must not allow foreign countries to be the ones exposing corrupt Nigerian officials. Our government must act like a responsible government by demonstrating it will not allow violation of its laws or encourage corruption,” the party said.

  • Match-fixing scandal: Ike Uche is prime suspect -media report

    Match-fixing scandal: Ike Uche is prime suspect -media report

    Nigeria striker Ike Uche has been fingered in a match-fixing scandal, according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

    Uche’s club then Real Zaragoza beat Levante 2-1 on the final day of the 2010/11 season to avoid relegation, while Levante and Deportivo La Coruna were demoted as a result.

    Atletico Madrid captain Gabi, who scored Zaragoza’s two goals on that fateful day, confessed to a judge yesterday that he was aware the match was fixed.

    “I just did what the club asked me to do,” the 29-year-old midfielder simply said in court, according to El Mundo.

    It is suspected that Levante players were paid to lose the match.

    And the spotlight of this trial has fallen on Agapito Iglesias, the then owner of Zaragoza, Leonardo Ponzio, Leo Franco and Uche, according to El Mundo.

    The prosecutor wants to question at least 20 players in this match-fixing trial.

  • Rape scandal rocks ‘operation burst’ in Eruwa

    Rape scandal rocks ‘operation burst’ in Eruwa

    The alleged rape of an ND 2 student of Mass Communication, The Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa, Oyo State by a member of the state special security squad ‘Operation Burst’ has thrown the outfit into a crisis of confidence and drawn the ire of the victim’s family and the general public. IBRAHIM ADAM reports.

    A rape scandal is currently rocking the Oyo State joint security patrol team, ‘Operation Burst’ as a member of the outfit has been accused of forcefully having canal knowledge of a female student of The Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa.

    Omolara (surname withheld) an ND 2 Mass Communication student of the institution had alleged that a soldier attached to operation burst, Ignatius (surname withheld), armed with a knife, had forced her into having sex with him penultimate Friday,

    But the management of the security outfit have denied this and instead treating the alleged rape as mere assault on the part of Ignatius. And this has expectedly drawn the ire of Omolara’s family which through their lawyer Barrister Ola Adeosun has called for a proper investigation into the matter and stiffer punishment for the culprit and rehabilitation for the victim.

    Giving the fact of the matter the family lawyer said: “Precisely at about 10.30pm on Friday, 29th day of August, 2014, while returning to her apartment around the Oke Ola area, of Eruwa, The Victim, who is Our Client and an ND 2 Student of the Department of Mass Communication of Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa was “arrested” by a soldier attached to the Oyo State, special Security outfit “OPERATION BURST”, on the allegation that she was a cultist.

    “The victim explained to the soldier that she only escorted her friend who came to visit her, and they both discussed into the later part of the day, and that she was not a cultist as alleged by the soldier. Not satisfied, the soldier took The Victim to the Ibarapa Zonal office of “OPERATION BURST” situate after Secretariat, Eruwa.

    “On entering the premises of the “OPERATION BURST”, The Victim saw other soldiers and security agents torturing some students of the Ibarapa Polytechnic within the premises.

    “The soldier almost immediately dragged The Victim to the shed under a tree at the premises of the “OPERATION BURST”, removed a two edged knife and ordered our client to remove all her clothes, as he wanted to see all the “occultic tattoos” on the body of the victim. The victim pleaded with the soldier, and informed him that she was not a cultist as alleged, and that she only escorted a friend who visited her. When the threat by the soldier became vicious, as he had started beating and strangulating the victim, the victim removed all her clothes, including her  underwear on the orders of the soldier. The soldier thereafter ordered the victim to lie down under the tree as she was already stark naked and was crying profusely.

    “All The Victim’s plea to the soldier only earned her threats and beatings from the soldier, as the soldier informed her that if she fails to “Cooperate”, she would be killed and buried like many other girls who had failed to cooperate in the past  and nobody would trace her death to him. At this point the soldier had drawn out his knife again and promised to slaughter The Victim “like a ram”.

    “At this point, The Victim was left with no option, but to stop struggling with the soldier who pounced on her and forcefully had sex with her between the hours of around 10.30pm on Friday, 29th August, 2014 and 3am on Saturday, 30th August, 2014.

    “As a confirmation of the fact that it had become a routine ritual amongst the Soldiers and officers of the “OPERATION BURST” Ibarapa office, while the soldier was forcefully having sexual intercourse with The Victim and The Victim Client was shouting and crying for help, the other soldiers and security agents were only walking past and acting as if what was happening was normal!

    “Sometime at around 3am or thereabout, the randy soldier informed The Victim that he needed to take some rest, and that The Victim was a “good girl”, hence, he wanted to go into one of the offices around the premises of “OPERATION BURST” to get a better cloth for The Victim to wear, since he had damaged her clothes in the course of events leading to rape.

    “The Victim promptly seized the opportunity of the temporary exit of the randy soldier to escape from the venue of the crime and ran to her house while still weeping and already psychologically dismembered.

    “In the morning of Saturday, 30th August, 2014, The Victim called her parents on the telephone to tell them of the attack on her, and her parents in turn called to brief Our Office. We thereafter advised that The Victim should report to the Police Station at Eruwa, which she promptly did.

    “The Police at Eruwa contacted the Police hierarchy in the state, who in turn contacted the military authorities since the culprit was a soldier. The Victim was thereafter taken to “OPERATION BURST” office wherein and identification parade was carried out and she identified the randy soldier amongst the others.

    “At this point, the soldier admitted raping the victim and was only begging for forgiveness, as he attributed his conduct to “the Satan”!

    “Thereafter, the victim was taken by the men of the Nigerian Police Force to Eruwa General Hospital, for appropriate tests to be carried out on her.

    “Unfortunately however, on getting to the General Hospital, The Victim who had been traumatized was informed by the staff on duty that the Hospital does not have hand gloves, with which the doctor was to conduct tests on her, hence, The Victim was instructed to go and buy hand gloves before anything can be done, an instruction she had no option but to comply with!

    “A doctor at the General Hospital, Dr. Jesim Gambo in conducting the test only instructed The Victim to lie down, and thereafter used his GSM phone’s torchlight to look into her virginal and thereafter wrote his report. In his report, the Doctor stated that although he did not see semen/sperm therein, The Victim’s virginal had been tampered with, he further stated that the test was inconclusive. On being probed on the reasons why the doctor did not check inside the virginal for semen, we were embarrassed when the doctor informed Our Client that the hospital does not have the facilities to carry out such “an elementary” test!

    “We were shocked to hear from relatives of The Victim, who on enquiries were informed by some Army officers that the randy soldier had been made to substitute his earlier statement where he admitted the crime with another statement wherein, he only admitted assaulting The Victim since the medical report does not reveal that there was semen on The Victim’s body! This is despite assurances from both the Police and representatives of the Nigerian Army that the security agencies will ensure that The Victim gets justice.

    “In Our view, this is a tacit approval of crimes and criminal conducts by security agents by their direct employers, and same is a dangerous trend which every well meaning human being must join us to condemn as everyone of us may be exposed to danger in the event that same is allowed to stand.

    “It is noteworthy to state that since this incident, The Victim had abnormally taken to alcohol as a means of trying to forget the incident. Worst still, precisely on Wednesday, 3rd September, 2014, out of frustration, The Victim made an attempt to poison herself, as she feels the agony and stigma attached to being a victim of rape is just too much for her to bear, especially stemming from the information she just received that as a face saving measure by the Nigerian Army, the accused soldier, who had earlier confessed to the crime of rape has been made to change his statement by the Army authorities, and has now only agreed to the fact that he assaulted The Victim, and based on the soldier’s new statement, he is to be prosecuted for “ASSAULT” and not “RAPE”!, but for the alertness of a relative who saw her while opening the bottle of the poisonous substance.”

    But the security outfit has dismissed the allegation of rape as baseless, even though it is taking disciplinary action against Ignatius for abandoning his duty post.

    In a statement by the outfit’s second in command CSP Elijah Bawa, Operation Burst said immediately the it was intimated with the allegation of rape against the said student, it dispatched an investigation team to Eruwa.

    Bawa said the team met with the Divisional Police Officer for the Eruwa Division, DSP Kayode Adigun who disclosed that the 23-year old Mass Communication student of the school lodged a complaint with the command that she had been raped by the soldier who was also an operative of the anti-crime outfit.The DPO took the lady complainant to the Eruwa General Hospital for medical examination, the result of which proved negative.

    When interrogated about the process of the rape, Operation Burst said , the allegedly raped lady said she had left her hostel and was seeing her friend off at about 2230 hrs and when she was returning, she was accosted by the Operation Burst operative who accused her of being a cultist.

    According to Bawa, the lady alleged that the soldier took her under a Dongoyaro tree where he asked her series of questions, ordered her to remove her clothes to affirm whether she had tattoos of cultists on her.

    “The test on the lady was conducted by a Dr. Jesimi Gamdu and all the physical manifestations of rape were not found on her. The soldier will however be charged for abandoning his duty post in the night without permission against standing instructions in the Operation Burst’s code of conduct,” he said.

    But in spite of the denial Omolara is insisting that Ignatius did rape her. Narrating her story she told The Nation that:  “It was 10pm when I saw my friend off and it was few distance to my house. Immediately I turned back, a man on bike stopped me and asked where I was coming from. I told him I only saw a friend off and he said it was late and I said am sorry. He later identified himself as a member of the Operation Burst and asked me to mount his bike to their base. I resisted but he threatened me with the knife in his hand and I followed him.

    “Getting to their base, we entered and I saw some students being beaten by some member of the Operation Burst. Immediately, he hit me outside and said he will beat me himself. He took me under a tree across the street and asked me to kneel and started asking me different questions like being a cultist. I told him I am not one and he started beating me, hitting me, slapping me and asked me the colour of the pant I was wearing and I told him it was white and he asked if I have a red pant and I said no. He asked me to pull off my cloth and I told him I won’t but he still threatened me with his knife which made me to comply. He checked my body if there was any tattoo but he found nothing. I was naked, cold and helpless and later on, he said if I don’t cooperate with him, he will kill me and throw my body away. And still, he kept slapping and hitting me.

    “At this point, I had no choice but to do what he wanted. He asked if I had a condom with me and if I have any disease because he does not have one with him as he normally have ‘flesh to flesh’ sex with his wife. At that point he had sex with me, he did it for several times; he did it and was full of joy. He asked me to wear my cloth and not to tell anyone. He then requested to have a relationship with me and I said ok. He later said he cannot take me home and I should sleep in their base and I said no that I have a class that day. He gave me a bottle of  beer to hold and said I should wait for him that he wanted to get me a cloth to wear because it was cold and that was about 3am. After waiting for about 20minutes after he had left, I ran home from that spot and gave a call to the Special Adviser to the association I belong which is ANUNSA, Eruwa in person of Ambassador Oludare Sunday Ogunlana who immediately asked me to inform the police,” she said.

    Omolara said after reporting at the Eruwa police station, she was asked to go for a medical test the Eruwa General Hospital.

    Doctor Jesini Gamdu who attended to the victim at the hospital told The Nation that he did not carry out a test but only examined her and his result was inconclusive.

    “I did not test her but I only examined her because pregnancy result stay about two weeks (two weeks after sex)  and running a pregnancy test for her case was not relevant. If it was a forceful rape, it would have been more okay because she had to consent because she was threatened, because they were alone and with the threat, she had no choice. So, there was an easy flow of sexual intercourse.

    “Two things I was trying to find out was one, for evidence of bruses and secondly, any semen deposit but they were not there. The result of my findings was inconclusive and I prescribed Postinure 2 to her to help her against pregnancy,’ he added.

    Omolara also told The Naton that when she got to Eruwa General Hospital, the doctor asked her to buy him hand glove before any test could be conducted saying ‘he only flashed a touch light in my private part and prescribed Postinure 2 for me to use’.

    On hearing the incident, the head of the Operation Burst in Eruwa community, summoned an emergency meeting of the squad and asked the victim to identify the culprit.

    The culprit, Ignicious at the point of identification did not deny meeting her saying “Yes, I interrogated her” and immediately, he was put in hand cuff and taken for interrogation.

    The Acting Deputy Rector of The Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa, Evang. Dr. Abiola Jesulowo who spoke on behalf of the school management said the incident was unfortunate and called on the State government to carry out a thorough investigation on the case and to equip the hospitals in the community.

    “We thank God that from the report we have so far, the culprit did not deny her when she identified him. This people are those who are supposed to protect the members of the community and have now turned to something else, it is quite unfortunate. So, we believe the State will be able to handle it and justice will be done.

    “The case of the doctor instructing a rape patient to get hand glove for him has really shown the level of  healthcare service in  our hospital and we are really appealing to the government to equip and assist our hospitals with equipments and drugs because life is very precious,” he added.

    The president of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Com. Yinka Gbadebo in his reaction also condemned the culprit and demanded for justice for the victim.

    Omolara’s father lamenting the incident told The Nation that; “all I want is the Federal government and the State government to help me fight for justice.”

  • The Boko Haram scandal

    The Boko Haram scandal

    Truth is like gold which, in its raw form, may look like any ordinary mineral. It however stands out of the pack particularly after it has been melted. Taking it through the fire of a goldsmith, therefore, does not diminish its value. It rather enhances it.

    Besides truth, two other major phenomena of life are generally taken for granted by virtually all human beings. One is privacy which is natural and of necessity. The other is secrecy which is artificial and devilish. Professional journalists often report the one with caution and the other with passionate disdain. Thus, while privacy enjoys the protection of the law, secrecy often   incurs the wrath of the law.

    That is why any attempt to pry into other people’s privacy is often described as an invasion of privacy. In a nutshell, every secret tends to be a can of worms that is ardently guarded against exposure by its custodians.

    The above assertion is now vividly applicable to the evil carnage called Boko Haram in Nigeria which has become a frightening spectre to all citizens. The current restive situation in the country which makes the continuity of the entity called Nigeria seemingly uncertain is a confirmation of an Arab prophetic maxim rendered into a poem many centuries ago. It went thus:

    “This is the time we had been warned against in the admonitions of Ubayyi Bn Ka’b and Abdullah Bn Mas’ud; a time in which truth would be rejected in its totality while falsehood and evil machinations would be audaciously held aloft; should this situation be allowed to thrive without check; there may no longer be any cry over the death of a beloved person or joy over the birth of a new baby”.

    Given a landmark revelation, last week, about Boko Haram and its alleged sponsors, the time in reference in the above quoted poem seems to have come to quarantine Nigeria in the enclave of the Lucifer. The revelation was made through a popular television station in London by one Dr Stephen Davis, a 63 year old experienced Australian international negotiator who was allegedly hired officially by Nigerian government to negotiate with Boko Haram on the release of about 276 school girls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in Chibok, Bornu State. The innocent girls were abducted in their school premises on April 14, 2014, the following day that some heartless evil agents of the same insurgents bombed the crowded Nyanyan motor park in Abuja sending 77 innocent citizens to early graves in ‘hot blood’.

     

    Frightening revelations

    Davis, a former Cardinal of the Anglican Church, decided to blow the whistle this time around when he discovered that his contracted mission had become frustrated after meeting a brick wall. And that answers the most likely question that Nigerians may ask about the revelation: ‘why now?’

    Advancing his reason for coming up with the revelation now, the father of three children (all girls) said he could not imagine any of his children going through the agony to which the abducted Chibok girls were being subjected by the Boko Haram insurgents. He said that feeling was one of the reasons for accepting the negotiation contract in the first place. (Let us accept that fact for the purpose of argument). He regretted the length of time which the innocent Chibok girl have unnecessarily spent in the devil’s gulag and blamed it on the initial lackadaisical attitude of the government to the dangerous trend.

    In his narrative, Davis who had spent about four months in Nigeria pursuing the sensitively dangerous assignment disclosed that his frustration began when his rescue success was truncated 15 minutes before realisation last April. He gave a vivid narration of what transpired between him and the insurgents saying he would have succeeded in rescuing the first batch of 60 of those girls if the devilish insurgency body called Boko Haram had been united in one camp at that time as it is now. But, according to him, the body was divided into three different uncoordinated camps each struggling to assume the leadership of the sect based on the power generated through funding and supply of weapons.

    By his narration, Davis had completed his negotiation with one of the camps reaching a final agreement to release the 60 girls in the custody of that camp. But just 15 minutes before the release, another camp fortuitously stormed the place where the girls were kept and wielded them away. The thought, according to him, was that he (Davis) would commence a new negotiation process with the invading camp with a view to benefitting from any money involved. At that point, Davis gave up the hope of any success of his mission and left the country with a hint to the government that no such mission could succeed unless the sponsors of the Boko Haram insurgency were arrested and tried with a view to cutting off the source of funding the group. It was shortly after he left Nigeria that the different camps of Boko Haram united into a single camp under a single leadership. And that is what gave it the power to dare the Nigerian troops and acquire territories now designated Caliphate.

     

    Bokoharamgate

    In what may be termed ‘Bokoharamgate’ Davis alleged that the group’s funding largely passes through the Central Bank of Nigeria  (CBN) which technically makes it a legitimate transaction since it evades any suspicion. He asserted that some politicians and military men were solidly behind the rebellious insurgency called Boko Haram in the Northeast of Nigeria and even mentioned some names including those of a former Governor and a former Chief of Army Staff as forces behind it. (An interesting aspect of his disclosure is his exoneration of a former Presidential aspirant, General Muhammad Buhari and a former Minister of the federal Capital Territory, Nasir El-Rufai. The duo had been labeled the godfathers of Boko Haram by fellow politicians).

    According to Davis, one of the biggest suppliers of arms and military uniforms to Boko Haram is a Nigerian who lives in Egypt and receives money sent by political sponsors from Nigeria. He emphasised that the legal transaction of the funds is carried out with the help of the CBN. He added that the said official is a relative of three suspects of April 14 Abuja bombings that took 77 lives of Nigerians. In his words: “Meanwhile, the CBN official who handles the funding is an uncle to three of those arrested in connection with the Nyanya bombings. The three boys lived with him. They were arrested by the SSS (Department of State Security) after the bombings but they do not seem to have been interrogated about their uncle in CBN. Or if they have given up information about their uncle then the SSS has not moved against him… Also, a senior official of CBN, who recently left the bank, was very close to Sodiq Aminu Ogwuche, the mastermind of the Nyanya bombings who also schooled in Sudan. Boko Haram commanders said Ogwuche’s wife used to visit the top official in his office, at the headquarters of the bank, in Abuja before the Nyanya bombings”.

     

    The powerful cartel

    Davis who holds a PhD in political geography believes that “the political sponsors of Boko Haram are very powerful because they supply the finances and the arms. Until they are cut off from the group, those girls will not be released. We are talking of about 200 Chibok schoolgirls, but there are over 300 other girls that have been kidnapped. There are many young men that they also kidnapped and turned against their families. They asked them to go and slaughter their family members and they are doing it. Nobody is talking about those ones. They are the new child soldiers.”

    The expert mentioned repeatedly that the first thing to do to enable the release of the abducted children was “to stop the bagman who supplies weapons and military uniforms. We know his name, location and associates. If the man is stopped, the slaughterers, the ritual arm of the group, would be demobilised. The girls can be released afterwards. This man controls those ritualists.”

    If the above narrative is considered startling, then one can imagine the revelation that he (Davis) had hinted Nigerian government of the involvement of a cabinet Minister, some years back, when a former President (not Yar’Adua) was in the saddle. He said he hinted that former President that a particular Minister from the South-South in his cabinet was involved in the funding of Boko Haram and advised him to investigate the man, get him arrested and tried in a court of law.

    But, according to Davis, the ex-President rejected the advice on the excuse that such a trial could bring down his government.

     

    Genesis of Boko Haram

    It would be recalled that Boko Haram (Western education is forbidden) is not the actual name of the group that is now rebelling against Nigeria in the name of Islam. Its real name is ‘Jam’atu Ahlis-Sunnah Lid-Da’wah wal Jihad’ meaning: ‘Sunnah Congregation for Preaching and Strife’. The Group became known as Boko Haram because of its condemnation of Western education which it claimed to be the main cause of corruption in Nigeria. The name Boko Haram was given to the group by members of the public who were amazed by its strange preaching.

    Founded as a splinter fundamentalist Sunni group in 2002, the first leader of the group was Muhammad Yusuf, a Yobe-born cleric who resided in Maiduguri, Bornu State, where the dreaded Islamic group was founded. For the first seven years of its existence, Boko Haram was peaceful and forthright in its clerical activities except that it did not enjoy the cooperation of some other Islamic organisations in the region due to its method of preaching which was deemed abhorrent to others. Its violence tendency began in July 2009 when it had an encounter with Nigeria Police. Due to frequent complaints about the preaching methodology of the group, the Nigerian security agents began to monitor it with an eye of suspicion. And on a particular occasion when the group was returning from a cemetery where it went to bury the remains of one of its members who just died, its members were accosted by the Police who accused the sect of staging a public procession without official permit. Some members of the sect were arrested including their leader (Muhammad Yusuf) who was later shot dead in Police custody. The spontaneous reaction of the other members of the group led to the killing of about 700 of them by the Police.

    Ever since, there has not been any respite in the relationship of Boko Haram and the Nigerian Police. With the death of Yusuf, Ibrahim Shekau, his deputy, assumed the leadership of the sect. And under his leadership, the group continuously improved on its operational capabilities killing and maiming innocent lives and destroying all factors of progress in north-eastern part of the country. It was for the purpose of stopping that spate of destruction that some well-meaning Nigerians including this columnist have severally called for negotiation and possible amnesty for the insurgents. But some elements who had vested interest in a hidden agenda felt otherwise and the President accepted their opinion. Today, we can all see the result.

    If the current regime had adopted the late President Yar’Adua’s method of amnesty, perhaps the situation would not have reached this stage and so many lives would not have been lost. If Davis’ revelation is shocking those who are familiar with Nigerian security system will discover more shocking news in the fact that the last time that Nigeria really upgraded her military arsenal was 1982 when President Sheu Aliyu Uthman Shagari was in power according to privileged information.

    And if this is true what has been happening to Nigeria’s annual defence huge budgets for the past 32 years?

    Since 2011, Boko Haram has consistently maintained a steady rate of attacks striking a wide range of targets. Its trained agents have attacked politicians, religious leaders, security forces, traditional rulers and civilian targets. The tactic of suicide bombings adopted in the two major attacks in the federal capital territory on the police and UN Headquarters was new to Nigerian security and alien to the familiar mercenary culture in the West African sub-region. In Africa as a whole, it was only in Somalia that such tactic had been used by As- Shabbab and to a far lesser extent.

    And since early 2013, Boko Haram has increasingly operated in Northern Cameroon as an extension of its skirmishes along the borders of Chad and Niger. Such operations have been linked to a number of kidnappings, often reportedly in association with a splinter group called Ansaru, thereby drawing wider international attention to them.

     

    Questions

    With the above revelations coming from a federal government’s contracted expert why has the government not swung into action? And with the current situation in which Boko Haram seems to be waxing stronger, what next is in the plan of the Nigerian government for taming the monstrous shrewd? For how long are the kidnapped innocent girls expected to remain in the custody of the brutal insurgents called Boko Haram? And by the way, when will Mr President visit the region as an encouragement to Nigerian armed forces who are fencing off the Boko Haram further incursions into Nigerian? Should their efforts as well as the lives of thousands of the victims of that  obnoxious insurgency be in vain? There may be other questions for the government to answer on this highly embarrassing situation. Some of such questions may be raised in this column in the near future. God save Nigeria.

  • ‘Nigeria will face huge scandal if AMCON sells Mainstreet Bank’

    ‘Nigeria will face huge scandal if AMCON sells Mainstreet Bank’

    Jean Missinhoun, Senior Partner, Intangis Holdings, an American financial and investment company was the majority shareholder in former Afribank before it became Mainstreet Bank following its nationalisation by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in August 2011. AMCON is set to sell Mainstreet Bank in September, a move, Missinhoun has argued is counterproductive as other shareholders like Intangis were not carried along in the scheme of things. To protect its vested interests, Intangis last Wednesday filed a suit against AMCON at the Supreme Court of the State of New York, United States. Missinhoun spoke on the genesis of the dispute in an online interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf 

    Since you set up shop in 2001, could you quantify how much level of investment you have made in Africa thus far?
    Intangis Holdings is an American financial and investment company (with offices in New York and London) established in 2001 and specialised in Emerging Markets. In Africa, Intangis Holdings has been involved in long-term with high potential projects. It participates in the equity and debt securities, credit and derivatives market. Intangis Holdings’ strategic vision and perfect knowledge of the “new frontiers” gives it a unique insight into its investments in Africa. Intangis Holdings is one of the major players contributing to the development and deepening of African financial markets.
    Intangis intervened on several structured finance in Africa (private and public): participation in the development and integration of structured finance and securitisation market in the West African Monetary Union (WAMU) for the mobilisation of savings and access to long term resources.
    Intangis also works to promote integration and cooperation among some African stock markets and thus create liquidity.
    What was the total equity of your investment in former Afribank before and after it metamorphosed to Mainstreet Bank?
    Intangis had exclusive rights to Afribank and an option for majority equity participation interests.
    At the time Amcon invested in Afribank, the bank with a total assets of $3 billion was ranked 16th among West African banks according to the 2009 league table “The top 200 African banks” published by JeuneAfrique magazine. Afribank was also listed in the Dow Jones “Africa Titans 50” index.
    Mainstreet Bank is one of three bridge banks set up by AMCON to takeover some of the toxic debts of banks like Afribank. However, you claimed that AMCON used the vehicle (Mainstreet) to transfer all its assets at former Afribank in total disregard to the rule of law, thus jeopardising shareholders and creditors like Intangis. Could you shed more light on this?
    Created in 2010 to deal with non performing loans held by Nigerian banks directly affected by the 2008 international financial crisis, the Nigerian Bad Bank structure Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has broadened its mandate to the detriment of transparency and governance requirements that are essential in a global business world.
    After taking participation interests in the share capital of Afribank in 2010, AMCON organised the liquidation of the banking group and subsequent transfer of all its assets to a new structure, MainstreetBank, which it wholly owns. This liquidation, concluded between 5th and 8th August 2011, harmed all Afribank’s shareholders and creditors, including Intangis Holdings.
    You reportedly took the matter to the International Court of Arbitration on 29th April 2011, for which a preliminary decision was given in your favour in September 2013, could you expatiate on your specific prayers and reliefs granted in the ICA’s initial judgement?
    Intangis Holdings referred the matter to the International Court of Arbitration, on 29 April 2011, which issued a preliminary decision in its favour in September 2013 and took the view that MainstreetBank was party to the contract between Intangis Holdings and Afribank. This means that MainstreetBank is party to the contract.
    You claimed that AMCON’s plan to divest its investments did not factor in the liabilities of over $1.4bn. Could you elucidate further on this?
    Since that decision, Amcon has taken steps to divest from MainstreetBank while omitting to make provision as required by the international accounting rules (IFRS) for certain liabilities of the bank, estimated by Intangis Holdings at $1.4 billion. Intangis Holdings calls for compliance with the international accounting rules (IFRS).
    You have hinted of plans to pursue litigation with AMCON. At the risk of preempting you, could you tell us how and when that will be and how much damages you hope to sue for?
    On 1st of July 2014, Intangis Holdings filed a complaint for damages for tortious interference with contract against AMCON in the Supreme Court of the State of New York (United States).
    If all else fails, what other options do you hope to explore? For instance, would you consider diplomatic approach, in this case, the intervention of your home country and Nigeria’s?
    If AMCON manages, with total disregard to the rules of law, to sell MainstreetBank after having organised such a transaction and without ensuring proper reporting of the bank’s books, we would be dealing with a huge scandal. The banking group would be jeopardised, its customers endangered and its historic shareholders and creditors would suffer irreversible damages. Intangis Holdings cannot believe that the Nigerian authorities would tolerate such actions in contradiction to the requirement for transparency and good governance.

    ‘Intangis claim to Mainstreet is misplaced’

    In a statement obtained by The Nation, AMCON, while giving an overview of what led to crisis of identity between both parties, stressed that Intangis’ claim to MainstreetBank is null and void. Excerpts :

    THe background to the issue is that Intangis Holdings Limited (Intangis) recently wrote to AMCON’s advisers on the ongoing divestment by AMCON of its equity in MainstreetBank Limited (Mainstreet), stating that AMCON is procuring a breach of Intangis’ rights under a Confidentiality and Non-Circumvention Agreement, CNCA, dated 2 November 2009 between Afribank Plc (“Afribank”) and Intangis.

    “Intangis is claiming in a current proceeding at the International Court of Arbitration that Afribank contravened the provisions of the CNCA as follows: Not to enter into discussions, or negotiations with any potential investor in relation to acquisition of a portfolio of non-performing loans of Afribank; and The acquisition of a minority stake in the share capital of Afribank.

    “Intangis is further claiming that the CNCA was breached on at least two occasions by Afribank. It is clear from the above that Intangis is pursuing a frivolous claim because;

    AMCON is not a party to any agreement with Intangis; and Mainstreet did not even exist at the time Intangis signed the CNCA with Afribank.

    “Mainstreet was established following a ‘special’ audit of the Nigerian Banking sector in which Afribank was found to be in a grave situation along with 9 other banks. Afribank’s Board and Management was then replaced by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, with a view to, cleaning up the bank and repositioning it by September 2011.”

    However, when it became apparent that Afribank lacked the capacity and ability to recapitalize before the September 2011 deadline, CBN revoked Afribank’s license.

    Consequently, pursuant to Section 39 of the NDIC Act, the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) in consultation with CBN organised and incorporated three (3) “bridge banks” including Mainstreet. A Purchase and Assumption Agreement was executed by NDIC (as the statutory transferor of Afribank) and Mainstreet, who purchased assets and assumed certain liabilities of Afribank. AMCON subsequently subscribed for shares of Mainstreet in 2011.

    “Given that Intangis’ claim is anchored on the ongoing divestment of AMCON’s interest in Mainstreet, it is important to note the following:

    Neither Amcon nor Mainstreet are parties to the CNCA and neither party assumed Afribank’s obligations under the CNCA.

    “Further, the said CNCA expired on 2 November 2011 and as such there is no subsisting existing contract of which AMCON can be said to be breaching or inducing its breach. Even if the CNCA had not expired, the ongoing transaction relating to the divestment of AMCON’s shareholding in Mainstreet does not constitute a prohibited transaction under its expired terms.”

  • Kerry Washington welcomes baby girl

    Kerry Washington welcomes baby girl

    It has been 11 days since Scandal star, Kerry Washington and her husband Nnamdi Asomugha welcomed a baby girl into the world on April 21, 2014. Her name: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha. Washington reportedly gave birth in Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

    The Scandal star chose to keep mum about the birth of her daughter, But this should come as little surprise to Washington’s fans, since her and Asomugha’s wedding last July was a total shock. No one even knew they were dating.

    And in fact, Washington hadn’t spoken about her pregnancy much. She embraced her blossoming belly on the red carpet in a variety of stunning dresses (and even a crop top!), but remained quiet about the baby’s gender and her feeling about impending parenthood. The closest Washington has gotten to discussing her pregnancy was when she talked about her character, Olivia Pope, with The Hollywood Reporter:

    “I work very physically as an actor. The biggest thing for me has been the challenge of how to be this person [Olivia Pope] with the personal transformation that’s going on for me physically and how to stay true to this character. That hasn’t been easy,” the 37-year-old said in April. “It’s been an awesome challenge for me as an actor because so much of how I access character is through my body. It’s definitely been complicated to say the least.”

  • The Wendell Simlin scandal

    Mr. Agbo Agbo, I hope you are following the Wendell Simlin scandal closely,” an anonymous caller asked me last week. “Wendell Simlin? I asked, I’m sorry you are calling the wrong number.” I was about hanging up, but he persisted and said: “I am one of ‘Nigeria’s promising youths’ that read your articles in The Nation Newspaper and I am sure I’m calling the right number.” “Okay sir,” I replied, “What can I do for you?” That was how I got to know about what is now termed the Wendell Simlin scandal. So, what is all the fuss about anyway?

    Well, the fuss is both revealing and embarrassing because of the purported actor involved. It turned out that Wendell Simlin – who some smart young Nigerians later claim, is Pastor Reno Omokri, Special Assistant on New Media to President Goodluck Jonathan – sent an email through wendellsimlin@yahoo.com with an attached Microsoft Word document on Wednesday, February 26, this year. The recipients of the email were selectively picked newspaper houses and bloggers. In the email, Simlin tried to create a ‘believable’ and logical chain of events between the suspension of the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, and the increased spate of terror attacks in the northeast. Simlin’s goal and intention in the article were clear: paint the suspended CBN governor as a major financier of Boko Haram and a veteran terrorist. Since Sanusi’s last port of call before becoming the CBN governor was First Bank of Nigeria plc, He cleverly linked him to Alhaji Umaru Abdul-Mutallab, who was chairman when Sanusi was MD/CEO of the bank. Why this linkage, you may ask?

    Rewind to 2009 and you will recollect that Alhaji Abdul-Mutallab is the father of Umar Farouk Abdul-Mutallab popularly referred to as the “Underwear Bomber.” You will also recollect that the younger Abdu-Mutallab was convicted of attempting to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear while on board a Northwest Airlines Flight en route from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, United States on Christmas in Day, 2009.

    The fact that Alhaji Umaru Abdul-Mutallab was the first person to report his son to the American authorities after observing some extremist tendencies in him was not taken into consideration by Wendell Simlin, who still portrayed him as a terrorist, hoping that the elder Abdul-Mutallab’s previous relationship with Sanusi would make his argument more believable and stick.

    I later found out that twitter sphere and other social media sites had been awash with the scandal. It started when one of the recipients of the purported email, Feyi Fawehinmi, with twitter handle (@DoubleEph) checked the properties of the document sent by Wendell Simlin. The revelation was staggering: the author was Pastor Reno Omokri – the pastor of the Mind of Christ Christian Centre in California and Abuja. Yes, Reno Omokri, the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on new media! His findings indicated that the computer on which the document was prepared was registered with the name “Reno Omokri.”

    It later became evident that the mail was sent by “Reno Omokri” because of digital footprints that the Microsoft Word document and the Internet Protocol address revealed. Expectedly, “Tweeples” on Twitter last week were raw in attacking him for his “unethical use of the new media.” It was, therefore, not surprising that the hashtag #Wendellgate trended on twitter.

    Could this allegation be true? This is the million naira question that is begging for answers. Nigerians on twitter and beyond are worried that in the face of renewed and bloody onslaught of Boko Haram – which, according to Amnesty International, has left 600 dead in just two months – someone will be aiming at scoring cheap political points with no foundation. So far, and to the best of my knowledge, the Presidency has not issued a statement on the issue and Pastor Omokri is still tweeting on behalf of the government.

    If the allegations are true – the facts that stare us in the face points to that – then questions will arise: did Omokri act alone? Is he merely writing the script of an oga at the top somewhere? No matter how things are in the country, I cannot expect the Presidency to stoop to be part of an amateur smear campaign like this. This notwithstanding, could it be that some members of the cabinet are throwing everything they can at perceived political enemies?

    If we work on the theory that the Presidency cannot stoop this low, how come there has not been a comment from there? There is the possibility of Omokri acting alone. If he did act alone, why hasn’t he been sanctioned, sacked or suspended pending investigation?

    To show that you don’t mess around with the World Wide Web, Omokri’s profile on Wikipaedia now carries this information with hyperlinks. The last sentence of his profile reads – “In February 2014, New York-based Sahara Reporters linked him (through his IP address and email address) to a fake document purportedly used as evidence by Nigeria’s President to sack Nigeria’s Central Bank governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.” That’s it for you.

    The new media is part of the www ecosystem. It is immense, colossal and rich. Its contents are also historical materials that can be assessed by coming generations. Besides its historical value, it is also largely the story of people and their activities. Our inevitable dependence on new media means that its shadow is constantly with us; except that this shadow has a footprint to tell us – as well as those who care to know – that we have been somewhere. It also carries with it the ability to be specific. In some of the platform, you cannot hide or run away from it or have an alibi because it can tell the exact time you were in cyber space, what you did and for how long you did it.

    If you think you’re inconsequential then undertake a Google search of your name if you’ve ever done anything on the www. Called a vanity search, it will show you your footprints. The naïve would ask: Does Google knows me! It, he or whatever knows you because what you find is the visible footprints you have left behind. There are however the invisible ones that would take various levels of new media knowledge to unlock and access, but be sure it can be unlocked.

    For every time we like a page on Facebook or leave a comment on a site that one feels no one knows we visit, we leave a trail behind. Sadly or happily, the Internet has a memory that is sharper than that of an elephant! Online digital footprint is real. Nothing that is put out in the cyber space disappears. It stays there forever. Our digital footprints can only hurt us or enhance our work

    With the social media for example, users should never assume that what they post or share will only be seen by a few individuals. Going back to delete the post, as we have seen on several occasion, is not a guarantee that it is no longer online. It only takes one click on the ‘Print Scr’ key to retrieve documents.

    Of all the things in the world to use to ‘implicate’ an opponent why a government representative would chose terrorism beats me. Terrorism is not something to toy with. Countries such as Lebanon, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and others, will tell you in clear language that it is not child’s play as it is becoming evident in Nigeria. Advanced countries such as US and the United Kingdom with superior intelligence and technological capabilities have suffered heavy casualty and spent billions of dollars fighting terror. If this scandal is found to be true Omokri must apologise to Nigerians, especially to those who have lost loved ones to Boko Haram attacks.

    As I tried all through last weekend to digest this unfortunate incident, I came to the conclusion that we are really living in interesting times, and that our youths are definitely no push overs. We still have young Nigerians who stand for something, Nigerians who know the potential that their country have and are doing all in their very limited capacities to cause change, no matter how little the change may turn out to be. These young and courageous Nigerians will definitely have their finest hours in the years that lie ahead.

     

  • 146-GOAL SCANDAL Police Machine, Plateau Feeders, two others banned 10 years

    146-GOAL SCANDAL Police Machine, Plateau Feeders, two others banned 10 years

    •Club owners, match commissioners, officials get life bans

    THE Organising and Disciplinary Committee (O&D) of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has placed a life ban on four clubs –Plateau United Feeders, Akurba FC of Nasarawa, Police Machine FC of Adamawa and Babayaro FC of Gombe– their owners and officials involved in the 146-goal match-fixing scandal that rocked Nigerian football a fortnight ago.

    The high nature of the score line, which occurred during qualifying matches for the Nigeria Nationwide League, attracted global attention including that of the Federation of International Football Associations, (FIFA).

    In a chat with the media in Abuja yesterday, 1st Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Mike Umeh, who doubles as the Chairman of the NFF O&D, said: “It was embarrassing to the nation hence the strong stance the committee has taken.”

    “I was visibly shaken by the incident when I was informed and promptly directed that the four teams at the center of the scandal be grounded, pending further sanctions on all involved.

    “It is unacceptable. This is a scandal of huge proportions. After thorough investigations, it has been discovered that all four clubs deliberately engaged in the fraud.

    “We had invited all four clubs but only Aruba FC and Plateau United Feeders showed up. It was no doubt a fraudulent conspiracy among the teams. The winners were desperate to win while the losers were also desperate to lose.

    “We are recommending the immediate ban of all four clubs for a period of ten years. The captain of Aruba FC, who deliberately scored two own goals, will serve a life ban.

    “Similarly, the match commissioners and officials have been banned for life for their part in this show of shame,” Umeh disclosed.

    Club owners and their administrative staff were also not spared by the Disciplinary Committee as they all got life bans.

    “We are also recommending the life ban of the owners of the four clubs: Plateau United Feeders, Akurba FC, Nasarawa, Police Machine FC, Adamawa and Babayaro FC, Gombe for their part in the scam.

    “In the same vein, we are recommending sanctions for Nationwide League Board Member, Mr Tanko Bawa because he was found wanting in the whole drama, but we are leaving his case to be decided by his board,” Umeh explained.

    Umeh also said that the names of all the culprits would be published and given to the appropriate authorities for enforcement.

    “This life ban would not be like others because we are going to publish the names of all the culprits together with their pictures. We will scan all their details and give it to all the leagues. The country was really embarrassed by this, so we are taking it very seriously and will spare no resource to enforce it to the letter,” Umeh concluded.

    In a mind-boggling show never previously witnessed in Nigerian football, Plateau United Feeders somehow manufactured a 79-0 victory over Akurba FC while Police Machine FC demolished Babayaro FC 67-0.

    All teams were involved in promotion play-offs in which the winners would qualify to play in Nigeria Nationwide League Division 3.

  • $180m Halliburton scandal: AGF files N10.2b libel suit against Melaye

    $180m Halliburton scandal: AGF files N10.2b libel suit against Melaye

    •Melaye: we have not been served

    The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), has filed a N10.2billion libel suit against the Executive Secretary of Anti-Corruption Network, Mr Dino Melaye, and the registered trustees of the non-governmental organisation (NGO).

    Besides asking for N10billion as damages for alleged libel, the minister, who is the first public officer in this administration to respond to allegations of corruption against him, has asked for N200million as the cost of litigation.

    The minister has assembled an 11-man team for the legal battle, including Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN); Donald Denigwe (SAN); Babajide Koku (SAN) and Ahmed Raji (SAN).

    But Melaye said yesterday he was not aware of the suit.

    He said: “We have not been served. When we are served, we will consult our lawyers and react appropriately. But I want to say that after he has failed trying to use the police to institute a criminal libel against us, he has finally gone to court and the court will further indict him.”

    Adoke said Melaye has damaged his reputation in a publication on April 12, where he accused the minister of corrupt practices, obstruction of justice for corrupt elements and an abuse of power.

    In the suit filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the minister asked the court for “an order of perpetual injunction restraining Melaye and other defendants, their servants, agents or privies from further inferring in any manner whatsoever to the plaintiff’s reputation”.

    Melaye had raised seven allegations bordering on abuse of office against Adoke. They include the controversial cases on the N150billion allegedly recovered from the convicted former Oceanic Bank Managing Director, Mrs. Cecilia Ibru; the $180million Halliburton scandal and the return of Vaswani brothers to Nigeria after an alleged N2.5billion tax evasion.

    Some of the allegations leveled against the AGF by Melaye and the Anti-Corruption Network are as follows:

    •That Mrs Ibru, who was convicted by a Federal High Court to six months imprisonment following a fraud, was to forfeit over N150billion in cash and assets. But allegedly she entered into a plea bargain with the AGF in his office and, till date, nothing is heard on the money and the assets.

    •That the AGF refused to produce 14 witnesses that were to testify in the $180million (US) Halliburton bribery scandal, which led to the striking out of the case by Justice Abubakar Umar of an Abuja High Court.

    •That the AGF allegedly raised a memo on the case of the Vaswani brothers, who were deported for a second time in April 2009 for an alleged N2.5billion tax evasion, that they should be allowed to return to Nigeria.

    •That a case of N10billion money laundering against a former Executive Vice –Chairman of Intercontinental Bank, Erastus Akingbola, at a Federal High Court, was struck out by Justice Dan Archibong on the grounds of shoddy prosecution; yet, the AGF allegedly refused to re-file the charges.

    But in his statement of claim, Adoke averred that the “defendants deliberately, carelessly and intentionally authorised the publication of the words referred to herein knowing fully well that the words as published and as concerning the plaintiff meant in their natural and ordinary meaning in the estimation of all right thinking persons to be the following:

    •“That the plaintiff is a dishonourable person, who associates himself with criminals and economic saboteurs.

    •“That the plaintiff, even though a top government official, is sabotaging the efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria to tackle the menace of corruption.

    •“The plaintiff is dishonest and dishonourable by providing assistance to oil thieves and other criminals.

    •“That the plaintiff seeks for and receives bribes or other forms of pecuniary advantage in other to assist the selfish aims of the plaintiff and persons indicted of crime.

    •“That the plaintiff is not a fit and proper person to occupy any position of authority or responsibility including that of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

    “It is further averred that the defamatory publication by the defendants were specifically directed to the plaintiff and no other person.

     

  • ‘Match fixing scandal won’t affect AFCON 2013’

    ‘Match fixing scandal won’t affect AFCON 2013’

    The South Africa Football Association (SAFA) has said the match fixing scandal rocking the association would not affect the preparation and hosting of the 2013 African Nations Cup.

    SAFA Acting president, Mwelo Nonkonyana, told newsmen that a commission of enquiry, to be headed by a retired judge, would be set up to investigate the involvement of its officials in the scandal.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that SAFA president Kisten Nematandani and four other top officials were suspended by the emergency committee of the association on Monday.

    This was consequent upon the FIFA report implicating SAFA in the match fixing of the Bafana Bafana warm-up matches ahead of the 2010 World Cup. Nonkonyana said the suspension of the top officials does not imply that they were involved in the match scandal.

    “This action in no way implies that these individuals were involved in match-fixing. It is simply for good governance that this measure is being implemented,’’ Nonkonyana said.

    Apart from Nematandani, SAFA interim CEO Dennis Mumble, head of referees Adeel Carelse, head of national teams Lindile Kika and former head of national teams Barney Kujane, had been placed on a voluntary leave of absence after their names were mentioned in the FIFA report. They are expected to give evidence in the commission of enquiry.

    Nonkonyana, who is the current Vice-President of SAFA, would serve as acting president in Nematandani’s absence, while Pinky Lehoko had been appointed interim CEO.

    “This is a difficult situation for the association and for those who have been named in the report. We hope that there would be no speculation about their presumed guilt or otherwise. We need to allow the investigation to take place speedily and fairly, so those that are innocent can be separated from those who are not,’’ Nonkonyana said.

    He said former CEO Lesley Sedibe and former head of referees Steve Goddard would be asked to give evidence at the enquiry.

    SAFA said it had apologised to FIFA after “compelling evidence’’ was found that the results of the World Cup warm-up matches were fixed.