Court orders AGF, EFCC to submit details of assets seized from Ibru

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, Friday, ordered Attorney General of the Federation and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to within 72 hours, furnish President of Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, PSAN, Mr  Boniface Okezie, with details of property seized from former Managing Director of defunct Oceanic Bank Plc, Mrs Cecilia Ibru.

It will be recalled that Ibru was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment by former  Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Dan Abutu, after she (Ibru) pleaded guilty to a three-count charge of recklessly granting credit facilities.

Cecelia Ibru

 

Ibru had admitted granting an illegal credit facility of $20 million to WAVES Project Nigeria Limited and N2 billion unlawful credit to Petosan Farms. She also agreed that she failed to ensure that the 2009 balance sheet of Oceanic Bank was a true view of the state of affairs of the bank.
Friday, order was made by Justice Mohammed Idris in a judgment in a suit by Okezie,under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.

Okezie had prayed the court to compel EFCC, to disclose the total cash and value of property recovered from Cecilia Ibru.

He had sought to know the whereabouts of the recovered assets, and the  portion of the asset returned to Oceanic Bank and its shareholders.

He had also sought to know the source and amounts paid to  EFCC, for the prosecution of former bank Chiefs in Nigeria, the list of criminal prosecution carried out by  EFCC through private lawyers, and the reason for not utilising the commission’s counsel.

He had also asked the court to compel the AGF, to disclose the list of criminal prosecution carried out by the Ministry of Justice through private lawyers, and  why the Ministry of Justice had resorted to the use of private lawyers for prosecution, instead of lawyers in the Ministry of Justice.

In his judgment, the court held that by the provisions of sections 2 and 3 of the FOI Act, the plaintiff was conferred with the requisite “locus standi” (right) to institute the suit.

”By the provision of the FOI act, where an information is sought, public institutions are required to deliver same within seven days.

”Where however it declines, it must elicit valid grounds for its refusal in writing to the applicant within seven days. In the instant suit, it appears that the AGF has not declined to provide the required information, but had sought for adequate time within which to collate the required information and serve same on the applicant, whereas, the EFCC had bluntly refused to comply.

” I am of the view that on receipt of the plaintiff’s request, EFCC had a duty to respond, but in this case, they simply kept mute. Let me say, that non of the defendants has such powers under the law.

”The EFCC had failed to file any counter affidavit stating the reasons for its failure to avail the plaintiff with the required information.

In my view, the defendant did not show that by its non disclosure, it was protecting the certainty, deliberative or policy making process within the agency.

”EFCC has not shown that it is protecting the disclosure of an information that will constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the privacy of individuals in the agency, or that would contaminate its court proceedings.

I am of the view in this case, that non of the information required by the plaintiff threatens the national security.

”The FOI act is meant to promote democracy, transparency, justice and development. It is designed to change how government works, because we all like Nigerians, have resolved that it should no longer be business as usual.

”Therefore, every public institution “Must” prepare itself for a full implementation of the FOI act, and the judiciary has no choice but to comply with the enforcement of the act. Obedience to the rule of law especially by those who take oath of office in public institutions, is a “desideratum” to good governance.

”Judgment is hereby given in favour of the plaintiff, and the defendants are directed to provide the said information within 72-hours of this judgment.

The law is the last resort of human wisdom and the court will never sanction what is injurious to the public. this is the judgment of this court,” the court ruled.

Vanguard

Richard Mofe Damijo Embezzled 50 Million Naira – EFCC

Popular actor, Richard Mofe Damijo is allegedly in some money mess – he has been accused of embezzling N50million…Read on…

The acting General Manager of Delta State Tourism Board, Philo Nkem Ajufo, has been detained by the EFCC in Abuja for conniving with her boss, Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD is the commissioner in charge of the ministry), to embezzle N50 million from the state Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

It was learned that Mr. Mofe Damijo issued a check to the tourism board in the name of its acting GM, Ms. Ajufo. She in turn reportedly deposited the sum into her First Bank private account with account number (3006131619) operated under her name, Nkem Philo Ajufo…(she and Mr. Mofe Damijo subsequently shared the money.)

An EFCC source who confirmed Ms. Ajufo’s arrest said “As we talk, the Delta State Tourism GM, one Mrs. Nkem Ajufo, is been held in our headquarters here in Abuja over her involvement in the N50 million fraud. Her boss, Mr. Richard Mofe Damijo, is not left out….”

Meanwhile, Mr. Mofe Damijo has denied knowledge of the money during the budget defense exercise but he is yet to appear before the EFCC, Saharareporters reports.

Richard Mofe Damijo was one of the  notable Nigerians that attended the Grammy awards 2013.

Prof Chukwuma Soludo And His Many Trouble !

Prof Chukwuma Soludo

It was not for lack of trying that I couldn’t do a one-on-one with Chukwuma Soludo. Until I went to bed last night, I was still hopeful of getting the chance to feel the pulse of the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in light of his current “discussion” with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The nearest I got was a number of very short telephone conversations.

He assumed, quite rightly, that I wanted an interview, and hoped that I would understand why he has preferred not to grant one at the moment. On my insistence, however, he wasn’t entirely averse to the idea of meeting him to feel the environment around him. It’s just that, to use his words, “Let me see…I have a series of meetings lined up, starting in an hour’s time.” In this business, there’s always how far you can go. It then became a matter of praying and hoping…

And, to be quite honest, I didn’t expect much from the encounter, even if he were to consent to a full-blown interview. You can always tell what his reply would be to the question: Did you do it? “No, I swear to God, I didn’t do it.” There will also be the bit about “They are after me”. Who are “they”? “My political enemies, of course!”

Among the entries about him in Wikipedia is that “Soludo is a core professional in the business of macroeconomics.” That’s ok considering that the man, in the process of obtaining degrees, including a First Class Honours from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, won prizes for the best student at all three levels.

Fittingly and deservedly, he has been visiting scholar at the International Monetary Fund, the University of Cambridge, the Brookings Institution, the University of Warwick and the University of Oxford, and a visiting professor at Swarthmore College (USA). He has also worked as a consultant for a number of international organisations, including The World Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and the United Nations Development Programme.

However, looking at his life so far, Soludo, born July 28, 1960, has earned more fame – or notoriety, depending on your value judgment of his position – for his activities as a political officeholder and politician.

Among those who will settle for notoriety are 23 of the 47 aspirants for the ticket of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who raised issues around the transparency of the process that led to settling for Soludo as the consensus candidate for the position on October 9, 2009 to contest the Anambra gubernatorial election of February 9, 2010. This was after attempts to hold elective primaries were stalled by court injunctions.

Indeed, Soludo is the first CBN governor to draw attention to himself the way politicians would. In the process, he made political statements where technical perspectives on issues would have been more appropriate. An example was when he swore that the Nigerian economy was immune to the then festering global economic meltdown.

There were also many who questioned the rationale for the polymerisation of the paper currency; not to mention the justification for the huge sums sunk on the project, ignoring the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company and, instead, heading overseas to get printers to do the job.

Not long after, he came up with the idea, a la Ghana, to re-decimalise the naira. Of course, the whole nation stood in unison against implementation of what was widely viewed as stupendous brainwave.

Interestingly, this is where the “enemies” who have been stalking the baritone-voiced Soludo have sneaked in from.

It can also be said that Soludo has an incompetent media aide. That’s the only way you can describe someone who will subscribe to the issuance of the following statement in response to the hot news that his principal had been arrested by EFCC: “We want to put it on record clearly that the media reports that Professor Chukwuma Soludo was arrested by the operatives of the EFCC in Abuja is totally false or written in error.” Even if he was instructed to release such a statement, he should have been professional enough to advise against the embarrassing piece of information that contradicted the facts on ground. Does he not realise that EFCC has its own media professionals whose briefs, among others, is to alert the media to its intended action?

What purpose was the denial intended to serve? Does he still controvert the fact that, stemming from a complaint by a non-governmental organisation, Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) dating back to May 23, 2012, last Thursday, EFCC interrogated and released Soludo at about 8 pm on administrative bail?

It is now public knowledge that an Australian newspaper, The Age, first published the allegation that Securency International bribed some Nigerian officials to the tune of about N750 million to be awarded polymer banknote printing contracts. Securency is the world’s leading producer of the polymer substrate used in the production of plastic banknotes.

The report alleged that the money was passed to Nigerian officials through two British businessmen, Benoy Berry and Michael Harvey. The petition recalled that the Australian Federal Police Authority had sent a top confidential memo to the presidency through the Office of the National Security Adviser.

The petition gave an account of the investigations into the allegations that Securency funnelled several millions of dollars in bribe into the offshore bank accounts of the two British businessmen for payment to Nigerian officials to facilitate the award of the contract to the company.

Soludo joined the federal government in 2003. Prior to his May 2004 appointment to the CBN governorship, he held the positions of chief economic adviser to former President Obasanjo and chief executive of the National Planning Commission of Nigeria.
Having had his expectation of a second term as CBN governor turned down by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Soludo announced his aspiration for the seat of the governor of Anambra in September 2009.

In a May 14, 2012 post on his facebook page, Soludo shares his thoughts on Nigerian politics with his fans. Saying that it is no longer complimentary to describe somebody as a politician, he adds: “To many people, a politician is a liar, a corrupt person, a thug, or simply a dishonourable person.” He continued: “My experience so far tells me that Nigeria is in a deep trouble.”

However, he doesn’t despair, saying: “But my most useful years were the years I was into the murky waters of politics. I have no regrets because there was contribution to make.”

I wanted, even without the benefit of a full-blown interview, to find out if the man’s optimism is still intact. I won’t give up until I catch up with Charles Chukwuma Soludo, CFR.

I pray he survives this.

Adieu, Victor Akinloye Ogundipe

By the time I joined The Guardian early in 1983, Victor Ogundipe was already a household name in the kind of journalism that I’m now involved in. As editor of Financial Punch, he was up there in a way that gave the impression that he was an older person. Yet, he was only 58 when he died!

The nearest I got to knowing him was his younger sister Gloria, a most beautiful lady then in the Advert section who later got married to our good friend Bisi Ogunbadejo. Based in the UK, she currently writes a column on mental health for Punch. I remember getting invited to a bash at the residence of the Ogundipes in Maryland in those days. What a night!

Last December, Victor gave up the ghost. Between them, Victor’s children in the US and Nigeria, his wife and sister Gloria gave some of the most moving tributes and in some of the most compelling prose on Victor. Much as I feel obliged to take my turn, how much of him did I know to be able to do justice to the effort, beyond what professionally closer persons have done? It then occurred to me that my friend Yomi Tunde Adepoju, who is now based in the US, was in a far better position than anyone else in the banking sector to put Victor in perspective. But was he aware that Victor had passed on? Over to Tunde:

Wow, what a tragedy! Yes, I met Victor (sounds moot). Our paths crossed in what was then an enviable IBWA/Afribank. We both passed through Commerce at different times. I was surprised that as recently as 2011, Victor was here (at Georgia State) on a graduate program.

Victor was one of those 80s’ symbols of a quintessential future that Nigeria seemed poised to claim, but squandered with reckless abandon. A beloved motherland was hijacked by political adventurers and conniving military misfits, serially infected with rudderless leadership (Drucker’s “mis-leadership”) and left prostrate. I agree with those who posit that a followership deserves the leadership it gets. As passionless as that might sound, the theory seemed as true today as it did yesterday. Nigerians had, and still have, a choice: whether or not they exercise that choice is a different proposition.

May the gentle, brilliant soul of Victor Ogundipe abide with his Maker. Give my condolences to his families, immediate and extended. And thank you, Tommy, for keeping me in the loop.

 

 

businessday

Babalakin vows to show up in court as EFCC declares him wanted

The Chairman of Bi-Courtney Highway Services Limited, Wale Babalakin

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared the Chairman of Bi-Courtney Highway Services Limited, Wale Babalakin (SAN) wanted in connection with a case of criminal conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of N4.7billion.

 

The businessman who was supposed to have reported to the anti-graft agency on Wednesday, ahead of his arraignment on a 27 count criminal charge before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo of the Lagos High Court on Thursday, January 17, 2013 failed to do so.

According to the statement Mr Babalakin has “gone underground” as he failed to show up at the commission as expected.

But in a swift reaction, the Head of Communications, Bi-Courtney Ltd, Mr Dipo Kehinde, denied the claim by EFCC stating that “Babalakin was in touch with EFCC by 5pm today. They asked him to report at their office tomorrow before he goes to court. Tonight, he was declared wanted.”

“We don’t understand the game that EFCC is playing” he stated adding that “this is nothing but a deep political game.”

“Since Babalakin came out of the hospital, he had reported at the EFCC office in Lagos for more than 5 times. He was also there on Tuesday. He is on EFCC’s administrative bail. He’s not a man on the run. We have a date in court tomorrow, but EFCC wants to give jungle justice.”

EFCC Arrests Soludo

Chukwuma Soludo

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and an aspirant in the 2010 governorship poll in Anambra State, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo.

His arrest, according to a source at the EFCC office in Abuja, was in connection with the Australian polymer banknotes bribery scam, which occurred between 2006 and 2008 when he held sway as CBN governor. Confirming his arrest, Head of Publicity of EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren said Soludo was arrested yesterday morning, adding that he was in the custody of the commission.

“We have Soludo in our custody and it is part of an ongoing investigation over his involvement in the award of contract and printing of polymer banknotes when he was the governor of the CBN.” Operatives of the EFCC arrested Soludo at his Abuja residence. A source at the commission who confided in Daily Sun hinted that other senior CBN staffers who served during Soludo’s tenure were being detained as well as those from the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc.

The source declined to disclose the names of others currently being detained along with Soludo. A close source, however, told Daily Sun correspondent that 12 others were also in the commission’s custody.

It was further gathered that Soludo, alongside others involved in the scandal, might be arraigned as soon as ongoing investigations were concluded by the commission. “As soon as the commission concludes its ongoing investigations and we have enough evidence, Soludo and others will be charged to court,” the source hinted.

The commission’s spokesman however debunked insinuations that Soludo’s arrest was connected with any perceived political difference with the presidency over his unwavering support for former vice president Atiku Abubakar during the 2011 PDP presidential primaries. Investigations by the EFCC and Soludo’s arrest were sequel to a petition written by Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) in May 2012, calling on the commission to investigate contract scam in the award of polymer banknotes printing.

According to the Chairman of HEDA, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju, the petition had demanded the investigation and possible prosecution of serving and former government officials, particularly CBN staffers indicted in the scandal which resulted from the printing of polymer naira notes during the tenure of Prof. Soludo between 2006 and 2008.

The petition had requested both the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to pursue the investigation and prosecution as provided by laws establishing both commissions. The current naira bills which were allegedly printed in Australia in a questionable deal, following which a local newspaper had reported that former workers at Securency, The Reserve Bank of Australia’s currency firm, had told the police the firm produced millions of partly made Nigerian banknotes without authorisation from the Nigerian authorities.

The newspaper report had noted that the Australian Federal Police had subsequently investigated Securency over alleged bribery of foreign officials, including Nigerian and Vietnamese officials, to win contracts in these countries. HEDA’s petition, according to Mr. Suraju, drew attention to the fact that the newspaper report that Securency paid N750 million in bribe to some officials of the CBN between 2006 and 2008 to secure the contract to make polymer notes for Nigeria, channelling the bribe through Benoy Berry and Michael Harvey, two British businessmen.

HEDA chairman said: “The petition reminded the anti corruption institutions of a publication of Sydney Herald that on September 29, 2009, a day before the launch of the N5, N10 and N15 polymer notes, Benoy Berry, one of the British businessmen sent a letter to Myles Curtis (then Managing Director of Securency International Pty Limited, an Australian company) alleging a breach of contract and accusing the bank note company of bribing top officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria to secure contract for Securency. “He also accused Securency of breaching polymer-based mint planned to be established in Nigeria as part of principled objectives of transferring technology to developing nations.”

He had added that the Australian Federal Police Authority sent a high level confidential security memo to the Presidency through the Office of the National Security Adviser detailing a bribery probe that centred on the series of multi million-dollar payments by Securency into offshore bank accounts of the two British-based businessmen for onward transfer to Nigerian government officials to secure the bank-note deal.

“Prominent among the names featured in the secret memo were that of the then CBN governor, Frof. Soludo, senior officials of the finance ministry and a former president,” the statement by HEDA had stated.

Dailysun