Alleged Corruption: Court Orders Business Man To Forfeit 5 Houses To Federal Govt
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja and presided over by Justice A. I. Chikere has ordered a business man, Hima Abubakar to forfeit five houses he acquired through means considered to be inappropriate to the Federal Government.
The business man along with his company, Hima Aboubakar and Societe D’ Equipment International Nigeria Limited, will also forfeit a total sum of N46, 060, 373.84.
Abubakar and his firm, Societe D’ Equipment International Nigeria Limited, were dragged before the Federal High Court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on account of assets and properties acquired with suspected proceeds of unlawful activities.
In an application for the final forfeiture of the assets filed by EFCC counsels, Abba Muhammed and M. A Lamin, in Suit No: FHC/ ABJ/ CS/ 507/ 2020, prayed that the assets be forfeited to the government.
Justice Chikere, after reviewing the requirements for the forfeiture, said: “the applicant has satisfied the condition for grant of reliefs sought and accordingly the reliefs sought are granted as prayed.”
He subsequently ordered the forfeiture of the properties and money to the government.
The five properties forfeited include: House Number 6, Ethiopia Close, Off Owena close, Maitama Abuja; Plot 3515, Cadastral Zone A06 Maitama District, Abuja; Plot 3516, Cadastral Zone A06 Maitama District, Abuja; Plot 3518, Cadastral Zone A06 Maitama District, Abuja and Plot 3519, Cadastral Zone A06 Maitama District, Abuja. Also, a total sum of N46 million found in the bank accounts of Mr Aboubakar and his firm, were also forfeited to the government.
The breakdown of the money include N1, 143, 314.50, found in the Zenith Bank Account Number 1013860768 of Societe D’ Equipment International Nigeria Limited (SEINL) and the sum of $66, 417.60 found in the Zenith Bank Account Number 5070345440 of SEINL. Others are: N5, 802, 925.03 in Aboubakar’s Zenith Bank Account Number: 1004540143, €15, 288.08 in Zenith Bank Account Number: 5080095319 and $17, 607.75 in his Zenith Bank Account Number: 5070410935. The sum of N 304,864,81 in Aboubakar’s First Bank Account Number: 3083229135 was also forfeited to the government.
Aboubakar’s troubles started when he was declared wanted by the EFCC in a case of criminal conspiracy, contract scam, misappropriation of public funds, money laundering and fraud to the tune of $394 million, €9.9 million and N369 million.
He allegedly received the funds for the purchase of equipment for the Nigerian military but investigations revealed discrepancies in the supply of the equipment.
Buhari, For The First Time In 4 Months, Flies Out Of Nigeria Tomorrow, To Mali
President Muhammadu Buhari, for the first time since coronavirus arrived, will fly out of the country tomorrow, July 23, heading to Bamako, Republic of Mali on a one-day visit.
His trip is backgrounded on the briefing by the ECOWAS Special Envoy to the country, former President Goodluck Jonathan.
A statement today, July 22, by the special adviser to the President on media and publicity, Femi Adesina said that President Buhari and some ECOWAS leaders, led by the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the sub-regional organisation, President Issoufou Mahamadou of Niger Republic, had agreed to meet in Mali to engage in further consultations towards finding a political solution to the crisis in the country.
The statement said that the host President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Presidents Machy Sall of Senegal, Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana and Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire are expected to participate in the Bamako meeting.
It recalled that former President Jonathan was at the State House in company of President of ECOWAS Commission,Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, on Tuesday to brief President Buhari on the unfolding situation in Mali, necessitating the visit of ECOWAS leaders to consolidate on the agreements reached by various parties.
“We will ask the President of Niger, who is the Chairman of ECOWAS to brief us as a group, and we will then know the way forward,” the statement quoted President Buhari as saying.
He thanked Dr Jonathan for his comprehensive brief on the situation in Mali, “which you had been abreast with since when you were the sitting Nigerian President.”
The former President had filled in President Buhari on his activities as Special Envoy to restore amity to Mali, rocked by protests against President Keita, who has spent two out of the five years second term in office.
A resistance group, M5, is insisting that the Constitutional Court must be dissolved, and the President resign, before peace can return to the country.
Crisis had erupted after the court nullified results of 31 parliamentary seats in the polls held recently, awarding victory to some other contenders, which the resistance group said was at the instigation of President Keita.
Riots on July 10 had led to the killing of some protesters by security agents, causing the crisis to spiral out of control, hence the intervention by ECOWAS.
Nigeria Customs Service Board Promotes 2,634 Officers, Dismisses One
The Nigeria Customs Service Board (NCSB) has confirmed the promotion of 2,634 officers, including the former customs spokesperson and current Vice President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR). Adewale Adeniyi.Federal Govt Creates Nigerian Youth Investment Fund, Sets N75 Billion Aside For It
For the first time in the history of Nigeria, The Federal Government, for the first time in the history of Nigeria, has approved the establishment of the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) to the tune of N75 billion.
This fund, according to the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, is meant to create a special window for accessing credit facilities and financing for the youths that will help to fund their ideas, innovations and also support their enterprise.
Speaking to newsmen today, July 22 at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the presidential villa, Abuja, the Minister, said that for the first time, the country will have a youth bank.
He said that it is a fund that will cater specifically for the youth within the stipulated age band, “which is going to be between 18 and 35 years.
“The second approval that was secured was for the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development to play a leading role in working on necessary steps that need to be taken in terms of legislation, organisation and other aspects of financing.
“The Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning will take the lead when it comes to the aspect of financing, working with the CBN, the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and other relevant MDAs.
“A couple of other details will be released later, but I think the most important thing is that the N75 billion Nigerian Youth Investment Fund, to cater specifically for this target group, a population of over 68 million.”
Sunday Dare said that the fund will be accessed by the youths, saying: “once they are able to present their ideas, they can access this fund directly.”
Suspended EFCC Boss, Magu, Names Beneficiaries Of Recovered Loots
EFCC boss, Ibrahim MaguThe suspended acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu has named a number of institutions and government agencies that benefitted from the recovered loots.
This is contained in a letter titled: “Re: Alleged Case of Conspiracy, Enrichment, Abuse of Public Office and Other Infractions,” which his lawyer attempted to submit to the Justice Ayo Salami-led presidential panel investigating him. The letter was in response to an earlier report by the Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Assets in which Magu was accused of being unable to account for the interest accrued to N550 billion recovered funds as well as recovered vehicles and houses.
Magu said in the letter that some of the agencies which received the vehicles on auction had not paid for them and that there was an arrangement that the money would be deducted from their financial allocations.
According to him, some of those recovered by the EFCC were auctioned to the Presidential Villa, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development as well as the Federal Inland Revenue Services and other agencies.
“The commission presently has presidential approval to dispose over 450 forfeited vehicles located in Lagos and Abuja. The vehicles have been valued by the National Automotive Council Valuers and the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing. But no sale/disposal has been conducted yet.”
Magu said that some houses permanently forfeited to the Federal Government by looters have also been handed over to some government agencies like the Voice of Nigeria, North -East Development Commission and the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate.
It was gathered that the panel insisted it would not accept the letter which Magu’s lawyer, Wahab Shittu attempted to submit on Monday.
“An attempt to submit the letter to the secretary of the panel on Monday failed. Magu’s team was informed that the panel does not entertain letters but it is purely an investigative one. If there is a need for clarification, Magu would be invited,” a source was quoted saying.
Magu was arrested by the police on July 6, detained for about 10 days and made to appear before the investigative panel on a daily basis.
Source: The Punch.
Photo: President Buhari Receives ECOWAS Special Envoy To Mali Led By Former. President Jonathan
PRESIDENT BUHARI RECEIVES ECOWAS DELEGATION TO MAIL LED BY PRESI JONATHAN. 5A&B. The President Muhammadu Buhari receives Former President and Leader ECOWAS Delegation to Mali Political crisis Dr Goodluck Jonathan on their delegation Mission to Mali held at the State House Abuja. PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE. JULY 21 2020
PRESIDENT BUHARI RECEIVES ECOWAS SPECIAL ENVOY TO MAIL LED BY PRESI JONATHAN. 3 President Muhammadu Buhari, ECOWAS Special Envoy to Mali and former Dr Goodluck Jonathan and President of ECOWAS Commission, H.E Jean-Claude Kassi Brou held at the State House Abuja. PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE. JULY 21 2020
PRESIDENT BUHARI RECEIVES ECOWAS SPECIAL ENVOY TO MAIL LED BY PRESI JONATHAN. 2A President Muhammadu Buhari receives ECOWAS Special Envoy to Mali and former Dr Goodluck Jonathan and the ECOWAS delegation held at the State House Abuja. PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE. JULY 21 2020
PRESIDENT BUHARI RECEIVES ECOWAS SPECIAL ENVOY TO MAIL LED BY PRESI JONATHAN. 0A. President Muhammadu Buhari receives ECOWAS Special Envoy to Mali and former President Dr Goodluck Jonathan and the ECOWAS delegation held at the State House Abuja. PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE. JULY 21 2020Presidency Accuses Sahara Reporters Publisher, Sowore Of Telling Lies Against The Dead
The presidency has accused the publisher of SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore of telling lies against late Malam Isma’ila Isa Funtua who died yesterday over his role in his arrest and detention by the Department of State Security (DSS) recently.
In a statement today, July 21, senior special assistant to the President on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu said that late Isa Funtua on his own, called him (Garba Shehu) to ask that he broker a meeting with him and two others with the SSS, which they agreed to.
“First, it is important to state that the meeting was not instructed by the government. Nobody sent anybody to go and “negotiate” Sowore’s freedom as he put it.
“It is important that I state that it was the force of Malam Isma’ila’s argument that made the meeting possible. “Vanguard Newspapers publisher, Sam Amuka and ThisDay Publisher and President, Nigerian Press Organisation, Nduka Obaigbena, all agreed that Sowore was a “rascal”, who had used his newspaper “to abuse all of us,” but agreed, nonetheless to go and press for his release.
“As the late Isma’ila put it, although he (Sowore) got into his problems due to politics, not journalism, the fact of him being a publisher imposed a duty on the media leaders to seek ways of making free.”
Garba Shehu said that the meeting ended well, and that contrary to the posturing by Sowore, he said he was happy with a resolution proposed but that his lawyer needed to come on board.
“The fence mending process, apparently collapsed after the the meeting of the trio with the lawyer in Lagos.
“I don’t know what Sowore wants to achieve by distorting the facts of what transpired, but my advice to him is that he should stop his attacks on a dead, well-meaning intercessor.
“Knowing the way the secret service works, it should surprise no one if they keep a recording of that meeting. “Faced with this posturing and the unfair attacks on the dead, we certainly will be forced to ask for the release of tapes, in case they are available for the public to judge.”
Which Tactic Is There Left To Try? By Mahmud Jega
Every now and then, an important item in the news tends to remind me of something. Get Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said last Tuesday that this country should try new tactics in the fight against corruption, he reminded me of Nasiru Imam, Deputy Managing Editor of Daily Trust and long-time secretary of its Editorial Board.
Some years ago, the editorial board was discussing the problem of teachers’ salaries, which were in arrears in many states. One member said the system of paying teachers through State Basic Education Commissions [SBECs] is failing. Another member however said funds for paying teachers’ salaries were once paid directly to local governments. The system was ended because many LGAs diverted them. Yet another member pointed out that in the 1980s-early 1990s, Babangida regime centralized the payment of teachers’ salaries in the National Primary Education Commission [NPEC] but that arrangement also ran into problems. Nasiru Imam dropped his pen, sighed and said, “Every method has been tried. Nothing worked.”
Osinbajo spoke at an Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission [ICPC] regional webinar on “Combatting Corruption and Illicit Financial Flows: New Measures and Strategies.” He said we must democratize the fight against corruption and protect whistle blowers. Very good. He is looking for another method to fight corruption. In the last 60 years in Nigeria, which tactic have we not tried in fighting corruption?
We have overthrown governments because of corruption. Those who overthrew the First Republic in January 1966; those who overthrew the Gowon regime in 1975; those who killed General Murtala Mohammed in 1976; those who overthrew the Second Republic in 1983 as well as those who voted out the Jonathan Administration in 2015 all alleged that it was due to corruption. We later realized that Sardauna, Balewa, Gowon, Murtala and Shagari had no money.
We tried affidavits. In 1974, Godwin Daboh filed an affidavit against Federal Commissioner for Communications Joseph Tarka while Aper Aku filed another affidavit in court against Benue Plateau State Military Governor, Police Commissioner Joseph Gomwalk, both alleging corruption. We tried a purge. In 1975-76 Murtala purged thousands of public servants in all sectors. He used the harshest words and the sternest language including summary dismissal, dead woods, with ignominy, with immediate effect, betrayed the ethics of their professions, and they should be ashamed of themselves.
We tried Public Complaints Commission, which Murtala formed in 1976 with the hyper-active Yusuf Maitama Sule as its first Federal Commissioner. When that did not work, we tried exhortation. In 1977 Head of State General Obasanjo went to Jaji and made the Jaji Declaration, that Nigeria must create a society that is fair, just, humane and African. It failed.
In 1981 President Shehu Shagari tried an Ethical Revolution. It hardly got off the ground so in 1983, he created an Egypt-style Ministry of National Guidance with Yusuf Maitama Sule as the minister. It made no impact either, so in 1984-85 we tried a War Against Indiscipline, WAI. Buhari/Idiagbon regime launched it in five brutal phases, complete with a WAI Brigade that became notorious for its excesses.
General Buhari also signed the Recovery of Public Property [Special Military Tribunals] Decree no 3 of 1984. The Special Military Investigation Panels turned the doctrine of justice on its head. They said based on a former public office holder’s declaration of assets, he was presumed guilty until he could prove his innocence. Though who couldn’t do so were turned over to Special Military Tribunals, which jailed dozens of former governors, ministers and other top officials, some for up to 300 years. Many governors were jailed for donating public funds to their political parties.
We tried court cases. Gani Fawehinmi filed an innumerable number of suits to challenge every suspected corrupt act by the Babangida regime, including Mrs. Babangida’s pet Better Life for Rural Women. We tried Failed Banks Tribunals. General Sani Abacha created them with much fanfare. They jailed many bankers and bank debtors, even though Abacha himself nearly bankrupted the Central Bank.
Under General Abdulsalami Abubakar, we began efforts to retrieve looted assets. Recovering the Abacha loot has been on for 22 years now. In 1999, President Obasanjo promised in his inaugural address to fight corruption. Five years later he created EFCC and ICPC. Later, EFCC created NFIU, which is now an independent body. We even tried an Anti-corruption Advisory, which EFCC issued just before the 2007 elections.
We tried a Freedom of Information Act but unlike in America, government agencies here routinely ignore FOI requests. Obasanjo also did a Servicom, with units in every ministry and agency but that did not dent corruption. A lot of human rights and anti-corruption NGOs also sprang up in Nigeria, mostly populated by left-wingers who were left ideologically stranded by the East Bloc’s collapse in 1989.
We tried Code of Conduct Bureau for public officers but since their assets declaration is kept secret, the Code of Conduct Tribunal that tries violators has very little work to do. We tried parliamentary Public Accounts Committees. They were very powerful in the First Republic but these days they have no audit reports to work on, since most government agencies never audit their accounts. We tried preaching; Muslim imams and Christian pastors have shouted themselves hoarse from the pulpits against corruption, to no avail. Sometimes they practice if you cant beat them, join them.
Newspaper editors, reporters and columnists also did what they can in the war against corruption. Nearly every day in the last 50 years, exposes of corrupt deeds were the lead stories in many Nigerian newspapers. No one can count the feature articles, opinion columns and editorials written against corruption. In recent years the social media joined in the fight, not always appropriately.
Nigeria Police too did its best, arrested and charged to court thousands of people for acts of corruption, even if they were less than one-tenth of the culprits. Ditto for the courts; they have jailed thousands of people for corruption in the last 60 years, after ponderous trials and appeals, but let many thieves off the hook. In 2007 President Umaru Yar’adua tried adherence to rule of law as an anti-corruption strategy. That did not work either. President Jonathan’s biggest contribution to the anti-corruption war was to make a distinction between ordinary stealing and corruption, which he later said he heard from the Chief Justice.
We tried whistleblowing but the blowers were left unpaid. In the last 10 years, we deployed technological tools including BVN, TSA and EFCC’s Eagleclaw against corruption. They made a dent, but not all that much. President Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign, launched in 2015, at first held the highest promise but it had no blueprint and totally relied on EFCC. It recently came crashing down in flames.
Even the force of personal example did not help. You can’t have a simpler national leader than Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. That iconic 1965 photo of him, on leave in Bauchi, taken by a white journalist, sitting on a local mat, his two children around him, eating sugar cane, no sign of security guards or limos, no mansion behind him, no exquisite furniture, no Persian rugs, no contract files in sight and no fawning aides nearby. Yet he was killed by totally misguided soldiers for alleged corruption.
Sardauna Ahmadu Bello, after being overwhelming Premier of the North for 12 years, governing 20 of today’s 37 states including FCT, had only one personal car, a Pontiac, when he was killed in the January 1966 coup. When I interviewed his personal driver Nuhu Direba in Sokoto in January 1991, he told me that two days after the coup, he evacuated Sardauna’s family to Sokoto in that lone car. It was too small to accommodate their bags so Sardauna’s Principal Private Secretary Hassan Lemu went and borrowed another car. The family left for Sokoto in that two-vehicle convoy.
Sardauna had no house in Kaduna that his family could repair to. Even though under his rule, Ministry of Lands carved out hundreds of GRA plots and allocated them to senior civil servants and merchants, Sardauna got none. In Sokoto too, he had only one modest house even though before he became Premier in 1954, he was the Northern Region Minister of Works, Community Development and Local Governments, in charge of all Emirs, Chiefs and Native Authorities. Before that, he was Councillor in charge of Sokoto NA’s Central Office, i.e. SSG of today’s Sokoto and Zamfara states combined. Which personal example again is anyone talking about?
I wish Prof Osinbajo luck in his search for a new tactic. I can’t think of any that has not been tried already.
Culled from Daily Trust.