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#MainaGate: Maina Should Prove His Innocence In Court, Not To Buhari – Jiti Ogunye

By: Bhodemarz on November 29, 2017 / comment : 0 , , , , ,

Legal Practitioner, Mr Jiti Ogunye, has asked the embattled former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Mr Abdulrasheed Maina, to present himself before the court rather than requesting to meet with the President.
Mr Ogunye described Maina’s comments and request to meet with the president as “cock and bull stories”, as well as an attempt to evade the justice system.
He made this known on Channels Television’s Sunrise daily, in response to an exclusive interview of Maina in which he insisted that he was innocent of the allegations preferred against him.

READ ALSO: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Maina Breaks Silence, Begs Buhari For Chance To Prove Innocence
“Maina wants to meet with Mr Presdient over what? Do we even respect our court at all? Do we respect our judicial process? Do you know that in this country, Supreme Court justices are being tried in court? Who is he to be saying that he wants to recover money?
“Present yourself, you are a fugitive from justice. Have your day in court prove your innocence there – that is the law that I know. All this talk about I want to see the president – for what? He has seen the Attorney General of the Federation and he told us that he visited Maina to the knowledge of the National Security Adviser of Nigeria”.

Mr Ogunye, speaking further about the involvement of the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, in Maina’s return and reinstatement, described the situation as a disgraceful and monumental scandal.
The AGF had denied having any involvement when he appeared before the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee, set up to investigate the case, last week.
READ ALSO: Letter For Maina’s Reinstatement Didn’t Come From My Office – AGF
He also gave a detailed report of recoveries made, as well as an existing pension fraud syndicate made up of politicians, legislators and retired civil servants, as well as Maina himself.
Mr Ogunye, however, stressed that “the AGF should concern himself with the role he played, whether legally, morally, ethically, even politically, it was correct for him to have played that role.
“In the course of his testimony before that committee, the AGF was forced to disclose that he visited Maina in Dubai.
“What is the business of the Attorney General of the Federation, visiting a fugitive from justice outside the shores of Nigeria,” he questioned.
“My presumption was that a deal was struck on how to bring Maina back into the country behind the back of Nigerians, reinstate him and then launder him back to service”.
According to Mr Ogunye, contrary to what Malami said, all fingers point at him as being at the centre of Maina’s reinstatement.
“What he said has been disproved by others including the head of service. According to them, he was the one who initiated, instigated and triggered the whole process by writing letters and issuing directives to the Federal Civil Service Commission.”
Giving a suggestion to the government on what should be done, he said rather than taking Maina seriously and having a sit down with him, the government should take itself seriously.
“The government should on the contrary, take Maina seriously by bringing Maina to justice,” he asserted.
Meanwehile, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Robert Clarke, who also spoke on the breakfast show, supported the idea that Maina should be given a chance to speak with President Buhari.


Source: ChannelsTV


#MainaGate: Buhari ordered AGF Malami to meet with me, ensure my reinstatement – Maina

By: Bhodemarz on November 29, 2017 / comment : 0 , , , ,

The embattled former chairman of the Presidential Pension Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, on Tuesday said his reinstatement started with a meeting with the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, as ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a video aired by Channels TV on Monday, Mr. Maina, wanted for alleged corruption, explained how the current administration held meetings with him and returned him to the civil service.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Maina Breaks Silence, Begs Buhari For Chance To Prove Innocence

His secret reinstatement, exposed in October by PREMIUM TIMES, outraged Nigerians and raised questions about the Buhari administration’s seriousness about tackling corruption.
The president responded to the report with alarm, and ordered an immediate investigation as senior government officials directly involved in Mr. Maina’s recall traded blames and denied responsibility.
Despite receiving the report of the investigation, the president has not sanctioned anyone for the scandal till date.
Instead, Mr. Buhari swiftly fired the Secretary to Government, Babachir Lawal, and head of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke, indicted in separate corruption cases. Critics said those sackings were diversionary.
In his first known public comments, Mr. Maina appeared to imply the president merely feigned ignorance to pacify a roiled public as he was not only in the know about his reinstatement, but he ordered it.
Mr. Maina said he initially decided not to return to work despite a court order reinstating him because some people in the past administration did not want him back.
“The letter of dismissal, I didn’t even receive a letter. It was when I heard about it (that) my lawyers went to court. They took the Senate to court and the court quashed whatever was the report of the Senate. The court also removed all the warrant of arrest. The court upheld that I should return to work. That was in April 2013. But the last administration refused to take me back to my job. They refused to obey the court order. The Head of Service was asked not to return me to the office. The Federal Civil Service Commission chairperson at that time did not want me to return to office.
https://ssum-sec.casalemedia.com/usermatchredir?s=183697&cb=https%3a%2f%2fdis.criteo.com%2frex%2fmatch.aspx%3fc%3d25%26uid%3d%25%25USER_ID%25%25
“Now I did not return to office but when this government came in, the president gave his note that go and sit down with Maina, I’ve given you the approval. They sat down with me after the security agencies cleared me of any wrong doing.”
Mr. Maina said he has never been sued in any court of law for any allegation.
“Nobody has ever taken me to court in Nigeria. I want Nigerians to know. I have never been taken to any court of law. Nobody has ever sued me for anything. I’ve never been take to any court of law.
“I have sued all the security agencies that we are talking about and I have won. I have full court judgements. They place my name on INTERPOL, I went to court and removed it. They did this, I did this I removed it. There is nothing they have not done. Even the one they could not do, they went to immigration, put my name on no fly list. I went to the airport. I was in Nigeria, that was in 2015. I went to the court, the court granted me N2 million damages for not flying that day.”
He relayed how he helped the government recover N1.3 trillion through the AGF.
He added that the process of his reinstatement started after the Attorney General, Mr. Malami, visited him.
“As soon as this present government decided to sit with me, and after sitting with, me, I told them I will not leave you to go back to Nigeria without something in your pocket. I’m going to give you something in your pocket and the Minister laughed. The Minister of Justice said what are you going to give us as gift? I gave him a document, I say go here, here, here, there’s N1.3 trillion they are going to steal it because they’ve been stealing every year. He was shocked, he said not possible. I said sir, with all due respect, could you please try it, this is a gift I’m giving you. I haven’t gotten to Nigeria, I’m just giving you a gift. I say try it for you to understand where I’m coming from.
“I’m not a saint but I try as much as I can to help the system. The minister thought that won’t be possible, when he got back, he realised I gave him a correct information. Now, after giving him this information, he asked me, when are you coming back, I said I will soon be back. I said I have a court order. So, I asked my lawyer to write a petition. He now wrote a petition to government and the Minister set up a committee to look at the petition. They looked at the petition and recommended that this is a court order that there’s no question of going back on it, nobody has appealed it since 2013 so government must obey it.
“So, he sent a letter to the Federal Civil Service Commission to say this is the petition I got in my office, I’m attaching the court order which you must respect. I’m hearing people are saying he’s directing people to reinstate me. No, he said you must respect the court order, this is the court order because he is the chief officer of the country. Now, the document was taken to the Federal Civil Service Commission. I went to the Federal Civil Service Commission, they told me they have just received the documents, they are going to see me later and we have a meeting. After that meeting, they wrote office of the head of service. They say we want you to sit down with your Senior Staff Committee and after that you send it to the Ministry of Interior; that was used at that time because they were coerced which I later found out. The Senior Staff Committee was coerced by the then Head of Service, Mr. Isa Bello Sanni to make sure they send me out and packing because I had stopped the inflow of 5.2 billion monthly to the office of the Head of Service.”
The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, refused to comment on the allegation.
Reached Tuesday night by phone, he told PREMIUM TIMES, “Anything on that issue, get in touch with the AGF”.
The Attorney General did not respond to phone calls. His spokesperson, Salihu Isah, could not also be reached as his telephone line was switched off.


Source: Premium Times

#MainaGate: I did not order reinstatement, promotion of Maina – AGF

By: Bhodemarz on November 24, 2017 / comment : 0 , , , ,

Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami has denied giving directives for the reinstatement of former Chairman of Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina back into the Federal Civil Service.
Maina was sacked by the Federal Civil Service Commission for absconding from his duty post.
Malami, Thursday at the Aliyu Madaki-led House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigative hearing on the disappearance, reinstatement and promotion of Maina said the letter of reinstatement did not emanate from his office because as at 5th October, 2017, Maina’s reinstatement matter was ‘work in progress’ that has not been completed.
He however said the consideration being given to Maina’s request for reinstatement was borne out of national interest that overrides individual interests
The Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau also washed his hands off the reinstatement saying the office of the Minister did not write any letter to that effect, since it was an establishment rather than policy matter which he oversees.
Dambazzau said, the Permanent Secretary Abubakar Magaji, who is on sick leave would be in the best position to address the issue.
Similarly, the   Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF), Winifred Eyo-Ita said she did not direct the Ministry of Interior to act on the reinstatement following a letter from the AGF requesting the reinstatement.
She said she withheld the letter that was forwarded to her desk by the FCSC in order to make further clarification because the action was against the anti-corruption stance of the government.
According to her, she formally questioned the proprietary of the Permanent Secretary of the Interior Ministry, Magaji for acting on the AGF letter without directives from the office of the HoCSF.
The acting Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Joseph Oluremi said his Commission acted on the reinstatement based on the letter from the AGF, who made it clear that legal process concerning the issue were carefully examined.
He also said it was not the duty of a Ministry to reinstate any official.
Both Eyo-Ita and Oluremi said being the chief Legal officer of rhe country, they have no basis to question the AGF notwithstanding that they are aware of the statutory responsibilities of their respective offices.
Malami, who disclosed that a multi – sectoral pension fraud syndicate is fleecing the country of N3.7b monthly, in his presentation said he got clearance from relevant security agencies and the National Security Adviser, Gen. Babagana  Monguno before his meeting that was arranged through a third party with Maina in Dubai, United Arab Emirate (UAE) where he was availed further information on recovery drive and individuals involved.
Malami absolved himself of the reinstatement of Maina saying he delegated the examination of the request by Maina’s lawyers for reinstatement to one of his subordinates.
The AGF said his minutes to correspondences between himself and the line officer in charge of the matter were about the need for the officer to present stronger evidence-based argument for the reinstatement.
Saying that he was embarrassed by media reports that he was compromised about the reinstatement issue, Malami said, “As at 5th October, 2017, the issue of Maina was still work in progress, I did not give any directive that Maina be reinstated.
“The issue of reinstatement of Maina was done with no strings attached, based on court processes and the fact that none of the parties exercised their rights of appeal, I acted in the best interest of Nigeria, not on any individual’s interest”
“The legal opinion of the AGF was anchored on my oath of office and the responsibility of the office”.
He said based on the correspondences between himself and the line officer and his minutes on the correspondences, “The letter of reinstatement of Maina couldn’t have emanated from my office.
“That letter of 21 Feb, when I was confronted with that letter by the Senate, it didn’t ring a bell at all in my memory. What I did was going back to the office to call for the file. And then arising from the file, I could confirm that there was a letter from the Miana’s lawyer.”
“I could confirm that I treated that letter in February and directed the line officer to treat it. I could confirm that the line officer revert back to a memo expressing an opinion with a draft letter, suggesting that I should direct that Maina should be reinstated.
“I could confirm that my mind was agitated over the content and the conclusion of that letter and I could confirm that I minuted on the letter of April that ‘develop further opinion to convince me that the content and conclusion of the judgement in support of the Maina’s lawyer reasonably suggests a conclusion for a consequential effect to the judgment.’”
“I could confirm that there was no further correspondence from the line office up to sometimes in May when the line officer now came up with additional memo and in that memo tried to justify the conclusion that I could direct for the reinstatement of Miana.”
“And I could equally that in that memo; reference was made to court process relating to Indutrial court in which Maina filed an action against the federal government.
“And I could confirm as well that I minuted on that memo directing the officer to make available copies of those court processes that were not made available in support of the memo and I could confirm there was no further correspondence in that regard until sometimes in October precisely on the 5th day of October when the line officer came up with a clean-up copy of the letter seeking my endorsement. In that letter, he was making reference to the previous correspondence.
“And when the correspondence and processes could not ring bell in my memory until I read the letter with the hope to reduce the situation, it was the point at which the whole media issue surrounding the matter now evolved. So, what I am saying in essence, my position is as far as Maina’s request for reinstatement was concerned, it was indeed, a work in progress as at the fifth day of October, 2017”.
He also said pension fraud was beyond Maina, stating that a syndicate that cut across all sectors, including serving and retired public officers, including members of the National Assembly was involved in the cornering N3.7b monthly from pension funds.
He said it was discovered that over 116,000 ghost workers responsible for N829m monthly spread across 29 bank accounts have been uncovered.
He disclosed that his office has commenced investigation on the pension fraud in some key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA).
“Maina was part of the syndicate until things fell apart between them, the decision I took was not about Maina but in the larger interest of Nigerians,” he added.
On his part, Maina’s counsel, Muhammed Katu said there was no need for the hearing since  the House has already adjudged Maina guilty having asked security agencies to arrest and prosecute him in its resolution.
He however said Maina is willing to attend the hearing and she’d light on the issue but is seeking protection of the House that security agencies would be prevailed upon not to arrest or harass him.
He said Maina was never dismissed because those that carried out the purported dismissal lacked the authority to do it, adding that Maina went on exile because his life was in danger.
He said Maina was still in service and working for the government, and that 23 files were recently referred to him as Acting Director.
While displaying the original copy of the letter, Katu said Maina was reinstated through a letter  signed by Dr. R.K Attahiru of the Department of Human Resources in the Interior Ministry.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris said Maina is still on its wanted list and the International Police has been placed on red alert.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Valentine Tochukwu, who represented the IGP, said there was no record of any police officer attached to Maina.
He also said Police authority has no details of pension fraud in the service.
In same vein, Independent Corrupt Practice and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) acting Chai an Abdulahi Bako also said the Commission has no role on the disappearance or reinstatement of Maina.
The Committee said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) must appear before it on the next adjourned date of 30th November, 2017.

Source: The Nation

Buhari sets up committee to audit recovered ‘loot’

By: Bhodemarz on November 22, 2017 / comment : 0 , ,

President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated a committee to audit the assets recovered by government agencies.
The committee, which has Olufemi Lijadu, Gloria Bibigha and  Mohammed Nami as members, is expected to audit all recoveries from the beginning of this administration until April 10, 2017.
It has been given four weeks to submit its report.
Speaking at the inauguration which held at the presidential villa in Abuja on Wednesday, the president sought the cooperation of banks and ministries, departments and agencies.
He said the gains of the anti-corruption campaign of his administration were enormous, warning that his administration would not allow diversion of funds.
He said the recovered funds to be deposited in designated accounts and be managed transparently.
“The decision to inaugurate this audit committee on the recovery and management of stolen assets within and outside Nigeria today is therefore the next step in ensuring that all returns filed by the various agencies are accurate and consistent with actual recoveries made,” he said.
“The committee, in essence, is therefore expected to judiciously undertake an audit of all recovery accounts established by government agencies from the date of opening such accounts up to 10th April, 2017.”

Source: The Cable

Buhari’s govt lacks political will to fight corruption –Falana

By: Bhodemarz on November 18, 2017 / comment : 0 , , ,

Human Rights Lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, has said that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration lacks the political will needed to fight corruption.
He stated this on Friday while speaking on the topic: “Restructuring, Pros and Cons: The place of the Nigerian youth”, at the 78th International Students Day organised by the Ogun State Government in Abeokuta, the state capital.
Falana noted that the fight against corruption embarked upon by the Buhari government remained a mere scratch on the surface.
He said, “I am sure you are following the anti-corruption war being prosecuted by Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, men and women are involved.
“Christians and Muslims are involved and those who believe in traditional religions are involved. One person has been charged with collecting N4.7bn from former President Goodluck Jonathan for spiritual consultation.
“The point I am making is that if our looters are not divided on the table of ethnicity nothing will happen. The government still lacks the political will, the war now is just a tip of the real iceberg; there is still money to be recovered.”
The human rights lawyer also faulted the Senate for approving $5.5bn loan request put forward by the executive.
Falana, who lamented the state and standard of education in the South-West, argued that the zone seemed to have lost its place to others as evident in the recently released West African Examinations Council results where the region performed poorly.
He said, “After the last WAEC, NECO and JAMB results were released, no state in the South-West made it to the top 10 list and that for me is a shame.
“We need to go back to where we are coming from and where we got it wrong.”
Falana urged the youths not to join those calling for the breakup of the country, adding that those fanning the embers of disunity were only fighting for their selfish interest.
He noted that for the country to move forward, it must have a knowledge-based system.
On his part, the governor of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, appealed to youths to do whatever they could do to prepare themselves for leadership positions, urging them to show high commitment in nation building.


Source: Punch


Wanted: A Kinder, Gentler New EFCC By Bayo Oluwasanmi

By: Bhodemarz on November 06, 2017 / comment : 0 , ,

Corruption continues to rock Nigeria. A lot of public resources ended up in private pockets. The brash new tycoons made their fortunes from corruption. Too many people have gotten rich based on their proximity to the government. There are two sets of laws in Nigeria: one for the common people and another for political princelings and industrialists.
Both government and private sector are incapable of building roads, factories, cities, reservoirs, power grids, other infrastructures and basic amenities due to corruption. Corruption produces bad decisions. Concern over corruption produces indecision. Graft is responsible for the inert bureaucracy, greasing the sized-up wheels of industry. Shady and shaky loans to industries, businesses, and the well connected have collapsed many banks in Nigeria.
Ninety-nine percent of bank loans in Nigeria gone sour. Inept contractors who are cronies of the ruling elites have messed up vital road and power projects. Mines and other assets lie idle, untapped, unexplored. Corruption helps in financing networks of cronyism, nepotism, and patronage. Corruption is rife and pervasive in all sectors in Nigeria: rapacious elites, politicians, managers, university professors, medical doctors, judges, journalists, and top bureaucrats. The police and customs are hopelessly compromised.
Our democracy is not working because of corruption. Rampant corruption hinders our democracy to take root. It gives way for instability, polarization, secession, military coups, dictatorships, and violence. In addition, corruption weakens our laws, erodes the people's faith in government institutions, divides our society, and increase nepotism. Our democracy is ineffective and a disaster. To make democracy work, we must have good governance. The judiciary and bureaucracy must function properly, and strong measures must be taken to tame corruption.
Nigeria's anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), reached an absurd milestone when it took almost three years to prosecute Senate President Bukola Saraki. Not too long ago, Nigerians were relieved of the unending comic soap opera of a case that keeps on coming back to life like Wole Soyinka's poem – Abiku. Other potential big tigers such as the Kogi Senator Dino Melaye, Abdulrasheed Maina, Abba Kyari, Bashir Abubakar, Tukur Buratai, and so many others have so far eluded the EFCC dragnet. Failure to successfully prosecute a single big tiger, opens EFCC to ridicule and makes it redundant agency. The EFCC is as good as dead.
Now, there's need to revise the laws that established EFCC. If passed, elements of the revision could strengthen the agency's power to investigate and prosecute corruption thus making it a new, kinder, and gentler anti-graft agency. The remaking of EFCC will be music to the ears of 469 members of the National Assembly who believe the agency is a witch-hunting body with the primary function to terrorize, intimidate, and humiliate them. The National Assembly would like to appoint the EFCC chairman which is why Magu the current chairman, is lawmakers' public enemy number one.
How can we make EFCC kinder and gentler? Simple. I think Senate President Bukola Saraki should be given the honor to reform EFCC. As a first step, he should appoint Senator Dino Melaye as the new EFCC chairman. The agency is only good at harassing, arresting, and prosecuting the honorable legislators and governors. Newspapers are inundated with stories of many arrests by EFCC. After so much noise making and fanfare, nothing is heard again. Of what use is anti-graft agency that specializes in issuing only warrants and arrests on pages of newspapers? Of what benefit is EFCC that's dysfunctional, powerless, and ineffective? Of what relevance is EFCC that basks in front page prosecutions of suspects? Of what use is a toothless and gumless EFCC that can neither bark nor bite?
The new EFCC under Melaye will be different. Melaye with chains of degrees from ivy league universities from seven continents of the world, will conscript his colleague senators into the EFCC to wage a successful war on corruption. With the professional team of Saraki, Maina, David Mark, Ike Ekweremadu, with governors of Ekiti State Ayodele Fayose, Ogun State Ibikunle Amosu, Kaduna's El Rufai, and other big tigers of the National Assembly Corruption Incorporated (NACI), the new EFCC will be well positioned to fight corruption. The focus will shit from arresting and prosecuting corrupt politicians to fighting corruption among petty thieves, pickpockets, shoplifters, house burglars, home invaders, price gougers, mail fraudsters, wife beaters, husband beaters, drunkards, and other low lifers. After all, this is what EFCC has been doing these years.
Curbing corruption is the signature campaign promise of President Muhammadu Buhari. The Buhari administration has struggled to contain public anger at a seemingly endless stream of corruption scandals which threatens its legitimacy. With barons of corruption in charge of EFCC, corruption should decline especially in the federal government. Nigeria's economy is still badly positioned on various indications of corruption. Corruption has been crippling Nigeria;s ability to attract foreign investment.
The EFCC under Melaye and with oversight by Saraki, corruption will have no means of fighting back. Melaye and Saraki will put corruption and its patrons out of business. For the first time in our history, we will kill corruption before it kills us. Corruption will be history! We can then sing the Old Negro Freedom Song: Free at last, thank God Almighty, Nigeria is free of corruption!

You can reach him via bjoluwasanmi@gmail.com


Source: Sahara Reporters

DASUKI’S MEMORY LOSS: $2.1 BILLION FRAUD CHARGE CAN DO THAT TO YOU, BY FREDRICK NWABUFO

By: Bhodemarz on November 03, 2017 / comment : 0 , , ,

Before I go into the meat of this article, let me state this for the purpose of record. The case of Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser (NSA), will become one of Nigeria’s unsolved mysteries.
His trial will become a poltergeist of how power is exacted for submission and not for justice. It will become an inscrutable patch of history and of government’s confusion.
Dasuki has been on trial for two years. When the Buhari government took off, its first assignment was to probe the office of the NSA and the armed forces.  After months of thudding investigations, the government released a report alleging that $2.1 billion was magicked from the treasury for bogus arms purchase by the office of the NSA.
The Department State Services (DSS) whisked Dasuki into custody and filed a charge of illegal possession of firearms and money laundering against him at a federal high court in Abuja. This particular charge was filed in 2015. But the case is gasping for breath in court.
Also, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed a multi-billion naira charge of financial fraud against the former NSA in 2016 at the Federal Capital Territory high court, but the case, like the other one, sputters like a jalopy in court. The DSS has refused to release him to face the trial.
It is really stupefying that the case is snarling up in court. I would have expected the government to act with dispatch since the former NSA is a suspect of importance. Oddly, it is the government, Dasuki’s “housemaster”, that is putting a wedge in his trial.
In addition, it is clear to me that the government is not really concerned about the enormity of Dasuki’s alleged offence, but about “keeping him out of circulation”. He may be guilty or innocent of the charges against him, but he is already doing time in a DSS cell.
However, I find it perplexing Dasuki’s claim of “memory loss” in the N400m trial of Olisa Metuh, former spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This claim is absurd. It is simple, he either admits that he approved the release of the funds to Metuh or he confutes the former PDP spokesman’s claim that he did.
I think the former NSA may be trying to game the court by this stunt. Or is he so dazed by the amounts of money his office released that he cannot recall this particular transaction?
I had expected Dasuki to do some explaining of how funds for arms purchase allegedly ended up in the PDP campaign till. Nigerians deserve to know. It was a perfect opportunity for the former NSA, who has come under a blitz of accusations, to get his own side of the story into the public square.
I believe Nigerians were expecting fecundating disclosures from a man, who has been accused of gross financial malevolence, but has said little or nothing in his own defence. I hope he puts citizens out of this “misery” on Friday when he appears in court again.
In conclusion, government prosecutors and the court must pace up in bringing closure to trials linked to the $2.1 billion arms-purchase scandal. Nigerians deserve a denouement to this drama.

Facebook: Fredrick Nwabufo, Twitter: @FredrickNwabufo


Source: The Cable




Onnoghen: We Have 1,124 Ongoing Corruption Cases

By: Bhodemarz on November 02, 2017 / comment : 0 , , ,

Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen
A total of 1,124 corruption cases have been forward to the National Judicial Council (NJC) for speedy trial in the proposed special corruption courts across the country.
Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, made the disclosure yesterday in Abuja at the formal inauguration of the Corruption and Other Financial Crimes Cases Trials Monitoring Committee (COTRIMCO).
The committee which is headed by a former Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Suleiman Galadima (rtd), apart from monitoring the proceedings of high profile corruption cases at the various courts, is also expected to propose practice directions that would help uproot all encumbrances to the speedy trial of corruption cases in the courts.
Following the stance of President Muhammadu Buhari on corruption in the country, a lot of alleged looters of the country’s resources have been arrested and currently undergoing trials in various courts across the country.
However, two years down the line, little or nothing has been achieved in the prosecution of these cases in courts, prompting a larger number of the public to allude that the judiciary is corrupt.
“As I stated recently, the society we serve appears dissatisfied with our performance, and we must neither dismiss nor relegate these rising criticisms as mere sentiments or unfounded accusations devoid of substance.
“We must rise and protect the dignity and integrity of our judicial system,” he said.
The CJN stated that consequent upon this, the NJC decided to initiate far-reaching measures that would eradicate delays in the trials of corruption and other economic crime cases in the courts.
According to him, “We did announced that Heads of Courts were directed to compile and submit a compendium of all corruption cases being handled by their various divisions and I also directed them to designate a court or more in their jurisdictions, depending on the volume of such cases, solely for the trial of such cases.
“So far, we have received a total of 1,124 such cases reported to us from various jurisdictions across the country.”
He commended the chairman and other members of the committee for who, in spite of their numerous other engagements, accepted to serve their fatherland through this assignment.
The CJN said their membership of the committee is purely on merit and in recognition of their track records of service to their fatherland as well as their contributions to the development of the nation’s law and jurisprudence.
While stressing the importance of the assignment to the judiciary and the country at large, Onnoghen urged them to come up with strategies that will help eliminate delays and its attendant effects on the speedy disposal of corruption cases.
He, however, admonished both prosecution and defence counsel to “shun all unethical antics being deployed that may result in the delays usually experienced in the hearing and determination of corruption cases.”
While responding, Chairman of the committee, Justice Galadima, thanked the CJN and the NJC for the confidence reposed in them.
He assured them that given the necessary tools and encouragement, he and his colleagues would deliver on the said task.
The committee is made up of eminent stakeholders drawn from the Bench, Bar and civil society groups.

Source: This Day



#MainaGate: Pension ‘thieves’ framing me – Maina

By: Bhodemarz on November 01, 2017 / comment : 0 , ,

Former Chairman of Pension Reform, Abdulrasheed Maina
Embattled former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Abdulrasheed Maina, has said that, he is being haunted for stopping N5.32bn which he alleged was being stolen monthly in the office of the Head of Service and Police Pension office alone.
Maina said, his media trial and framed up allegations were part of efforts by ‘pension thieves’ to stop him from exposing them, which is why he asked President Muhammadu Buhari to thoroughly investigate pending pension petitions, especially as Senator Kabiru Gaya said in an interview that, that the N195bn which he (Maina) was accused of stealing is in the TSA account.
Speaking through his aide, Olajide Fashikun in Kaduna on Tuesday, Maina who has been on the run said the presidential investigation is imperative to expose the real pension thieves, some of whom he alleged, are highly placed public office holders, adding that such will bring respite to starving pensioners.
Maina, who said his Task Team saved the country about N282bn from June 2010, when it was constituted, revealed that, the presidential investigation will also expose the sum of six million pounds stashed in accounts in London and the top government functionaries in different offices who are drawing the interest on the accounts.
According to him, “between the Head of Service and the Police Pension office, the two places PRTT worked, a leakage of N5.32billion was stopped per month. This is what civil servants steal monthly in the two offices out of the 99 pension offices in the country. 43 persons were arrested and handed over to the EFCC to prosecute while 222 houses were seized from them.
“As soon as Maina was driven to exile before the coming of the PTAD, N35billion was stolen in the Head of Service. The ICPC did not come out with the report. How come no body is talking about these monies? Fashikun asked.
“In the current media trial where all manners of stories have been published, there has been a lot of distortion of facts and sometimes outright blackmail, all in an attempt to paint the PRTT boss black like Lucifer”.
“After the biometric exercise, there were 71,000 genuine workers in the police pension office who needed N826million to pay them unlike N5.3billion appropriated for them annually. They were pocketing N4.2billion yearly. They devised several ingenious ways to pull these cash out. They pull out an average of N300million daily Monday to Friday. There are bank alerts to substantiate these assertions.
“There is a particular person who has 69 cloned versions of his name on the pay roll. Bank officials were in cohort. Names of dead pensioners were ‘exhumed’ from the dead and paid pension. Accounts were created with fictitious names.”
Speaking further, Maina’s aide stressed “there has been a lot of deliberate cover in a well written script to give Maina a bad name. Some of those who worked in the PRTT do ‘kabu-kabu’ to augment their survival. They were severely starved of funds, Maina’s PRTT was a clog in the wheel of so many who were looting the pensioner’s funds.
“Maina’s PRTT was brought in to sanitise a very corrupt pension system. It was the success of his pension system in the Ministry of Interior that brought him to the PRTT. Emerging evidence has shown that Maina is just a victim of corruption fighting back.
“The then Senate Committee in a bid to crucify Maina did the hatchet job, when they told the Nigerians that, he stole N195billion. Meanwhile, on 13th April 2016, former Kano Governor, Senator Kabiru Gaya, told The Sun newspaper in an interview that that money was never missing. So, why is he being tried for the money that is now confirmed not missing? According to the structure of the task force, Maina like none of them therein never had access to the pension fund and could never have taken one Naira lest over N2 billion.
“Former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala during a Senate meeting said that Maina had no contact with funds and revealed how she froze the account where the monies recovered by Maina’s committee was kept and how she transferred the funds to the CBN. So, why will the EFCC continue to hound a man for an offence which they know he is innocent of? Maina was only the head of the team which comprised of EFCC, ICPC, DSS, NIA, office of Accountant General, Auditor General, Public Complaints Commission etc. He was the only civilian in the Task Team.
“Maina was just a victim of high power play of some powerful individuals in high places. So, for three years, Maina suffered ‘media trial’, where he has found guilty several times on the pages of newspaper.
“Despite the several facts presented before the Senate committee during the hearing, the committee chose to ignore the facts, instead, they threatened the then President Goodluck Jonathan, following which Maina was shot with five bullets wounds on the side glass of the bullet proof car Jonathan gave him”, he said.
Mr. Maina said he had “verifiable” evidence the federal pension scheme was returning to “the looting era” which his team set out to end, with an alleged 98% of pensioners denied their benefits since November, 2012.

Source: The Nation


Buhari asks EFCC to proceed with investigation of Babachir Lawal, Oke

By: Bhodemarz on October 31, 2017 / comment : 0 , , ,

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday night said he was aware of the investigation of two sacked officials by anti-corruption agencies, saying the investigation should continue.

Mr. Buhari’s spokesperson, Garba Shehu, in a statement said “the position of the President therefore is that investigation agencies which have already commenced the investigation of the two officers removed from office will go on with their work of investigation without any interference or hindrance.”
Mr. Shehu added that the president “who is fully conversant with the provisions of the constitution will not stop the investigation of anyone because he has no such power under our laws. This is a decision of the Supreme Court.”
The spokesperson was reacting to criticisms that trailed the sack of Babachir Lawal and Ayodele Oke, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and former head of the National Intelligence Agency respectively.
President Buhari had ordered the sack of both men earlier on Monday following a review of a panel report that investigated allegations against them. The panel was headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Many Nigerians, though commended the dismissal of both men, asked that Mr. Buhari order their arrest and prosecution.
Mr. Shehu, however, indicated that the two men were already being investigated by the anti-corruption agencies.
“Based on his wish and desire for a strict observance of the law, the President expects the EFCC, ICPC and such agencies to proceed with ongoing investigations,” the spokesperson said.
“When and where they have reasonable grounds to charge former or serving officers to court under our laws, they do not require the permission of the President to do so,” he added.
THE INDICTMENT
The spokesperson for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Wilson Uwujaren, could not be reached for comments about the status of the investigations.
However, the panel headed by Mr. Osinbajo found Mr. Lawal culpable in a slew of allegations that included questionable diversion of funds meant for the internally displaced persons in the North-east.
Consequently, the investigative committee, which included Attorney-General Abubakar Malami and National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, recommended termination of Mr. Lawal’s appointment, the presidency said in a statement.
Mr. Oke was the head of NIA when the EFCC found N13billion belonging to the foreign intelligence office in an apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos, on April 12.
As with Mr. Lawal, Mr. Osinbajo’s panel recommended Mr. Oke’s dismissal after looking into the circumstances surrounding the cash haul.
The panel submitted its report onAugust 23, but Mr. Buhari did not act on it until Monday. Another presidential aide, Femi Adesina, told Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ Monday evening that the president was being painstaking with the content of the report.
Before their appointments were ultimately terminated, Messrs. Lawal and Oke had been placed on suspensionsince April 19. They appeared before the panel on several occasions during its 14-day, closed-door sitting. 
DEMAND FOR PROSECUTION
While welcoming their sack on Monday evening, a civic rights group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, admonished Mr. Buhari to reassert his anti-corruption posture by calling for a thorough prosecution.
“This is a positive development in the fight against grand corruption, although this decision is coming rather late,” SERAP said in a statement signed by its deputy director, Timothy Adewale. “Buhari now has to go a step further by making sure that both Lawal and Oke are promptly brought to justice in fair trials.”
“What the government needs at this time is a revolutionary approach to the fight against corruption if Buhari is to show his commitment to ‘kill’ corruption before corruption ‘kills’ Nigeria.
“Without effective prosecution of high-ranking public officials charged with corruption, this government’s fight against corruption may sadly turn out to be all motion and no movement, and this will eventually undermine the legitimacy of the anti-corruption efforts,” Mr. Adewale said.
The group also reminded Mr. Buhari to pursue criminal charges against the fugitive former head of presidential task force on pension reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina.
Mr. Maina was revealed byPREMIUM TIMES penultimate Friday as having sneaked back into the public service four years after he was sacked for alleged pension fraud.
Mr. Buhari ordered Mr.Maina’s dismissal with immediate effect and called for an investigation into how he was recalled.
“Buhari also has to move swiftly to publish a report of the investigation into the secret reinstatement of the fugitive former civil servant, Abdulrasheed Maina, and without delay identify and bring to justice anyone suspected to be involved,” SERAP said.
PAST ARREST CALLS
While President Buhari did not authorise the immediate arrest of Mr. Lawal and Oke, he has ordered arrests of persons indicted of corruption in the past.
When Mr. Buhari received the reports of the presidential arms probe panel in 2015, he ordered immediate arrest or former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, and other officials of the last administration who were indicted.
Mr. Buhari raised the Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement in the Nigerian Armed Forces on August 24, 2015, in furtherance of his “determination to stamp out corruption and irregularities in Nigeria’s public service.”
The panel submitted its interim report on November 17, 2015, finding Mr. Dasuki culpable in the award of “fictitious and phantom contracts to the tune of N2,219,188,609.50; 1,671,742,613.58 dollars and 9,905,477.00 Euros,” amongst others.
Soon after receiving the report, Mr. Buhari “directed the relevant organisations to arrest and bring to book, all individuals who have been found complicit in these illegal and fraudulent acts,” according to a State House statement on November 17, 2015.

Source: PremiumTimes

The anti-corruption fight of Nigeria’s president Buhari has hit close to home - Quartz Africa

By: Bhodemarz on October 31, 2017 / comment : 0 , , ,

After being elected in 2015, president Muhammadu Buhari was expected to lead strict anti-corruption probes in office in a bid to clean up Nigeria’s civil service, government offices and bad image
Depending on who you ask, that’s not been the case. While Buhari’s administration soon detained high-profile officials from his predecessor’s government—over misappropriation of $2.1 billion fund for arms to combat Boko Haram—a criticism that’s been laid against the president is that his anti-corruption stance has been one-sided with no members of his party, or administration, detained.
But that’s changed. Yesterday (Oct. 30), the presidency sacked Babachir David Lawal, secretary to the government of the federation and Nigeria’s most senior civil servant as well as Ayo Oke, director general of Nigeria’s National Intelligence Agency (NIA). Both men had been suspended since April.

Lawal was implicated in findings of a $8m fraud scandal by Nigeria’s Senate last December. The money was meant for rebuilding Nigeria’s northeast after a decade of devastation by terrorist sect, Boko Haram. For his part, Oke was suspended following controversy around a $43 million cash haul find by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency. In the wake of the find, the NIA made a claim for the money, causing scrutiny of the agency’s finances.
The sackings come after weeks of pressure by civil society groups for the president to act on findings of the panel set up to investigate both men.
Nigeria’s corruption problems are globally famed and recently became well-documented. In August, Nigeria’s statistics bureau released its first ever large-scale report on corruption in the country and, predictably,the findings were grim: Nearly a third of Nigerian adults who had contact with local public officials in the period under review reported cases where bribes were solicited or paid. The bureau also estimated the total amount of bribes paid to public officials amount to $4.6 billion in purchasing power parity terms—around 39% of Nigeria’s federal and state budgets for education in 2016.

Source: Quartz Africa
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