...EFCC warns dismissed staff against misinformation
The Commission is
concerned over the campaign of calumny launched against it by two former staff:
Ms. Juliet Ibekaku and Mr. Michael Nzekwe.
Ibekaku, a failed deputy
governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Enugu State, has
been using her participation in APC policy events to fire broadsides at the
EFCC. On Thursday May 21, 2015 at an APC Policy Dialogue in Lagos, she
made the following claim:
"In
the past seven or eight years since EFCC started, we've been hearing about
governors who have been in the courts for the past eight years, no conviction,
nothing! No assets recovered. And we are still (sic) back to square one.
So,
something has to change. And in my mind, what needs to change is the
leadership. The second thing that needs to change is the staffing, who
are we hiring to work in this place?"
She was applauded by her
audience, who mistook her intervention for altruism. Unknown to them, what
drives Ibekaku is neither party nor national interest. Rather she is galvanized
by a burning, selfish desire to run down the EFCC because she was dismissed
from the Commission for gross indiscipline.
Indeed, were her
comments from someone who had no relationship with the Commission, one might
have excused it for ignorance. But Ibekaku, who is also a lawyer, knows the
achievements and efforts of the EFCC in the prosecution of Politically Exposed
Persons and the quantum of assets that have been recovered by the EFCC but has
chosen to play the ostrich.
However, for Nigerians
to see through her lies, it is important to recall some of the milestones
achieved by the Commission in the investigation, prosecution and recovery of
assets of Politically Exposed Persons, including ex-governors.
DSP Alamieyeseigha
Until he was pardoned by
the Nigerian government, it is on record that former Bayelsa State governor, DSP
Alamieyeseigha was the first former state governor to be
successfully prosecuted by the EFCC. Over N3billion which
includes the proceeds realized from the sale of his properties has been
returned to Bayelsa State. These properties include Chelsea Hotel, Abuja. Other
real estate investment of Alamieyeseigha which accounts were frozen by the
Commission include:
1.
Plot 26 Dalhatu Close, Abacha Estate, Ikoyi
2.
20 Obaji Street, Diobu Port Harcourt
3.
1. Community Road, off Allen Avenue, Lagos
4.
247, Water Gardens, London W2 2DG
5.
14, Mapesbury Road, London NW2 4JB
6.
Flat 202, Jubilee Heights, Shootuphl L,
London, NW2 3UQ
7.
68-70, Regents Park Road, London
8.
4A, Ilu Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos
9.
18 Mississippi Street, Maitama, Abuja
10.
V & A Water Front, Cape Town, South Africa
11.
2, Marcibit Street, Ishaku Rabiu Estate, Off
Aminu Kano Crescent, Abuja
12.
24, Amazon Street, Maitama Abuja.
Lucky Igbinedion
Another former governor
who was prosecuted and convicted by the Commission is former Edo State
governor, Lucky Igbinedion. Apart from the Conviction, the Commission equally
recovered some properties from him. The properties include:
1.
A property located at 57, Ihama Road,
GRA, Benin
2.
Another property located at 24, Izekor Road,
Benin
Following the furore
generated by the option of fine handed the governor by the trial judge, the
Commission filed fresh charges against Lucky Igbinedion. The action was
challenged in court with the trial court ruling that the Commission cannot try
the ex-governor on the same matter for which he had already been convicted.
The EFCC appealed
against the ruling with the Court of Appeal affirming the Commission's position
that Igbinedion really has a case to answer.
Following that, two of
his accomplices, his younger brother, Michael Igbinedion and his
Personal Assistant, Charles Eboigbodin who were charged alongside the
former governor of Edo State, were successfully prosecuted and convicted, just
last month (April 29th 2015, precisely).
Chimaroke Nnamani
The case involving Chimaroke Nnamani, former governor of
Enugu State has been in court since he was first arraigned in 2007 alongside Sunday
Anyaogu, his then aide and six firms linked to them: Rainbownet Nigeria Limited, Hillgate Nigeria Limited,
Cosmos FM, Capital City Automobile Nigeria Limited, Renaissance University
Teaching Hospital and Mea
Mater Elizabeth High School.
EFCC in 2014 sought for a separate
trial of the companies and on May 19, 2015 the companies pleaded guilty
to an amended 10-count charge. We await the court pronouncement on the fate of
the assets.
Orji Kalu
Former governor Orji Kalu’s case is
currently at the Supreme Court where he is challenging the competence of the
charge after the court of appeal affirmed the trial court’s ruling that he has
a case to answer.
The Commission has however seized
the following properties belonging to the former Abia State governor. They
include:
1.
Property at 9A, Queen Amina Road, Ungwan, Rimi
GRA, Maiduguri
2.
Bungalow at 21, Gwari Avenue, Behind Gerau
Hospital, Off Kachia Road, Maiduguri
3.
Parcel of land at Kirikiri Industrial Estate,
Lagos
4.
Block of flats at Plot 103A Olumeni Street,
Old GRA, Port Harcourt
5.
Identical duplex at Plot 65, No. 7& 8.
Orogburn Crescent, Diobu GRA 11, Port Harcourt
6.
3 Nos bedroom bungalow plus adjourning
buildings at Mairi Village, Maiduguri, Borno State
7.
3 bedroom bungalow at GRA Maiduguri, Borno
State
8.
Warehouse at Mairi village, Maiduguri
9.
Former Progress Bank Building, No. 45, Baga
Road, Maiduguri
10.
Former Orji Alex Bakery, Bulunkutu, Seleke,
Maiduguri
Several accounts in
various banks linked to his companies were also frozen by the Commission. The
accounts includes those belonging to:
1.
Tourism Development Area, Gambia
2.
Slok Investment Limited
3.
Slok USA INC
4.
Slok Nigeria Limited
5.
The Sun Publishing
6.
Astel Offshore
7.
Neva Nigeria Limited
8.
Reality Organization
9.
Kachi Agwu Enterprises
10.
Menco Resources Limited
11.
Nnachison & Co
12.
Slok Air Nigeria Limited
13.
Firmbase Inter Limited
As for Saminu Turaki,
former governor of Jigawa State, the accounts of companies linked to him were
also frozen by the Commission.
The companies are:
1.
INC Natural Resources Limited, 7 Civic Centre
Road, Kano
2.
Wildcat Nigeria Limited, 31 Kuta Road, Minna,
Niger State
3.
Arlek Construction Nigeria Limited, 7 Civic
Centre Road, Kano
4.
Gethel Nigeria Limited, 7 Civic Centre Road,
Kano
5.
Wallong Camco Nigeria Limited, Tukur
Commercial Layout, Dutse
6.
Gansu Construction Engineering Limited.
Joshua Dariye
For Joshua Dariye who
was recently ordered to proceed to trial after the supreme court rejected his
appeal against the appeal court affirmation of the competence of the
Commission’s charges against him, the following properties were recovered from
him:
1.
Property at Plot 1802 Ao4, No. 19 Frederick
Chiuba Close, Asokoro, Abuja
2.
Plot of land in the name of Jambo Holdings
Nigeria Limited, Rayfield, Jos
3.
House No. 11, Rest Road, Jos
4.
Plot of land at Gada Village, off Adiko Bukuru
Road By Pharm Headquarters, Jos
5.
Plot of land at Liberty Boulevard, Jos
6.
Plot of Land at Ibrahim Taiwo Avenue, Jos
7.
Two additional plots along Dogon Dutse Road,
Jos
8.
Plot of land at Gold & Base Neighbourhood,
Jos
9.
Plot of land known as Yelwa Club, Bukuru, Jos.
James Ibori
In the case involving
former Delta State governor James Ibori whose conviction in a London court was
largely based on the evidence supplied by the EFCC, the
Commission secured the final forfeiture of the $15million
bribe, which he allegedly offered to a former
chairman of the Commission, to the Federal Government.
Abubakar Audu, Danjuma
Goje, Akwe Doma, Rev. Jolly Nyame, Ayodele Fayose, etc
The cases involving
former Kogi State governor, Abubakar Audu, former Gombe State governor, Danjuma
Goje, former Nasarawa State governor, Akwe Doma, former Taraba State governor,
Rev. Jolly Nyame are progressing in courts, as several witnesses have been
called by the prosecution. Of course the case against Ayodele Fayose has
only been temporarily halted by the fact of his re-election as Ekiti State
governor.
We could go on and on.
These records apply to cases involving ex-governors only.
They do not tell the
whole story regarding the prosecution and convictions record of the Commission.
Between 2012 and 2014,
the Commission recovered N65,320,669,350.35
(Sixty five billion,
three hundred and twenty million, six hundred and sixty nine thousand, three
hundred and fifty naira, thirty five kobo).
Also, the sum of
$245, 952,030.13 (Two
hundred and forty-five million, nine hundred and fifty-two thousand, thirty
dollars, thirteen cents);
and 693, 399.00
(Six hundred and
ninety-three thousand, three hundred and ninety-nine, Pounds Sterling)
and 62,600.00
(Sixty two thousand Euros) were
also recovered during the period.
But, these facts mean
nothing to Ibekaku who, in the pursuit of her latter-day ambition is willing to
publicly repudiate the achievements of an organization which she was a
prominent part of and one on whose pedestal she stood to attain all the “glowing”
personal achievements she has been parading in the media.
The obvious goal of
Ibekaku is to hoodwink unsuspecting Nigerians by her posturing as an
anti-corruption czar, what with her curriculum vitae that advertises her as a
top official of the EFCC, where she spent about 7 years of her recent adult
working life.
Ibekaku has declared a
media misinformation war on the Commission for simply telling Nigerians she was
no longer in the service of the Commission, contrary to her posturing.
Before her latest
image-tarring outing at the APC Policy Dialogue, Ms. Ibekaku engaged one Emmanuel
Onwubiko of the so-called Human Rights Writers
Association, HURIWA, to mudsling the Commission.
Onwubiko in his many
blind interventions at Juliet’s behest claimed variously that she was dismissed
because she was from the South-East and for advocating for an independent
Financial Intelligence Unit.
Lately, he has modified
those positions to include the fallacy that the Commission is after Ibekaku
because she is being considered for a ministerial position or even the
chairmanship of the EFCC!
Ms. Ibekaku can aspire
to whatever office she wants, but, she does not need to malign the Commission
by deliberate distortions and outright falsehood to achieve her ambition.
Let it be emphasized
once again, that in apportioning sanctions to Ms. Ibekaku, along with her
co-traveller, Michael Nzekwe and nine others who were dismissed from the
Commission, EFCC was guided by its Staff Regulations and extant Public Service
Rules.
Ms. Ibekaku is
challenging her dismissal at the National Industrial Court and we call on her
to allow the court rule on her application and not to engage in acts tantamount
to self-help, which only highlights among other acts unbecoming of a public
officer, the reason she was dismissed from EFCC in the first place: Gross
Indiscipline.
Wilson
Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
25th May, 2015
