Nigeria News

Umuahia — Abia State chapter of the Action Congress (AC) has condemned in the strongest terms the arrest and detention of its chairmanship candidate for Aba South local government in the January 19, 2008 council poll, Dr. Christian Okoli, who was clamped into detention by police over the kidnapping of the chairman of Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC), Prof. Stephen Emejuaiwe.

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Chief Afam Obi, the party said the detention of Okoli was part of the orchestrated plans by the state government to silence its candidate in his struggle to actualise his mandate given to him by the people of Abia South local government as confirmed by the tribunal. Emejuaiwe was abducted on May 14, by unknown gun men along Ururka road in Isiala Ngwa South local government and his police orderly, a sergeant was killed in the process.

The state police public relations officer (PPRO), Mr. Ali Okechukwu, told newsmen that Okoli was detained as a result of the communications he had with the ABSIEC chairman, before and after his kidnapping hence the need for the police to investigate.

Okoli was said to have been invited by the state commissioner of police, Mr. Edgar Tam Nanakumo to purportedly finalise his swearing in arrangements since the tribunal had given order to that effect in line with the provisions of the relevant law. But he was clamped into detention when he honoured the invitation.

But AC faulted the reasoning, insisting that it was spurious allegation cooked up by the ruling Progressive Peoples Party (PPA) to prevent the swearing in of Okoli, adding that the state government has deployed undue power to put the AC candidate out of circulation to justify the government's foot dragging in complying with the court order to inaugurate him into office.

It questioned the interest of a PPA local government chairman in the state, who spent several hours on May 18, at the state CID where Okoli has been held since May 15, to make statement in connection with the matter.

AC further stated that it was quite absurd for anybody to think that Okoli would have a hand in the abduction of Prof Emejuaiwe, noting that the struggle to actualise Okoli's mandate since November 6, 2008 when the three man local government election tribunal declared him the rightful winner has passed the stage of ABSIEC issuing him with certificate of return.

The party therefore demanded the immediate release of Dr. Okoli from detention and his subsequent swearing in, in line with section 215(1) of Abia state local government law of 2006 on which the tribunal relied in its judgment. Meanwhile the ABSIEC boss regained his freedom on Wednesday May 20, ostensibly after paying the undisclosed ransom money was paid on the kidnappers.

Nigeria: Money Laundering - ICPC Steps Up Probe of Abia


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This Day (Lagos)

9 October 2008
Posted to the web 9 October 2008

Davidson Iriekpen
Lagos

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has stepped up investigations into money laundering allegations brought against the Governor of Abia State, Chief Theodore Orji.

The ICPC had last month invited and detained the Accountant General of the state, Mrs. Bridget Onyema, for two days and later granted her administrative bail.

The arrest was in connection with a series of petitions sent to the commission on vast sums of money totalling N1.9632 billion million, transferred under the guise of travel estacodes for the governor, his deputy, their wives and families, as well as 23 other persons who swelled the governor's entourage to the World Igbo Congress held in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA, September.

The recent arrest and release of Abia State schedule officer in charge of external transactions, Mr Charles Agbara, it was learnt, was in connection with Mrs. Onyema's inability to produce the formal approval for basing estacode calculations for the governor, his wife and children, the deputy governor, his wife, children as well as their family members.

The petition among other claims is calling the attention of the commission to what it described as a high-level scam perpetrated by the Orji administration in the award of a contract for the construction of Abia Refinery to a non-existent US company for $100 million.

Also a socio-political group, the Abia Elders Forum, has called on the state government to respond to a claim by an Internet news service, which reported that a Memorandum of Understa-nding (MoU) was signed between a delegation of Abia State officials led by the governor and a group known as Nevada Petroleum Resources, Inc. in Tampa Bay, Florida early September 2008.

The Abia Elders Forum said it was curious that while the NNPC was building three new refineries at the cost of N800 billion, the Abia State Government claims, it was constructing a 20,000-barrel capacity refinery at $100 million.

According to the Forum, "Can the Abia State Government show evidence of a refinery licence from the Department of Petroleum Resources as is the case with other state governments? Abians also want to know at what stage the refinery project currently stands."

ICPC's Resident Consultant, Media and Events, Mr. Folu Olamiti, had earlier said it was true that the commission arrested Onyema.

"I can confirm to you that Mrs. Onyema, the Abia State Accountant-General, was arrested by the commission and after her interrogation, she was asked to go and be reporting to the commission," he said.

Nigeria: LNG - American Admits Bribing Nigerian Officials


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This Day (Lagos)

5 September 2008
Posted to the web 5 September 2008

Constance Ikokwu
St Paul, Minneapolis

A former executive of Houston-based Global Engineering, Construction and Services company, Albert Stanley, has pleaded guilty to bribing Nigerian officials in order to secure contracts to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Bonny Island, THISDAY has learnt.

Stanley admitted before the United States (US) District Court in Houston, Texas, that he paid $182 million in bribe to secure engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts thereby violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Justice Department said.

The LNG project was valued at more than $6 billion. The company was part of a four-company joint venture awarded four EPC contracts by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) between 1995 and 2004.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was the largest shareholder of NLNG with 49 per cent.

Acting Assistant Attorney-General Mattew Friedrich of the criminal division announced that Stanley conspired to commit wire and email fraud in a decade-long grand kickback scheme.

He added: "The Department of Justice is committed to aggressively enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Today's plea demonstrates that corporate executives who bribe foreign government officials in return for lucrative business deals can expect to face prosecution," said Friedrich.

Stanley admitted that two consultancy agents were hired at his behest to pay bribes to Nigerian government officials in order to secure EPC contracts.

He also confessed that he and others met top office holders from the executive branch of government.

The Justice Department statement reads: "Stanley also admitted at crucial junctures before the award of the EPC contracts that he and others met with three successive former holders of top-level offices in the executive branch of the Nigerian government to ask the office holder to designate a representative with whom the joint venture should negotiate bribes to Nigerian officials."

According to the criminal information to which Stanley pleaded guilty, the joint venture paid approximately $132 million to Consulting Company A and more than $50 million to Consulting Company B during the course of the bribery scheme. Stanley admitted that he had intended for the agents' fees to be paid, in part, for bribes to Nigerian government officials.

Stanley entered the plea before District Judge Keith P. Ellison.

He pleaded guilty to two-count criminal information charging him with conspiracy to violate the FCPA and conspiracy to commit email and wire fraud.

He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $500,000.

But under his plea agreement with the court, he faces seven years in prison and payment of $10.8 million in restitution.

He also admitted to receiving some $10.8 million in kickbacks from a consultant hired at his behest in connection with the LNG projects.

In a related civil action, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Stanley with violating anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and other provisions of the federal securities laws.

SEC's Director of Enforcement, Linda Chatman Thomsen, stated that the case "demonstrates that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is committed to holding violators accountable when they engage in illegal conduct to obtain business in foreign countries."

Nigeria: Lack of Funds Stalls NNPC Probe

Vanguard (Lagos)

14 July 2008
Posted to the web 14 July 2008

Tordue Salem
Lagos

"So we are trying to see if external bodies can assist to pay the consultants. If we get the good consultants that would be better, because they would guide the Committee and equally do a better job.
THE on-going House of Representatives probe of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has hit a brickwall as the committee shops for N500 million to pay consultants.

The financial support is being sought from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international organisations.

Foreign technical experts in oil and gas from the United Kingdom and United States of America had demanded about N500 million to help the House unearth some shoddy dealing in the oil sector in the last eight years.

The Minority Leader of the House, Mr Muhammed Ali Ndume, told Vanguard that the House could not afford such a huge amount of money and was not ready to source for it.

He said the leadership and the 26-member ad-hoc committee carrying out the investigations were trying to see how international organisations could assist with the fund to pay foreign consultants so that the exercise might be deemed credible.

"We are looking at international bodies like the World Bank, the IMF, EU (European Union) and all that. We are not just looking at a particular country to help us in this (Petroleum Sector probe) exercise."

On why the House was seeking external help when it could generate funds for the exercise internally, the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) Leader said such could affect the outcome of the investigations. He said the House was treading with caution to avoid pitfalls that bedevilled similar exercises in the past.

His words: "Well, the reason why we thought of getting external help is because as you must have learnt, we were trying to get a reputable organisation to guide the Committee on this all important and this very massive work, but the consultants' charges are so high that the House cannot afford, but at the same time, we want the service, though we cannot afford the price. The price (the consultants are charging) is about N500 million.

As you know, the oil sector is what the country depends on, and it is a very complex sector.

"As for the delay in the probe, Nigerians should not worry, because this thing has been there since, but the country did not collapse, so if it takes us two months to start the process, no problem.

Even if it is going to take us two years, I think it is better to do a good job in two years than just to do a hurried job in two months and then get nothing out of it.

"And as for the funding, sourcing for funds within the country is the reason why we would have problems, because it means compromising. If you start begging for money here, then it means compromising.

Because the people you are trying to probe are not equally sitting down, and these are influential people and most likely own the places you want to go and beg for funds.

So we are trying to see how we can go about this, but I can assure you that we are going to do what is in the interest of the country."

Though he did not disclose the sum the House was seeking from the "International bodies", he assured that if granted, the financial assistance could take care of the foreign experts the House seeks to engage for the exercise.

"The House doesn't have the capacity to go and takes loan. If we can get an international body or any of these countries that donate to developing countries, then see it as part of development fund, it will be alright."

The House of Representatives had five weeks ago, set up a 26-member Committee jointly-chaired by Reps. Igochukwu Aguma, Leo Ogor and Clever Ikisikpo, from Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa States respectively.

The decision to set up the Committee came on the heels of a revelation by the Petroleum the sector was had not been audited after over 30 years of its existence.

Though preliminary investigations have since started, the ad hoc committee still grapples with the collation of data and how to hire foreign technical experts on the oil and gas sectors.

Nigeria: Military, No Threat to Democracy, Says Army Chief

This Day (Lagos)

15 June 2008
Posted to the web 15 June 2008

Imam Imam
Gusau

The military institution in Nigeria is no longer a threat to the survival of the nation's democracy, Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Luka Yusuf, said yesterday in Gusau, Zamfara State.

The Army chief, who gave the assurance while on a "thank you visit" to the government of Zamfara State for its decision to build a new ammunition depot in Gusau, said the military has now become the bastion of democratic governance in the country.

He warned against continued incidents of internal political wrangling witnessed in some parts of the country and said: "Army will not tolerate any form of political disturbance in any part of the country."

Yusuf said unlike the previously held view that the army has been an impediment to the development of democracy in the country, everyone is today aware that "the Army is the pillar of Nigerian Democracy and we will always be there to safeguard the system. We will always be there to make sure that Nigerians understand and appreciate the country better," he added.

He said the Nigerian Army is currently undergoing transformation that would make its personnel to be more professional in the discharge of their duties.

"We are transforming the Nigerian Army so that Officers and Soldiers would understand their duties well and be more professional. We are training very hard so that we can address any form of internal security problems and as well we are training very hard on peace support operations for which we are the fourth most contributing country in the world," he said.

The Army boss disclosed that the service is earning some money for the country through the peace keeping operations contrary to the belief by Nigerians that the country is wasting its scarce resources on the operations.

He however failed to say how much the country is earning from the operations. He only said "the amount is substantial but I cannot give the specific amount because I am not an accountant."

While commending the Zamfara State Gover-nment for its decision to construct a new ammunition depot for the army to replace the existing one, Yusuf said the gesture will go a long way in cementing the already existing cordial relationship between the state and Nigerian Army.

In his response to the army chief's remarks, Governor Mahmuda Aliyu Shinkafi extolled the role of the Nigerian Army in nurturing the country's democracy.

He identified poverty as the bane of security in the country and ephasised the need for all stakeholders in the country to work towards reducing poverty in the country.

Shinkafi, who said the Nigeria Army is among the highly skilled forces in the world, pledged that his administration would continue to support the service whenever the need arises.

Nigeria: After Tribunal Judgement - Atiku, Buhari Head for Supreme Court

Daily Trust (Abuja)

27 February 2008
Posted to the web 27 February 2008

Abdulfattah Olajide, Muideen Olaniyi, Aliu Machika, and Sunday Ejike Benjamin

Following yesterday's judgement of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal which upheld President Umaru Musa Yar'adua's election, his opponents, General Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Abubakar Atiku have vowed to challenge the ruling at the Supreme Court.

Buhari and Atiku were the presidential candidates of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and Action Congress (AC) respectively, in the controversial April 2007 election.

Reacting to the ruling in his Abuja residence yesterday, Alhaji Atiku said he would continue to fight the irregularities that characterised the election. He said he had already directed his legal team to file an appeal at the apex court immediately.

Gen. Buhari, yesterday described the judgment as 'semi final'.

Speaking outside the court premises shortly after the tribunal's verdict, Buhari said he would appeal to the Supreme Court within the three weeks time frame allowed.

"For us it is semi-final. We are proceeding to the Supreme Court," he told reporters, who sought for his reaction to the judgment, which upheld President Umaru Yar'adua's election.

Also commenting, the leading counsel to Buhari, Mr Mike Ahamba (SAN) expressed disappointment with the judgment.

Ahamba said he presented the proof of facts that results of the election were dated April 20 as against April 21 the date of the presidential election.

Atiku said:"today, the battle is lost but the war remains and continues. There is still a long winding road on our path to rebuild Nigeria. There are many more tribulations awaiting us down the road. Yet we must be prepared to reform our democracy and our economy. We must redefine what it means to rebuild our country"

"Today, in an epochal and far reaching Judgement the Election Tribunal in its own wisdom decided that the charade called election held in April last year was a fair representation of the free will of the Nigerian People. Today's' Judgement is not a decision against Atiku Abubakar, nor the Action Congress (AC). No. It is the Peace loving Nigerians who have lost today."

"In my own opinion the peoples of Nigeria had had their voice silenced again. Justice has not been done The future of constitutional democracy and free and fair election in Nigeria, nay Africa remains imperiled and we must redouble our efforts and be vigilant. Yet, the rule of law must prevail. I remain unshaken in my long held belief that there is no alternative to democracy."

"In fact, today's Judgement revalidates this and I am confident that even though it may appear to be a long and tortuous path, there is no alternative to the court in seeking redress to electoral frauds. After consultations I have instructed my team of lawyers to compile the records of today's proceeding and to immediately filed an appeal at the Supreme Court to upturn this Judgement."

Atiku added that he still believes in the ability of the judiciary to come up with the truth on the results of the last presidential election.

Buhari's TBO described the judgement as the worst in recent times and called on all Nigerians to reject it in totality, saying any attempt by Nigerians to accept the verdict would further ridicule the nation's electoral system.

Alhaji Buba Galadima expressed dissatisfaction with the criteria upon which the judgement was based. "The way and manner these judges delivered their verdict yesterday was completely unconvincing. They tried much just to serve those in power by putting emphasis on mere technicalities rather than actual truth of what transpired during the election. This judgement has no iota of truth in it and it lacks focus and authenticity and therefore we will challenge it," he said.

Delivering judgment, the tribunal said Buhari and Atiku did not prove that Yar'adua did not win the April 21, 2007 presidential election lawfully.

The court also ruled that there was no evidence that INEC breached the electoral law in such a way that substantially affected the conduct of the election or the result to the disadvantage of the petitioners.

Dismissing the petition filed by Buhari, Justice John Fabiyi, who read the ruling, declared that: "The petition failed because of want of evidence.

"The petitioner failed to prove that there was substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Law 2006 by the electoral agency to substantially affect the result of the election to his disadvantage.

"So the court cannot nullify the election. The onus of proof of substantiality of non-compliance with the electoral law rests on the petitioner and he did not discharge that responsibility," the judge said.

He said the petitioner did not provide any shred of evidence to back his claim that the result of the presidential election was announced only after results were compiled in 13 of the country's 36 component states after the election.

The court also dismissed the petitioner's submission that the Inspector-General of Police engaged in corrupt practices that affected the result of the election to his disadvantage.

"The petitioner could not support the petition and could not sustain any cause of action," the judge said.

He said the petition filed by Atiku also lacked substantial evidence to convince the court to annul the election of President Yar'adua.

Justice Fabiyi also declared that Atiku's argument that INEC did not register millions of voters was not backed by evidence as no-one instituted litigation that he or she was denied registration as a voter.

The court also declared that there was no evidence before it to back Atiku's claim that ballot papers used during the election were neither numbered serially nor bound into booklet form and affected the result of the election.

"The allegation is, therefore, not enough to invalidate the presidential election," Justice Fabiyi said.

Buhari and Atiku had urged the court to void the election of Yar'adua on the claim that the election was a ruse and that votes were merely allotted to candidates by INEC.

They also demanded the nullification of the presidential election on the claim that the exercise was not conducted in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Law 2006.

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