Tuesday, November 4, 2008


EFCC to try 10 other ex-govs
Presents report to Senate
Aduku loses freedom bid
From Alifa Daniel and Lemmy Ughegbe, Abuja

TEN former governors, apart from the 11 who are currently facing prosecution, may soon appear in court for various alleged corrupt practices bordering on their management of public funds, going by a report before the Senate from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).



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Although their names were not listed in the report, specific offences they were said to have committed include embezzlement of public funds, abuse of office, money laundering and conspiracy, among others.

Also, an Abuja High Court yesterday refused an application by former Minister of State for Health, Gabriel Aduku, to secure his release from EFCC's custody following his re-arrest by the anti-graft agency.

Early last year, the former EFCC boss, Nuhu Ribadu, had told the Senate that over 30 governors whom he named had been found to have mismanaged funds meant for their states.

In addition, the EFCC last year received 3,672 petitions, most of which involved Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and their collaborators.

Of the petitions, 183 were fully investigated and subjected to litigation, while 544 are still being processed by the EFCC's Legal Unit for "possible prosecution." The balance of 2,945 cases are being processed in the EFCC, according to the 2007 yearly report of the Commission available in the Senate in Abuja yesterday.

The Commission recovered about N21 billion, in addition to the prevention of the stealing of several more billions in government agencies, the report said.

"The Commission will continue to intensify the investigation of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and ensure that good governance is enthroned in the country. The accusation of selectivity or partisanship cannot be supported as the Commission is always guided by law and the law alone," the report noted.

The EFCC admitted that the war against Advance Fee Fraud (also known as 419) remained a major challenge as perpetrators were changing their modus operandi and moving to neighbouring African countries because of the heat from the Commission.

"A disturbing trend in this area is the large number of young persons, mostly undergraduates, in this criminal enterprise," the report noted.

Meanwhile, 38,000 counterfeit cheques worth about N30 billion were intercepted by the EFCC in collaboration with the United States Postal Services and the United Kingdom Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).

Also, 600 telephone lines suspected to be used to perpetrate advanced fee fraud were disenabled.

To enhance its work in the banking sector, the EFCC is considering having a surveillance team in the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) domiciled in the Commission to focus on the operations of banks nation-wide.

"For example," according to the report, "a Nigerian Bank operating in the United States of America, was recently fined U.S.$15 million by U.S. authorities for anti-money laundering (AML) violations. The EFCC is taking steps to address similar violations locally."

In the course of spot checks in banks, the NFIU last year, recommended sanctions against six financial institutions, issued five warning letters, with over N2 million fines recommended against others.

In recognition of the work, donor aid to it increased last year with the European Union (EU) topping the list with a grant of $32 million (about N3,712,000,000). The three-year grant has been extended to next year, while a World Bank Economic Reform and Governance Project (2005-2009) credit of $3.2 million has been secured.

The credit is being used to support the NFIU, media and publicity, procurement of vehicles, office and computer equipment and capacity-building in investigation.

To be more effective, the EFCC is asking for the review of its laws to enable it curb corruption. It quoted Section 7 of the EFCC Act which vests on the Commission some "special powers viz: (a) Cause investigations to be conducted as to whether any person, corporate body or organisation has committed an offence under this Act or other law relating to economic and financial crime; (b) Cause investigations to be conducted into the property of any person if it appears to the Commission that the person's life-style and extent of the property are not justified by his source of income.

It adds: "If there is one section that is relevant to the Nigerian situation, it is Section 7 (1) (b) of the EFCC Act. By that section, the Commission is empowered to investigate the property of any person (and this includes corporate bodies) if the person's life-style and extent of the property are not justified by his source of income.

"This provision is in compliance with Article 20 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which enjoins nations to criminalise as an offence illicit enrichment where there is significant increase in the assets of a public official that he or she cannot reasonably explain in relation to his or her lawful income.

"This is one section that Nigeria needs perhaps more than any other country. It is only here that a man who has spent all his life in public service with known remuneration package would retire into a flourishing business empire without reasonable explanation as to how he/she came by such sudden wealth. It is therefore necessary and expedient to criminalise such conduct in order to bring culprits to justice and have the assets illicitly acquired confiscated and returned to government to be utilised for developmental purposes. If crime does not pay, then culprits must be denied the enjoyment of wealth illicitly acquired at public expense.

"In this regard, the proposed non-conviction based assets forfeiture laws will not only be a useful tool to combat corruption, but will serve as deterrent to public officers who abuse positions of trust."

As part of its six strategic goals, the Commission plans to protect and strengthen the financial system through effective administration of the EFCC Act, as well as other laws enforced by the anti-corruption body.

Other goals are:

Ensure that preventive measures are taken to minimise the commission of economic crimes reports through robust intelligence gathering and a refocusing of the public advocacy activities of the Commission;
Increase the Commission's capacity to combat terrorist financing and terrorism;
Combat corruption, money laundering and other financial crimes through beaming our searchlights on areas that had hitherto not received sufficient attention, principally the administration of Local Government Areas and heavy spending Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs);
Intensify international anti-laundering collaboration through the global network of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) and international law enforcement authorities; and
Facilitate inter-agency collaboration with other law enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies, locally and internationally.
Also in Abuja yesterday, Aduku lost his bid to be freed to secure his release from the EFFC 's custody.
Three weeks ago, counsel to EFCC, James Binang, had applied to the court to drop charges of alleged complicity in diverting N300 million unspent Ministry of Health 2007 budget against Aduku and the Permanent Secretary, Prof. Simon Ogandi and the Director of Finance, Hanafi Mohammed, in the Health Ministry.

Consequently, the trial judge, Mr. Salisu Garba, granted Binang's prayer and accordingly discharged Aduku, Ogandi and Mohammed.

But following the stir, which the development caused in the Presidency, the EFCC moved to revive the case against the trio, who are said to be vital to its case by attempting to re-arrest them last week.

The EFCC even took further steps by applying to the court to recall Aduku, who is an architect, and two others for the purpose of facing fresh trial over the roles they played in the expenditure of N300 million unspent budget of the Ministry of Health.

Whereas Aduku was re-arrested, a source in EFCC alleged that Ogandi was on the run, but was confident that the long hand of the law will catch up with him eventually.

When the application for the EFCC to release Aduku was argued by his counsel, Ben Annachebe (SAN), the anti-graft agency objected to it on the score that it was an invitation for the court to prevent a statutory body from performing its duties prescribed by the statute establishing it.

In his ruling, the trial judge ruled that Aduku's application was "incompetent as it was not properly brought."

He held that the proper application that ought to have been brought was that for the enforcement of his fundamental rights and not one to declare his arrest unlawful.

Meanwhile, one of the accused persons in the on-going trial of the budgetary fraud, Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, has taken her battle to clear her name of complicity in the diversion and illegal retention of part of the N300 million unspent Health Ministry funds to the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division.

Specifically, Obasanjo-Bello filed an appeal, seeking to upturn the decision of an Abuja High Court not to quash the charges preferred against her by the EFCC over her alleged illegal retention of the sum of N10 million, which was said to be part of the N300 million unspent funds from the Health Ministry's 2007 budget.

The daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo wants the appellate court to determine whether an accused person who is challenging the jurisdiction of the court to try him/her must first be arraigned before his application could be heard. She also wants the court to determine whether the trial judge, Justice Salisu Garba, was right when he held that a prima facie case was established against her when the proof of evidence against her did not contain any incriminating evidence.

She contended that the holding by the trial judge that a prima facie case was established against her was baseless and negated the principle of fairness, justice and equity.

According to her, the Appropriation Act 2007 made provision of about N35 million for the retreat to deliberate on the National Health Bill out of which the Senate committee was given N10 million.

In Ground 6, she said: "The learned trial judge erred in law when he failed to make any finding and pronouncement on the budget for the Ministry of Health contained in the Appropriation Act 2007, which made provision for the retreat of the Health Committee of the National Assembly outside Nigeria to deliberate on the National Health Bill even though I made the whole of the Appropriation Act 2007 available in court and I referred to the page of the Ministry of Health budget where the sum of about N35 million was approved for the retreat."

She further stated that the Senate openly accepted responsibility for the trip to Ghana for the retreat on the National Health Bill and wondered why doing a legitimate duty could constitute a crime.

Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello was charged with conspiracy to retain stolen property punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code Act Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 and the offence of dishonestly retaining the N10 million belonging to the Federal Government, having reason to believe same to be stolen property punishable under section 307 of the Penal Code Act.


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