Category: Security and Crimes

Abuja: A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, postponed the hearing of a suit filed by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, challenging the orders obtained by the EFCC for final forfeiture of her seized assets.

The matter, which was scheduled on number 15 on the cause list, could not proceed due to the absence of the presiding judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo.

The court subsequently fixed Dec. 7 for hearing of the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/21/23.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Ekwo had, on June 21, fixed today for hearing of the case after the lawyer who appeared for Alison-Madueke, Mr Benson Igbanoi, and EFCC’s counsel, M.D. Baraya, regularised their processes in the suit.

NAN reports that the anti-corruption agency had planned to conduct public sale of all the assets seized for being proceeds of crime as ordered by courts to be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government
The auctioning exercise, conducted on the seized assets believed to include Diezani’s property, started on Jan. 9.
The immediate-past chairman of EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, had revealed that $153 million and over 80 property had been recovered from Alison-Madueke.
She was alleged to have escaped to the United Kingdom (UK) and remained there after her exit from public office as the petroleum minister, an office she held between 2010 and 2015 under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
But the ex-minister, in her suit, sought an order extending the time within which to seek leave to apply to the court for an order to set aside the EFCC’s public notice issued to conduct public sale on her property.
In the motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/21/2023 dated and filed on Jan. 6 by her lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, the former minister sought five orders from the court.
While Alison-Madueke is the applicant, the EFCC is the sole respondent in the suit.
The former minister, who argued that the various orders were made without jurisdiction, said these “ought to be set aside ex debito justitiae.”
She said she was not given fair hearing in all the proceedings leading to the orders.
“The various court orders issued in favour of the respondent and upon which the respondent issued the public notice were issued in breach of the applicant’s right to fair hearing as guaranteed by Section 36 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, as altered, and other similar constitutional provisions,” she said.

She argued that she was neither served with the charge sheet and proof of evidence in any of the charge nor any other summons howsoever and whatsoever in respect of the criminal charges pending against her before the court.

She further argued that the courts were misled into making several of the final forfeiture orders against her assets through suppression or non-disclosure of material facts.

“The several applications upon which the courts made the final order of forfeiture against the applicant were obtained upon gross misstatements, misrepresentations, non-disclosure, concealment and suppression of material facts.

”This honourable court has the power to set-aside same ex debito justitiae, as a void order is as good as if it was never made at all.

“The orders were made without recourse to the constitutional right to fair hearing and right to property accorded the applicant by the constitution.

“The applicant was never served with the processes of court in all the proceedings that led to the order of final forfeiture,” she said, among other grounds given.
But the EFCC, in a counter affidavit deposed to by Rufai Zaki, a detective with the commission, urged the court to dismiss her application.
Mr Zaki, who was a member of the team that investigated a case of criminal conspiracy, official corruption and money laundering against the ex-minister and some other persons involved in the case, said investigation had clearly shown that she was involved in some acts of criminality.
He said Alison-Madueke was therefore charged before the court in charge no: FHC/ABJ/CR/208/2018.
“We hereby rely on the charge FHC/ABJ/CR/208/2018 dated 14th November, 2018 filed before this honourable court and also attached as Exhibit C in the applicant’s affidavit,” he said.
The EFCC operative, who said he had seen the ex-minister’s motion, said most of the depositions were untrue.
He said contrary to her deposition in the affidavit in support, most of the cases which led to the final forfeiture of the contested property “were action in rem, same were heard at various times and determined by this honourable court.”
He said the courts differently ordered the commission to do a newspaper publication inviting parties to show cause why the said property should not be forfeited to the Federal Government, before final orders were made.
Mr Zaki argued that one Nnamdi Awa Kalu represented the ex-minister in reaction to one of the forfeiture applications.
“We humbly rely on the judgment of Hon. Justice I.LN. Oweibo dated 10th September, 2019 shown in Exhibit C of the applicant’s affidavit,” he said.
The officer said contrary to her, the final forfeiture of the assets which were subject of the present application was ordered by the court since 2017 and that this was not set aside or upturned on appeal.
According to him, the properties have been disposed off through due process of law.
NAN reports that the EFCC had equally filed a money laundering suit against the ex-minister.
The suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/208/2018 and brought by the anti-graft lawyer, Farouk Abdullah was presently before Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon.
Justice Olajuwon, on Jan. 24, 2022, issued an arrest warrant against Alison-Madueke, following an oral application by Abdullah that the defendant had refused to come to the country to stand her trial.
The EFCC accused the former minister of fleeing the country for the UK in order to escape justice.
The lawyer, in a document filed along with a motion ex-parte, said it sought to question Diezani, without success, in relation to many allegations against her.

This, he said, includes “her role as the Minister of Petroleum Resources and her role in the award of Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA) to Septa Energy Limited, Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Limited and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited by NNPC.

He said it also wanted Diezani to respond to questions about “her role in the chartering of private jets by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Ministry of Petroleum Resources and her role in the award of contracts by NNPC to Marine and Logistics Services Limited.”

Abdallah said the agency was investigating Diezani’s business relationships with Mr. Donald Amamgbo, Mr. Afam Nwokedi, Chief lkpea Leemon, Miss Olatimbo Bukola Ayinde, Mr Benedict Peters, Christopher Aire, Harcourt Adukeh, Julian Osula, Dauda Lawal, Nnamdi Okonkwo, Mr. Leno Laithan, Sahara Energy Group and Midwestern Oil Limited.

He added that Dezani was also required to clear air on “her role in financing the 2015 general elections, particularly the money that were warehoused at Fidelity Bank Plc in 2015 prior to the elections.”

He said it equally wanted the ex-minister to speak on several items, documents and Jewelleries recovered from her house at No: 10, Chiluba Close, off Jose Marti Street, Asokoro, Abuja, and some identified property that were linked to her In Nigeria, UK, United States of America (USA), United Arab Emirate (UAE) and South Africa.

NAN reports that Alison-Madueke is also standing trial before the Westminster Magistrates Court in the UK over an alleged £100,000 bribe.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)/ Flowerbudnews

By Biola Lawal

Abuja (Flowerbudnews): The Executive Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has clarified that his convoy was not attacked by any alleged assassins over the weekend.

In a briefing monitored online by Flowerbudnews, Gov. Bello said a minor disagreement between some soldiers on the highway and policemen in his convoy was spread by possible mischief makers as Assassination attempt.

The Governor said that the minor issue between the soldiers and policemen was resolved in less than five minutes after which the convoy moved on. (Flowerbudnews)

However, Agency reports by Thompson Yamput of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) also stated that the Kogi Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello  denied alleged assassination attempt on his life on Sunday.

Addressing newsmen in the evening of Sunday, Bello explained the incident on Lokoja-Abuja Highway as a mere altercation between his security details and some military personnel at a check point.

But his Information Commissioner, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, in a statement, alleged assassination attempt on the governor’s life along the Lokoja-Abuja Road around 4.20.p.m. of Sunday.

Fanwo had claimed that the assassins were in military uniforms during the attack, which was repelled by security men attached to the governor.

A contrary statement in Lokoja by Bello’s Media Aide, Onogwu Mohammed, said: “What happened along the Lokoja-Abuja road was a minor disagreement between the security details attached to him and some military personnel providing security on the road.

In an interview granted to newsmen a few moments ago at his residence in Abuja, Bello stated that there was no attempt whatsoever on his life.

He clarified that while there was a minor fracas between men of the Nigerian Police Force attached to his convoy and those of a military unit manning the highways, it was in the course of both units performing their lawful security duties.”

The governor commended the security agencies for their joint contributions to the improved security of lives and property enjoyed by the residents of Kogi.

Bello, however, called on the high command of the agencies involved to investigate overzealousness or unprofessional conduct by any of their men involved in the incident and apply the necessary sanctions.

The governor also called on residents of Kogi to ignore any attempt by political profiteers to use the incident to unsettle the polity as the state’s 2023 governorship elections slated for Nov. 11 drew nearer.

He assured the state of both his safety and the adequacy of security arrangements to ensure that the elections were peaceful, free and fair. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)/ Flowerbudnews

Abuja: The Attorney-General (A-G) of Borno, Mrs Hauwa Abubakar, says the state is not a war zone contrary to insinuations in some quarters.
Abubakar made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the sideline of the 4th Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) National Validation Conference in Abuja.

She stressed that contrary to a media report that there was escalation of Boko Haram atrocities in Borno lately, the state had been peaceful.

She said though there were challenges inhibiting against tackling the issues of human right abuse in the country, the state government was not resting on its oars.

“The state government is up to it to tackle all the issues.

“For instance, there was a recent news by one of the newspapers reporting an incidence of escalation of Boko Haram atrocities (in Borno).

“But the truth is that Borno has been peaceful. Of course, we are still in the insurgency, it hasn’t stopped.
“So it is inevitable for us to hear one or two attacks here and there,” she said.

The A-G recalled that few years back, there were lots of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Maiduguri camps but that the state government had been able to relocate many of the IDPs back to their communities while some of the IDP camps had been closed down.

“That’s to tell you that we are on top of it and all that we need is support, especially from the media, to show the effort the state government is doing in tackling all these issues because Borno State is not a war zone as a lot of people think,” she said.

She said the government was making effort to uphold the rule of law, especially the provision of Chapter 4 of the constitution about fundamental human rights, in its effort to bring back peace to the state.

According to her, the Borno State government is making a lot of efforts; a lot of bills were passed into laws in upholding rule of law, human rights protection, to make Borno better.
“The policy of His Excellency, Prof. Babagana Zulum, is to see that all the victims of Boko Haram Have been treated fairly, rehabilitated and resettled back into the communities.
“We are doing so much and doing it so well notwithstanding what we have gone through.
“Borno State is coming out better and stronger out if it,” she said.

She said kinetic approach to war against Boko Haram by Gov. Babagana Zulum-led government had yielded results and stil yielding results for the state.
“The insurgents will come out and surrender and there is an entry point where they are being received.
“When they are received, we have a rehabilitation centre for them to be rehabilitated.
“Their welfare is being taken care of and I think that is a great effort by Borno State government in rehabilitating them and making sure that they don’t go back to that criminalities again,” she said.
Earlier, Mr Abdulraman Yakubu, Director of Civil and Political Rights, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), said the essence of the event was for Nigeria to comply with UN guidelines by preparing its national report to the UN Human Rights Council under the mechanism of UPR.
Yakubu, who was also the Co-Secretary of Inter-Ministerial Committee on UPR, said the guideline was that any country being reviewed and preparing its report must consult widely and broadly.
“Today, we are having a larger gathering of stakeholders coming from across the country to validate the draft report that has been prepared by the committee and the consultants,” he said
The Lead Consultant, Prof. Joy Ezeilo, SAN, said UPR was about peer review mechanism where members state of UN judge other state members on their human rights records

Ezeilo, who was former UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, said Nigeria had done well on issues of human rights in some areas and regressed in others.
“But it is a constant continued process. That is why this is important,” she said.
NAN reports that the UPR is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Members States.
The Abuja meeting was to help to contribute to Nigeria’s ability to develop an objective and Independent report on the efforts to promote and protect human rights in compliance with international obligations.

Nigeria was reviewed by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in 2009, 2013 and 2018 during the 1st, 2nd and 3rd UPR Cycles respectively, and preparations have been ongoing for Nigeria’s 4th review scheduled between January and February 2024.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng) / Flowerbudnews