metro
Pandora: Secret deal between Sambo Dasuki’s family, billionaire contractor exposed
Pandora Papers have uncovered a secret offshore deal between a Nigerian multi-billionaire businessman, Leno Adesanya and family members of Sambo Dasuki, a former National Security Adviser.
According to Premium Times, some time in 2013, Adesanya approached a secrecy seller in the British Virgin Islands, Trident Trust Company Limited, to help Dasuki’s family members to register a shell company, Hydropower Investments Limited.
It said during the 37 months that Dasuki lasted as NSA, Adesanya had at least two knotty multibillion-dollar issues to resolve with the Nigerian government which resulted in the payment of about $55.3m to him by Jonathan’s administration.
But Dasuki denied asking Adesanya to register the company for his children.
In the documentation submitted for the company’s incorporation, Adesanya indicated that Hydropower Investment was set up to own real estate and investment portfolios.
He indicated that the company would, on behalf of the Dasuki family, hold 1.5 million shares in Sino Africa (Nigeria) Limited, a 19-year old company that has him (Adesanya) and a certain Uche Nwokedi as directors.
Hydropower Investments, company documents also showed, will also hold for the Dasukis 10 million shares in Sunrise Power & Transmission (Nigeria) Co. Limited, a company that is locked in a long-drawn dispute with the Nigerian government over the Mambilla power project.
The legal dispute is stalling the key funding from the Chinese EXIM Bank to execute the Mambilla project, an ambitious electricity generation infrastructure considered key to tackling Nigeria’s long-standing power sector crisis.
The shell company, Hydropower Investments, was registered on November 14, 2013, with Adesanya and Abubakar Atiku Dasuki, a son of a former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, as directors.
But while Adesanya serves as the face of the company and uses his Lagos home as the contact address for the offshore firm, he holds no single share.
The shareholders and ultimate beneficial owners of the company are Abubakar Atiku Dasuki, (17,000 shares), Hassan Sultan Dasuki (16,500 shares) and Asmau Iman Dasuki (16,500 shares).
Abubakar was 31 years old at the time the company was established while Hassan and Asmau were 18.
The three shareholders are children of former NSA Dasuki, one of the most powerful figures in Nigeria at the time the company was incorporated, and awarded a combined 11.5million shares in Adesanya’s companies – Sunrise and Sino Africa.
There is no evidence that Dasuki or his children paid for the shares. When the registration agent, Trident Trust Company, sought to know how the shareholders sourced the funds with which they planned to acquire the assets, Mr Adesanya simply provided a vague response, telling them the assets would be “carried interest through a loan to be arranged by the sponsor (Leno Adesanya) of the project.”
It remains unclear why Adesanya would provide a loan to buy several million shares from his own companies in favour of the children of one of the country’s most powerful political personalities at the time.
Adesanya, speaking through his representative, said he derived no favours from Dasuki and added that “the children wanted to start doing business and they were advised by me to set up an offshore company for discretionary purposes.”
Dasuki said, through a representative, he did not ask Adesanya to register the company for his children. He said businesspeople sometimes render unsolicited favours to government officials even without their knowledge.
He added that, moreover, his children were adults, who could make business decisions on their own.
Daily Trust
metro
UK hikes visa fees as new rates take effect April 9
UK hikes visa fees as new rates take effect April 9
The United Kingdom Home Office has announced an upward revision of visa application fees across various categories, with the cost of study visas for main applicants and their dependents rising from £490 to £524.
According to an update published on the Home Office website on March 19, the new fees will apply from April 9. The cost of a six-month visit visa will increase from £115 to £127, while a two-year visa will now be issued at £475, up from £432. Additionally, the fee for a 10-year visa has been raised from £963 to £1,059.
Transit visas have also been affected by the changes, with the direct airside transit visa fee increasing from £35 to £39, and the direct landside visit visa rising from £64 to £70.
READ ALSO:
- Ex-Rivers HoS wife cries for help over husband’s safety
- Fubara reacts as Ex-HOS, Nwaeke accuses him of bombing oil pipelines, Rivers Assembly
- Natasha: Emmanuel Uduaghan threatens to sue Senator Nwaebonyi
The UK has long been a preferred destination for Nigerian students looking to further their education, often as a way to escape economic challenges at home. However, the number of Nigerian students applying to study in the UK has dropped significantly in 2024 following a government policy barring most international students from bringing their family members.
The rule, which does not apply to postgraduate research students, has led to a decline in study visa applications from countries such as Nigeria and India. A March 2024 report by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service highlighted the shift, noting that many prospective students are now seeking admission in alternative destinations.
UK hikes visa fees as new rates take effect April 9
metro
Ramadan ends in Nigeria, Sultan announces March 30 as Eid-el-Fitr
Ramadan ends in Nigeria, Sultan announces March 30 as Eid-el-Fitr
Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Abubakar Sa’ad, says the crescent moon marking the end of Ramadan fasting has been sighted.
The Sultan, who is president of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSIA), said in a broadcast on Saturday night, “Today marks the end of the Ramadan fasting and Sunday, March 30, is the Eid-el-Fitr celebration.”
metro
Embrace environmental sanitation during Eid-Fitr, LAGESC boss tells Lagosians
Embrace environmental sanitation during Eid-Fitr, LAGESC boss tells Lagosians
By Dada Jackson
The Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) has urged Lagosians to embrace proper environmental practices and obey the state’s environmental laws ahead of the Eid-l-Fitr festivities to mark the end of the Ramadan fast by Muslim faithful around the world.
Corps Marshal of the agency, Major Olaniyi Olatunbosun Cole (retd), sounded the call at the agency’s command headquarters at Bolade-Oshodi.
He said, ‘‘The Ramadan fast is a testament to the willingness of Muslim faithful to adhere to the pillars of their faith and it is enjoined that cleanliness is an important religious practice in all faiths, which is why we admonish Lagosians to imbibe proper waste disposal and keep their environment clean during the celebration.”
Cole also advised Lagosians to make proper use of pedestrian bridges for their safety instead of crossing highways to prevent ‘hit and run’ cases by speeding motorists.
He equally read a riot act to miscreants in the habit of converting pedestrian bridges to sleeping areas which deters Lagosians in transit, pedestrians vowing that anyone caught w be made to face the state Environmental laws as amended
The KAI boss also revealed that the agency had recorded giant strides and would not relent in ridding pedestrian bridges across Lagos of criminal obstructions, traders and hawkers with daily arrests made alongside secured prosecutions by the Courts.
The Corps Marshal also warned Lagosians to desist from street trading, use of Styrofoam pack, hawking in traffic, patronage of cart pushers for refuse disposal, and erection of illegal structures on laybys, setbacks, medians, road verges, kerbs or around public schools in the state.
The KAI head said offenders would be made to face the consequences via prosecution in a competent court of appropriate jurisdiction.
-
Uncategorized1 day agoBreaking: Moon sighted in Saudi, UAE, others, Eid-Fitr holds Sunday
-
metro3 days agoEFCC re-arraigns son of ex-PDP chairman for alleged N2.2bn oil subsidy fraud
-
metro24 hours agoRamadan ends in Nigeria, Sultan announces March 30 as Eid-el-Fitr
-
metro2 days agoFubara reacts as Ex-HOS, Nwaeke accuses him of bombing oil pipelines, Rivers Assembly
-
metro3 days agoWe welcome Gov Makinde’s U-turn on Shari’ah panel – MURIC
-
Opinion2 days agoBarbaric mass burning of innocents in Edo, by Farooq Kperogi
-
Uncategorized3 days agoObasanjo’s position on Rivers emergency rule hypocritical, says Presidency
-
metro2 days agoEx-Rivers HoS wife cries for help over husband’s safety