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Alleged $6bn Fraud: You’ve no power to try me, ex-Minister, Agunloye tells EFCC
Alleged $6bn Fraud: You’ve no power to try me, ex-Minister, Agunloye tells EFCC
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting at Apo on Monday, fixed February 26 to hear a motion the former Minister of Power and Steel, Mr. Olu Agunloye, who was accused of complicity in a $6 billion contract fraud, filed to challenge the powers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), to prosecute him.
The EFCC alleged that Agunloye, who served as a Minister between 1999 and 2003, under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, illegally awarded a contract for the construction of a 3,960 MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on a Build, Operate, and Transfer Basis.
The agency told the court that the contract, which was awarded to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, was done without any budgetary provision, approval, or cash backing.
Agunloye was equally alleged to have corruptly received kickback to the tune of N3.6 million from the company to which he awarded the contract.
However, the defendant, who had also served as a Minister of State for Defence, pleaded not guilty to the seven-count charge against him.
At the resumed proceedings in the matter on Monday, the 76-year-old defendant, via a motion marked: M/3736/2024, queried the powers of the EFCC to try him over the alleged offences.
He contended that the agency was bereft of both the investigative and prosecutorial powers under sections 6, 7, and 46 of the EFCC Act, 2004, to initiate the case against him.
He maintained that the offences in the charge bordered on his activities as a public officer, his alleged disobedience to presidential directives, as well as the alleged forgery of a letter dated May 22, 2003.
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“These allegations do not constitute financial crimes, which can be lawfully investigated and prosecuted by the EFCC, pursuant to its powers under Sections 6, 7, and 46 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act and in consonance with the Supreme Court’s decision in Nwobike v. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2022) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1826) 293.
“Not having the mandatory/statutory powers to investigate the allegations against the defendant ab initio, the purported investigation of the defendant and current prosecution of the charge by the EFCC is ultra vires its powers and thereby a nullity.
“This is a threshold issue, in which the court must first satisfy itself that there is requisite statutory powers for the EFCC to prosecute the charge and competent jurisdiction in the court to entertain same,” the former Minister argued through his lawyer, Mr. Adeola Adedipe, SAN.
Besides, he filed another motion for an order of the court to restrain the EFCC from inviting, intimidating, or harassing his sureties.
As well as for an order to vary the bail conditions the court gave to him on January 11, which mandated his sureties to provide evidence of their ownership of a property worth N300 million.
The defendant told the court that the EFCC has “repeatedly harassed, threatened, and invited his sureties for investigation,” an action he said was “actuated by bad faith, for the sureties to withdraw their suretyship and thereby create an uneven playing field in the prosecution of the case.”
Trial Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie adjourned the matter till February 26 to hear the applications.
One of the counts in the charge against the defendant read: “That you, Olu Agunloye, whilst being the Minister of Power and Steel on or about the 22nd of May, 2003 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, awarded a contract titled ‘Construction of 3,960mw Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on a Build, Operate, and Transfer Basis’ to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited without any budgetary provision, approval and cash backing, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22(4) of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act, 2000.”
Alleged $6bn Fraud: You’ve no power to try me, ex-Minister, Agunloye tells EFCC
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Labour shuts NSITF head office over staff salary cut
Labour shuts NSITF head office over staff salary cut
Members of the organised labour, on Friday, protested and shut down the headquarters of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) over alleged cut of workers’ salaries in the agency by the management of the fund.
The aggrieved protesters, led by the President of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo and executive members of the Association of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFE), started their demonstrations at about 11:00am.
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Armed with placards with various inscriptions, the protesters alleged that the management led by Mrs Maureen Allagoa, the Managing Director of the Fund, had made deductions of consequential taxes from their salaries to the tune of N2.1bn which were not remitted.
Addressing the protesters, Osifo said the protest and subsequent shutdown of the Fund became imperative after efforts made by the leadership of ASSBIFE to resolve the issue amicably with the management failed.
The protesters urged President Bola Tinubu to sack the MD of the agency with immediate effect to avert “looming crises” in the Fund and called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe their claims.
Both the MD of the Fund, Mrs Allagoa and spokesman of the Fund, Mr Godson Nwachukwu could not be reached for comments at the time of filing this report.
Labour shuts NSITF head office over staff salary cut
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How ex-Head of Service Oyo-Ita diverted N3bn public funds to private firms
How ex-Head of Service Oyo-Ita diverted N3bn public funds to private firms
Hamma Bello, the eighth prosecution witness in the trial of Winifred Oyo-Ita, a former Head of Service of the Federation, has narrated how N3 billion was diverted to private companies.
The witness stated this while testifying before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Thursday about how the defendant and her subordinates diverted public funds into their private companies.
Oyo-Ita, the first defendant, is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, along with her special assistants; Ugbong Effiok (seventh defendant) and Garba Umar (fourth defendant).
Others are six companies: Frontline Ace Global Services Limited, Asanaya Projects Limited, Slopes International Limited, U and U Global Services Ltd, Prince Mega Logistics Ltd, and Good Deal Investments, on 18 counts bordering on misappropriation, official corruption, money laundering, and criminal diversion of funds to the tune of over N3 billion.
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The witness, while being led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Faruk Abdullahi, and H.M. Mohammed, told the court that Oyo-Ita used Slopes International Limited and Good Deal Investments Limited – fifth and sixth defendants respectively, to fraudulently award government contracts to herself through the fourth defendant, Umar.
The first entry transaction of Good Deal Investment Limited. in February 2019 showed that N42,748,201.47 was paid into its Zenith Bank account.
Umar, the witness said, incorporated the company with Oyo-Ita’s full knowledge.
“We called for the account statements of these two companies, and upon analysing them, we realised he (Umar) was paid several sums of money from the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, where he is an employee.
“And upon interviewing the fourth defendant, he admitted that he was also a contractor. He also admitted to have paid the first defendant on several occasions from the proceeds of the transaction,” the witness said.
On April 27, 2019, the witness disclosed that a transfer of N20, 2027, 142 was made in the name of Ibrahim Madu to the Zenith Bank account of Asanaya Projects Limited.
The mandate card of the account bears the signature and photo of the seventh defendant, Effiok.
Investigation, according to the witness, also revealed that the seventh defendant incorporated Asanaya Projects Limited in his name with the knowledge of the first defendant and that approvals were granted and payments made to the seventh defendant either through his personal account or to the account of the company.
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The witness said, “The seventh defendant, upon interview, confirmed he had never travelled for most of the funds he received and that the first defendant was aware of and benefitted on several occasions from the funds. The account of U and U Global Services Limited was also opened by the seventh defendant.
“In summary, from 2015 to 2018, U and U Global Limited received several payments in the form of Duty Tour Allowances and estacodes. Sometimes, payments from the federal government were made directly to the account, for instance, on March 24, 2016, he received N40, 313, 453. 58. This particular payment was from the federal government.”
Further in his testimony, the witness stated that, “Exhibit O is the Fidelity Bank account of Prince Mega Logistics Ltd. On March 27, 2018, and April 6, 2018, there were four entries, N4, 950 000; N3,946,000, N4,676,000 and N1,478,000, from Thomson Titus Okure, who used to be a colleague of the seventh defendant in the Account Department.
“There were also outward payments to Ignom, Minaro Blessing, Winifred Oyo-Ita, Olarenwaju Godman Olushola and the seventh defendant is the sole signatory of this account.”
Speaking further, he said, “I also want to add that we invited the first, second and seventh defendant at different times to our office and interviewed them. In the case of the first defendant, we printed chats from her phone and saw conversations she had with contractors, subordinates, and permanent secretaries. She also voluntarily made a statement to the EFCC.”
The matter was adjourned till April 30, 2024.
(SAHARAREPORTERS)
How ex-Head of Service Oyo-Ita diverted N3bn public funds to private firms
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