EFCC Releases CEOs Of Access Bank, Sterling Bank After They Refund Billions Of Naira

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has released the chief executive officers of two Nigerian banks after the men returned billions of naira they had illicitly acquired from political slush funds during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Two EFCC sources told SaharaReporters that Sterling Bank’s CEO, Yemi Adeola, who was arrested on Wednesday in a raid on his bank by EFCC operatives, was released last night after he deposited a payment of N5 billion. According to one of our sources, the money returned by Mr. Adeola was in partial restitution for a transaction of $88 million he received from Nigeria's former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Mr. Adeola is expected to pay back a total of N17 billion to the recovery accounts of the Nigerian treasury within two weeks.

Also released last night was Herbert Wigwe, the Managing Director of Access Bank Plc., who was arrested yesterday after EFCC agents raided the bank headquarters in Lagos. 

A source at the EFCC told SaharaReporters that some notable personalities, including Oba Akiolu of Lagos and the bank's former CEO, Aig-Imokhuede, had pressured the anti-corruption agency to grant Mr. Wigwe bail. “We refused all such entreaties until Mr. Wigwe returned $5 million.” EFCC investigators said Zenith Bank had illicitly transferred the $5 million to Access Bank from a slush fund arranged by Ms. Alison-Madueke.

The EFCC source said the agency was conducting discreet investigations and recoveries of plundered funds from rogue bank CEOs who assisted Ms. Alison-Madueke and other officials of President Jonathan’s administration to launder funds. He added that most of the funds were laundered through opaque accounts that were kept “off records” by bank MDS.

The case of Access Bank was also linked to oil businessmen Jide Omokore and Kola Aluko, now a fugitive. Between them, both men are suspected to have stolen more than $6 billion from oil proceeds that should have accrued to the Nigerian government treasury.

According to an EFCC source, the two oil businessmen’s link at Access Bank is an executive director, Angela Ebagua, who is Omokore's wife. EFCC investigators who recently searched Ms. Ebagua Lagos home found her in possession of a $600k wristwatch.

One of our EFCC sources disclosed that the agency was now looking at First Bank. He said the EFCC’s investigation of the bank was focusing on the bank’s role in laundering more than $1 billion for the National Security Adviser’s office during the tenure of Colonel Sambo Dasuki, who is on trial for funneling billions of dollars of security funds into private hands. The source added that First Bank may have helped launder funds for Ms. Alison-Madueke, Mr. Omokore, and Mr. Aluko. EFCC officials recently invited a former CEO of the bank, Bisi Onasanya, for a chat.Diezani Alison-MaduekeState House PhotoKola AlukoGetty imagesJide OmokoreEbagua Omokore

EFCC Traces $88M From Alison-Madueke To Sterling Bank MD, Yemi Adeola

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said they traced more than $88 million to a hidden account controlled by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sterling Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Adeola.

Our EFCC source said the money was transferred to Mr. Adeola from Fidelity Bank of Nigeria whose managing director, Nnamdi Okonkwo, was last week detained by the EFCC. Mr. Okonkwo last was granted bail late yesterday.

One EFCC source told SaharaReporters that the $88 million found at Sterling Bank was separate from the $115m given to Fidelity Bank by the ex-oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke. The funds were used to bribe officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to rig the 2015 presidential election for ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.

Our source disclosed that Mr. Adeola had kept the $88m as an "off-record" transaction. 

Mr. Adeola, who was arrested yesterday, remains in the custody of the EFCC. 

Meanwhile, EFCC officials told our correspondent that the anti-corruption agency was contemplating charging certain officials of Sterling Bank officials with obstruction of justice. The officials were responsible for shutting down the bank's computers to prevent investigators' access to documents illustrating illegal transactions by the bank. 

One EFCC source also told SaharaReporters that former Governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi, was instrumental in arranging the Jonathan administration's placement of slush funds with Fidelity Bank. The source said investigations are ongoing regarding the extent of the ex-governor's involvement in the money laundering scandal

I’ve lost count of those I killed – Suspected cultist, kidnapper

A suspected cultist and kidnapper shocked newsmen on Friday when he confessed that he had lost count of the number of persons he had killed before his arrest by men of the Rivers State Police Command.

The suspect identified as Mitchel Tamuno, the leader of a cult group, was apprehended by the police in connection with the alleged kidnap on April 14 of a 14-old-old girl.

The girl (name withheld) was said to have been raped by her captors, including Mitchel before she eventually escaped from them.

Narrating why he was arrested by the police, Mitchel explained that he was only involved in killing of members of rival cult groups and did not shed “innocent blood”.

Mitchel, who insisted that he could no longer remember the number of persons he had killed, stated that he purchased the four AK 47 rifles used for operation by members of his cult group (Icelander) from one Ifeanyi in Aba, Abia State.

He added that the guns were used to kill some members of rival cult group (Greenlanders) so as to avenge the killing of  members of his own group.

Mitche, who promised to go back to his fish farming business if freed, said, “I have never shed innocent blood. We only kill people that come to kill us because we know the people we are fighting. The AK 47 rifles that were recovered belong to us as a group. I bought them from one Mr. Ifeanyi in Aba, Abia State. He sold the first two to us at N250,000 each and the second batch of two for N280,000 each.

“We only have four guns in our possession. We use the guns to fight our opponents. Our opponents are the Greenlanders and we fight for supremacy. I have never killed anybody and cut the head. Those who behead do so because they want the other group to feel the pain.

“When you come, you see your friend dead and without a head, you feel the pain. The fight is not on a daily basis. When we get information about them, we go after them and when they (rival cult group) get information about us, they come after us too. I have lost count of how many people I have killed because they all happened on different occasions.”

A member of the gang, who gets information for the kidnap gang, Godwin Pina, denied being a member of any cult group, but only gave information on how to kidnap the 14-year-old girl.

Pina, a 23-year-old labourer, disclosed that the girl that was kidnapped was her neighbour, adding that he became worried when he learnt from the gang members that their victim had escaped.

“They (gang members) called me that the girl had run away. One of my friends, who is at large (Bobo mi) informed me that the girl ran away. I regret my action. Francis, Bobomi and Collins also kidnapped Madam Lizzy.

“I am only involved in the kidnap of the girl, but I did not take part in raping her. Mitchel is our number one man in our group,” Pina added while appealing to the police for forgiveness.

Speaking on the arrested men, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ahmad Muhammad, said Pina was arrested while he went to the bank to withdraw the N50,000 their victim’s father paid into their (kidnappers) account.

Muhammad explained that Pina was able to give the police information that led to the arrest of Mitchel and other gang members, adding that four AK 47 rifles were recovered in the course of investigation.

He pointed out that the command would not relent in its determination to arrest criminals in the state and bring them to book, adding that the command in the month of April arrested 70 suspected kidnappers, cultists and armed robbers.

Muhammad added that 25 suspects were killed during a shootout with policemen while 11 AK 47 rifles and 17 assorted illicit firearms, 480 different calibres of ammunition were recovered from the suspected criminals.

On how Mitchel’s gang’s victim was able to escape, he said the girl escaped with a ladder she sighted within an uncompleted building where she was held hostage, recalling that four of the kidnappers, who raped her, were fast asleep when the victim escaped.

He said, “She (victim) then followed the sound of vehicles she was hearing from the road and got to the main road, saw a man driving a car, waved the car down and told the driver that she escaped from kidnappers’ den.

“She appealed to the driver of the car to help her call her father, who is a pastor in Bayelsa State. The Good Samaritan called the father of the victim and told him the development and the father directed the man to take her daughter to any nearby police station.

“Before then, the kidnappers had already put a call across to the father of their victim, demanding for ransom of N10m. They equally forwarded an account number detail to the victim’s father.

“One of the kidnapers (Godwin Pina) went to the bank immediately he noticed that the sum of N50,000 had been paid into the account for the upkeep of their victim, pending when the ransom demanded would be raised.

When the suspected was arrested, he then opened up that their boss, Mitchel, was staying in Okrika. Then the Anti-kidnapping unit moved to Abam in Okrika and arrested Mitchel and 10 other boys in his house.

“Two AK 47 rifles were recovered from him. On interrogation, he (Mitchel) said he had other two AK 47 rifles with one Iyalla Appolos somewhere in Azubokwe. We moved in there and Iyalla was arrested and the two AK 47 rifles were recovered from him,” Muhammad added.

Boko Haram War: U.S considers selling 29 attack aircrafts to Nigeria

The United States is considering selling Nigeria ground attack planes to help fight Boko Haram rebels, officials said Friday, despite concerns over the local military’s human rights record.

Nigeria’s Western allies have vowed to assist the West African giant in its fight against the brutal Islamist group, but have been cautious of providing arms to troops regularly accused of extrajudicial killings.

Washington is now, however, contemplating selling Nigeria a dozen A-29 Super Tucano ground attack planes of the type US contractors have supplied to Afghanistan to help it strike Taliban guerrillas.

US officials would not publicly confirm the plan, as it has not been formally approved or explained to Congress, but said Washington is looking for ways to help President Muhammadu Buhari’s government. Washington has longstanding concerns about Nigeria’s rights record and the government is prevented by law, under a 1997 amendment authored by Senator Patrick Leahy, from arming units that act with impunity.

“We are committed to implementing the letter and spirit of the Leahy Law, and will not provide assistance to any unit for which there is credible information of a gross violation of human rights,” a senior administration official told AFP.

“We provide training and other assistance to numerous Nigerian security force units not implicated in human rights violations and we believe that assistance has and will have a significant impact on Nigeria’s fight to defeat Boko Haram.”

Buhari, a former military dictator, was elected to the Nigerian presidency last year, replacing the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, whose government was widely derided as incompetent and corrupt. Since Buhari came to office, the United States has sought new ways to help out in the struggle against Boko Haram, but has proceeded cautiously because of the Nigerian military’s reputation for brutality.

“As a matter of policy, we do not comment on proposed US defense sales or transfers until they have been formally notified to Congress,” said David McKeeby, spokesman for the State Department’s bureau of political-military affairs.

“Nigeria is a strategic partner of the United States and we continue to work closely together on security matters,” he said.

“We provide a range of assistance to Nigerian authorities, including advisors, intelligence, training, survivor support services and advice on strategic communications.”

Boko Haram’s insurgency began in northeast Nigeria and has spread to parts of neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon — where French and US forces have been more active in helping local armies fight the rebels. More than 20,000 people have been killed since fighting began in 2009, many of them in large-scale slaughters of civilians by insurgents, but some in heavy-handed military operations.

Nigerians list expectations as Buhari signs 2016 budget

After several months of delay, controversies and forth and back correspondences with the National Assembly (NASS) over alleged padding and grey areas, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday signed this year’s Appropriation Bill (Budget) into law.

The signing of the budget has effectively brought to an end six months of disagreements between the legislature and executive arms of government.

With this, the economy is set to pick up, as funds for capital projects will be released any time soon to execute them and fund other government undertakings.

The signing ceremony, which took place in the President’s Office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja was witnessed by a retinue of highly-placed government officials, including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Senate President Bukola Saraki; Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Mr. Babachir David Lawal.

Others who witnessed the signing were the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; Chairmen, Senate and House Appropriation Committees, Danjuma Goje and Abdulmumuni Jibrin; Ministers of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma; State (National Planning), Zainab Ahmed; and Special Assistants to the President on National Assembly Matters, Ita Enang (Senate) and Abdulrahman Kawu (House).

Buhari, in a short speech before the signing, said the occasion marked the beginning of the proper implantation of the manifestos of his party, as outlined driving his inaugural speech in May last year.

According to the President: “This budget is intended to signpost a renewal of our commitment to restoring the budget as a serious article of faith with the Nigerian people.
“This administration is committed to ensuring that henceforth, the annual Appropriation Bill is presented to the National Assembly in time for the passage of the Act before the beginning of the fiscal year.
“Through the 2016 budget, aptly titled ‘Budget of Change,’ the government seeks to fulfill its own side of the social contract.
“The budget I have signed into law provides for aggregate expenditures of N6.06trn. Further details of the approved budget, as well as our Strategic Implementation Plan for the budget, will be provided by the Minister of Budget and National Planning.”

Buhari, who promised to speak more on the details of the budget, its implementation and the over-all national economic and social policies of the government in his first anniversary speech on May 29, however, indicated that the budget was anchored on disciplined implementation.

His stated: “In designing the budget, we made a deliberate choice to pursue an expansionary fiscal policy, despite the huge decline in government revenues from crude oil exports.

“This is why we decided to enlarge the budget deficit at this time, to be financed principally through foreign and domestic borrowings. All borrowings will, however, be applied towards growth-enhancing capital expenditures.

“Consequently, the signing of the budget today will trigger concerted efforts to reflate the Nigerian economy, a key element of which is an immediate injection of N350bn into the economy by way of capital projects.

“To illustrate our renewed commitment to infrastructural development, the budget allocates over N200billion to road construction, as against a paltry N18billion allocated for same purpose in the 2015 budget.”

He added: “Despite the current difficulties, we will work extra hard to achieve our revenue projections.” “Our revenue generating agencies are coming under better management and are being re-oriented. The implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) is expected to contribute significantly to improving transparency over government revenues.

“Our determined fight against corruption is resulting in improvements in the quality of public expenditure. The work of the Efficiency Unit, as well as other public financial management initiatives, are also contributing in this regard.

“The continuing efforts to reduce recurrent expenditures should hopefully free up more funds for capital expenditure in 2017 and beyond.”

Making allusion to his New Year message, the President reiterated the fact that living in the State House does not in any way alienate him from the daily struggles of Nigerians, saying: “I read the newspapers and listen to the television and radio news. I hear your cries, share your pains.”

“We are experiencing probably the toughest economic times in the history of our nation. I want to commend the sacrifice, resilience and toughness of all Nigerians, young and old, who have, despite the hardships, continued to have hope and confidence of a great future for Nigerians.

“But permit me to say that this government is also like none other. We are absolutely committed to changing the structure of the Nigerian economy once and for all.

“We are working night and day to diversify the economy, such that we never again have to rely on one commodity to survive as a country, so that we can produce the food we eat, make our own textiles, produce most of things we use.

“We intend to create the environment for our young people to be able to innovate and create jobs through technology.”

He said he would not promise Nigerians that this would be an easy journey, adding: “But in the interest of so much and so many, we must tread this difficult path.

“But I can assure you this government you have freely elected will work with honesty and dedication day and night to ensure that our country prospers and that the prosperity benefits all Nigerians.”

In a chat with State House correspondents after the event, Saraki said it was an epoch-making event, noting that the legislature would work in close cooperation with the executive to ensure the budget is fully implemented for the good of Nigerians.

Flanked by Dogara and Odigie-Oyegun, the Senate President admitted that the passing of the budget had been the most difficult assignment for the lawmakers, but appealed to Nigerians to put the chapter behind and look forward to a brighter future.

He said: “The passing of the Appropriation Bill is the most difficult all over the world. Even America that we copy, sometimes the government is shut down, but we didn’t see that in our case. It is a first time and a new government, so these sorts of challenges are rare.

“But I am happy we are all here to see that we have passed the budget and the President has ‎signed it into law and what we await now is implementation.
“I want to assure Nigerians that from the comments of the President, our commitment is to see that the budget is implemented, not just the assent, and that is when Nigerians will begin to see the benefits.

“Let us focus on the good part and play less on the controversy that is behind us now and I want to assure Nigerians of the benefit expected from this budget is implemented.”

Asked how the controversy surrounding the budget could be averted in future, the Senate President said early presentation of the budget is a major panacea.

“We have long time now to prepare. The government is in place, the new appointments and those in National Assembly are in place, so I am sure it will not be like this again.

“Let us focus on what that document is, and that is the benefits to Nigerians, that we will begin to see in the implementation. And that is what we will do in our oversight function.”