The Mighty Ex-Convicts

By Nafisat Makinde, Jubril Lado & Chijioke Madumelu

THE current bribery scandal rocking the House of Representatives, FRESHFACTS gather, is being seen by many as another test case for government to prove its willingness to deal with mighty corruption suspects. Not long ago, the United States Secretary of State, Mrs. Hilary Clinton, in a report to the US government, said that Nigeria never applied its anti-corruption laws on big suspects, especially. Also, transparency International, TI, only last month, lamented that Nigerian’s corruption situation was “gargantuan”. And then, the Human Rights Watch, HURIWA, on its website, also disclosed that only four big corruption suspects had been successfully tried and convicted by the EFCC. But why is it difficult to arrest and try big corruption suspects? Our investigators returned with the answer that government, willy-nilly, offer protection to such persons, and that it was, therefore, a great wonder that Chief Olabode George was even brought to trial and convicted. In the last two months, two major bribe scandals have emanated from the “honourable” House of Representatives. The first involved the Capital Market crash probe committee, headed by Hon. Herman Hembe, who was accused by Ms. Aruma Oteh, Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, of having demanded a bribe form her. The second is the raging one involving the fuel subsidy probe committee, headed by Hon. Farouk Lawan who was, a few days ago, accused by Mr. Femi Otedola of Zenon Oil, of collecting a $620,000 bribe from him in order not to be included among the oil companies which illegally benefitted from government’s fuel subsidy. Will Farouk Lawan and his secretary Boniface Emenalo, be tried? Our team of Investigators put this question to Nigerians, having recalled that a former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, once gave a “clearance letter” to James Ibori, who is now a prisoner in Britain. FRESHFACTS team learnt from Nigerians that it is government that shields big corruption suspects from arrest and trial. They also blamed the judiciary very vehemently for granting big suspects frivolous ex-parte injunctions, and overseas trips for dubious ailments. Recently, as if outraged, the Bureau for Public Procurement, BPP, headed by Dr. Emeka Eze, has now “enlisted” in the anti-corruption ‘army’. Only last week, the Bureau categorized contracts by launching a database of contractors in Nigeria. The database, FRESHFACTS gathered, will be put on its website and made available to foreign investors who desire to do business in Nigeria. The idea, we learn, is to enable them know reputable and genuine contractors so that corruption would be minimized in the country. Nine years into the relentless fight against graft by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commissions, EFCC, Nigerians are worried that only a few “big” convictions have so far been secured by the anti-graft body. Even at that, many Nigerians are disturbed that those few convictions were secured mostly through plea bargain that often left the corrupt to go home with a chunk of what they had illegally acquired. Findings by our investigation confirmed that the anti-corruption body and its sister agency, the Independent Corrupt Practices (and other related offences) Commission, ICPC, have worked hard over these years to discourage Nigerians from helping themselves to the commonwealth entrusted to them. The problem, our findings revealed, however, is that the agencies are over-stretched with cases and, therefore, compete for the attention of the courts with other cases that are also necessary for the growth of the society. This has made it difficult to prosecute cases with dispatch. Presently, several cases against politically-exposed persons are pending in the courts with some of them having lasted over six years with little or no progress made. With the exception of Bode George, Lucky Igbinedion, Cecelia Ibru, Tafa Balogun, Emma Nwude, Amaka Anajemba and a few others that many Nigerians do not know, other accused persons being prosecuted by the EFCC are as free as the air, having been granted bail by the courts which, many opine, is not any different from acquittal. In this special report titled The Mighty Ex-convicts, FRESHFACTS presents Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies’ chequered history of fighting corruption, their successes and challenges. The Independent Corrupt Practices (and other related offences) Commission, ICPC, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, were established by the Obasanjo administration as a tool to wrestle the scourge of corruption to the ground. Before then, Nigerians had seen governments, both civilian and military, toppled by those that claimed to be anti-corruption crusaders. From Nigeria’s first post-independence government of Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, to that of General Abdulsalami Abubakar, that eventually handed the reins of power to Obasanjo in 1999, the story was the same: corruption. When Obasanjo therefore promised at his inauguration on May 29, 1999, that it would no longer be business as usual, a promise he kept by setting up the EFCC and ICPC, many Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief, that finally, the monster of corruption will be dealt the death blow. That expectation is still alive. History The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, was established in 2003 by the Obasanjo administration to confront the corruption which Nigerians believe, is the cause of the country’s under-development despite its immeasurable natural resources. Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, a police officer, was appointed its pioneer chairman. He laid the foundation of the commission. Between 2003 and 2008 when he was unceremoniously removed from office, he left nobody in doubt that he was prepared to step on powerful toes. Within the five years, he convinced even a cynical international community that had once seen Nigeria as a hopeless case that genuine efforts were being made to stamp out corruption. To his credit is the interest shown by donor agencies that gave generously to his crusade. He took on the hitherto untouchables and gave many, a bloody nose. He once appeared before the Senate where he told Nigerians that of the 36 governors, more than 30 were neck-deep in corrupt practices, including those who had deceived Nigerians with their religious posturing. Under him, the governor of Bayelsa State, D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha, who escaped from the custody of the British authorities on charges of corruption was impeached, arrested and prosecuted. Chief Joshua Dariye, another ex-governor who like Alameseigha, was arrested in London with money whose origin he could not successfully prove to the British authorities but managed to escape from captivity, was impeached, though he evaded arrest by going into hiding. Ayo Fayose, then governor of Ekiti State, also suffered impeachment following the heat from Ribadu’s EFCC, even though, like Dariye, he managed to go into hiding to avoid arrest, prosecution and possible jail term. Chief Emmanuel Nwude, a business mogul and a director in the Union Bank and his business associate, Amaka Anajemba , widow of the late Socialite, Ikechukwu Anajemba of Ogidi in Anambra state, were prosecuted and convicted for their roles in the defrauding of a Brazilian Bank of almost $240 million. Alhaji Tafa Balogun, former Inspector-General of Police, and Ribadu’s boss, was arrested, prosecuted and given prison term after he had like Emma Nwude and Amaka Anajemba , forfeited the proceeds of his crime to the state. Besides these high-profile personalities, the EFCC under Ribadu, fought relentlessly against cyber criminals and drove most of them out of business. The drastic reduction in their activities won back for Nigeria, some genuine investors, who had earlier developed cold feet on the suspicion that every Nigerian was a crook. In 2007, Obasanjo left office, having spent his constitutional two terms of four years each. Somehow, his exit created room for some public officials to become too powerful for the law and Ribadu’s attempt to call such people to account for their stewardship, culminated in reactions that climaxed in his unceremonious removal from office in 2008. For instance, Dr. Peter Odili, former governor of Rivers state, who had been on the EFCC radar for a long time, hurriedly procured a strange court order, restraining Ribadu and EFCC from arresting, investigating, prosecuting or jailing him, perpetually. Before Ribadu could recover from the strange development, he was directed to proceed to the Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Kuru, Jos, for a one-year course. Before this directive, he had tracked and arrested the notorious ex-governor of Delta state, James Onanefe Ibori, preparatory to taking him to court on charges of massively decimating the resources of his state. So, by the time he arrived Kuru after handing over to his Director of Operations, now Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, everything pointed to the fact that the government of the late President, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, was very uncomfortable with his tough actions against those the government saw as friends. It was only a matter of time before he was removed and attempts made by the then Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, to rubbish him and his accomplishments with the commission. He was demoted to the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police from his rank of Assistant Inspector-General and dismissed from the Nigeria Police. He went into self-exile, where he remained until the death of President Yar’Adua in May 2010. He was in 2008, replaced with Mrs. Farida Waziri, who, many Nigerians and the United States, said, failed to impress for the three years she headed the commission despite her claim of successes. In fact, things were so uninspiring under her that the visiting American Secretary of State, Mrs. Hilary Clinton, chided the Federal government for applying the brakes on the fight against corruption. Even the few convictions recorded under her watch were widely described as laughable. For instance, Lucky Igbinedion, former governor of Edo state, who was accused by Farida’s EFCC of converting billions of Edo state’s money into his private use, was sentenced in Enugu to a jail term and given an option of N3.5 million, which he immediately brought out from the boot of his car same day and walked into freedom. Bode George, the former deputy national chairman, south, of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, was, however, jailed for two and a half years without an option of fine by a Lagos High Court. That remains, Mrs. Waziri’s only major, perhaps only achievement, in her over three years of leadership of the commission. She was sacked by President Goodluck Jonathan, whose administration has since brought back the former Director of Operations of the commission under Nuhu Ribadu, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, as the commission’s chairman. Some vibrancy, observers say, has been injected into the activities of the commission but Nigerians are still watching, especially with discoveries of open stealing of the nation’s wealth by those entrusted with the safe-keeping of same, everyday. EFCC’s Achievements Records available to FRESHFACTS show that EFCC has, since inception, taken over 700 cases to various courts. Out of these, it has won over 400 and recovered about $11.6 billion. Though the expectations of Nigerians have not been substantially met, many praise it for having arraigned about 30 nationally prominent political figures on corruption charges. But one of its achievements that is often downplayed by Nigerians is its relentless campaign against cyber crime. Before its inception, the activities of fraudsters had started scaring foreign investors away from Nigeria. Therefore, the world salutes the conviction of some notorious 419 kingpins who had, morphed into an order beyond the nation’s penal code. For example, Fred Ajudua, Ade Bendel, Emmanuel Nwude, and Amaka Anajemba were exposed and dispossessed of their proceeds from crime, thereby helping to rekindle the interest of investors in the country whose population, has positioned it, as the destination of choice. Another remarkable development is the awareness campaign of the commission aimed at dissuading young ones from seeing people with questionable sources of income as role models. Challenges Unfortunately, some Nigerians lamented to our correspondents, EFCC is being frustrated by big suspects who can afford the services of the best Senior Advocates. Despite the efforts of the EFCC, these senior lawyers, who defend politically exposed persons, know all the tricks. They usually start by questioning the jurisdiction of the court, which they sometimes take up to the Supreme Court. When they are done with that, they then accuse the Judges of bias, which they can also take to as far as the Supreme Court. This is when the substantive case of corruption against the suspect has not even started and is on bail. This is why many Nigerians are now agitating, as Mrs. Waziri did, for the setting up of a special court for corruption cases. But that must be preceded by an amendment of the Act that set up the commission. More worrisome is that, they suddenly become ill when the law catches them. At such times, their illnesses are invariably such that cannot be handled in the country. They must, therefore, be flown abroad for proper medical attention. These are some of the challenges that have made it very difficult for the commission to secure conviction easily even in cases that the commission’s operatives are certain of securing same. Great suspects undergoing trial 1) Sunday Ehindero - former Inspector-General of police 2) Gbenga Daniel - former Ogun state governor 3) Timipre Sylva - former Bayelsa state governor 4) Ayo Fayose - former Ekiti state governor 5) Orji Uzor - former Abia state governor 6) Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala - former Oyo state governor 7) Femi Fani Kayode - former Aviation Minister 8) Nasir el-Rufa’i - former FCT Minister 9) Boni Haruna - former Adamawa state governor 10) Saminu Turaki -former Jigawa state governor 11) Chimaroke Nnamani - former Enugu state governor\ 12) Francis Atuche - former MD/CEO BankPHB 13) Sebastian Adigwe - former MD/CEO Afribank 14) Eratus Akingbgola - former MD/CEO Intercontinental Bank 15) Herman Hembe - Chairman House of Reps Co’ttee on Capital Market 16) Chris Azubuogu - Deputy Chairman House of Reps Co’ttee on Capital Market 17) Joshua Dariye - former Plateau state governor 18) Shaibu Sani Teidi 19) Ali Abatcha 20) Actor Zal Nigeria’s Mighty Ex-convicts Tafa Balogun, Lucky Igbinedion, James Ibori, Olabode George, D.S.P. Alamieyesegha, Cecilia Ibru, Emmanuel Nwude, Amaka Anajemba , fred Ajudua, Maurice Ibekwe (late). Discharged Adenike Grange Special case Afolabi Sunday (late) Okwusilieze Nwodo - former National Chairman and National Secretary, PDP Strange case Peter Odili (above the law) The ICPC The ICPC has also recorded some successes over the years, especially under its Acting Chairman, Barrister Ekpo Nta, whom many informed watchers within and outside government have commended for his quiet, but effective style. Watch out for ICPC’s Achievements & Challenges in our Part 2 report.