EFCC charges Sylva with N2.45bn fraud.

Sylva

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has slammed the immediate past governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, with a   six-count charge concerning his alleged mismanagement of N2.45 billion while in office.

Chief Sylva has not been seen in public since he was sacked by the Supreme Court last month along with four other governors on the ground that their tenure expired in May last year.

He claims persecution by his party (PDP) and President Goodluck Jonathan who is a Bayelsan, for allegedly denying him the party’s ticket for the February 11, 2012 governorship election. 

Chief Seriake Dickson won that election.

Prosecuting the case against Chief Sylva is Lagos lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo.

The accused is alleged to have committed the offences  through proxies under the false pretence of using the amount to augment salaries of the Bayelsa State Government.

The alleged offences are contrary to Sections 14(1) and 17(a) and punishable under Section 14(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act) 2004.

They are also contrary to Sections 1(1)(b) and 8(a) and punishable under section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2004.

The proxies allegedly used by the former governor are one Habibu Sani Maigidia, a Bureau De Change Operator with Account No. 221433478108, in Fin Bank, Plc; Enson Benmer Limited with Account No. 6152030001946, in First Bank Plc and John Daukoru with Account No. 04800250000418 in United Bank for Africa Plc.

The charge reads as follows:

COUNT 1: That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, sometime between October 2009 and February 2010, at various places in Nigeria, including Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, did conspire to commit a crime to wit: conversion of properties and resources amounting to N2,000,000,000.00 (two billion naira) belonging to Bayelsa State Government and derived from an illegal act, with the aim of concealing the illicit origin of the said amount and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 17(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act), 2004 and punishable under Section 14(1) of the same Act.

COUNT 2: That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, on or about the 22nd of January, 2010, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, converted the sum of N380,000,000.00 (Three Hundred and Eighty Million Naira), property of the Bayelsa State Government, through the account of one Habibu Sani Maigidia, a Bureau De Change Operator with Account No. 221433478108, in Fin Bank Plc, which sum you knew represented the proceeds of an illegal act with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said illegal act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act) 2004 and also punishable under section 14(1) of the same Act.

COUNT 3: That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, on or about the 5th of February, 2010, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, converted the sum of N50,000,000.00 (fifty million naira), property of the Bayelsa State Government, through the account of one Enson Benmer Limited with Account No. 6152030001946 in First Bank Plc, which sum you knew represented the proceeds of an illegal act with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said illegal act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act) 2004 and also punishable under section 14(1) of the same Act.

COUNT 4: That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, on or about the 5th of February, 2010, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, converted the sum of N20,000,000.00 (Twenty Million Naira), property of the Bayelsa State Government, through the account of one John Daukoru with Account No. 04800250000418, in United Bank for Africa, Plc, which sum you knew represented the proceeds of an illegal act with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said illegal act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act) 2004 and also punishable under section 14(1) of the same Act.

COUNT 5: That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, sometime between October 2009 and February 2010, at various places in Nigeria, including Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, did conspire to commit a crime to wit: inducing Union Bank Plc, with the intent to defraud, to deliver to Bayelsa State Government the sum of N2,000,000,000.00 (two billion naira), under the false pretence of using the amount to augment salaries of the Bayelsa State Government and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) and punishable under section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2004.

COUNT 6: That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, sometime between October 2009 and February, 2010, at various places in Nigeria, including Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, induced Union Bank Plc, with the intent to defraud, to grant an overdraft facility of the sum of N2,000,000,000.00 (two billion naira) to the Bayelsa State Government under the false pretence of using the amount to augment salaries of the Bayelsa State Government and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act 2004 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act.

Abul Qaqa: Man who betrayed Kabiru Sokoto.

THE headquarter of the Nigerian Security Service in Abuja was last weekend buzzing with excitement following the re-arrest of wanted Madalla, Christmas Day bomber, Kabiru Umar Sokoto in Taraba.

The month old persistent effort to resolve the Sokoto escape issue ended in a resounding success as a patriotic but turn coat Boko Haram member provided the information that led to the arrest of Sokoto.

We reliably gathered from competent security sources that the security agencies recorded a major breakthrough with the arrest of Boko Haram spokesman, Abul Qaqa, few weeks ago in his hideout in suburb of Kaduna State.

Qaqa was said to have capitulated during interrogation and gave away vital information some of which, sources said, led to the re-arrest of Sokoto.

“It was Qaqa who told the SSS that Sokoto is still in the country and was in regular touch with him before he (Qaqa) was arrested. He said he discussed with Sokoto few days before his arrest and revealed that Sokoto was still in the country.” Our source continued:

“He was afraid of being arrested at the border. He had attempted to leave the country. Qaqa told the security agents that Sokoto was hiding somewhere in Nasarawa and was making arrangement to leave for far North. So, it was Qaqa that gave the security people clues on how to arrest Sokoto. They traced him to Nasarawa and followed up discreetly until he was finally arrested,” an inside source said.

Abul Qaqa was arrested two weeks ago by the SSS who had been monitoring his whereabouts through the GPS, sources disclosed that SSS had knowledge of both Qaqa and Sokoto interaction and movement having kept a tab on them though the sophisticated surveillance device, but was waiting for the right time to grab both of them. “You know, the SSS doesn't like to talk about security issues openly or respond to every criticism. All the way, the SSS had ideas about where Qaqa and Sokoto could be arrested because Qaqa always called Sokoto on phone and the SSS will pick their discussion through the GPS. The security officers did not want to divulge the extent of their plan to re-arrest the wanted terrorists until when they were quite ready for them.” Out source further said.

Jonathan angle
We learned that the security agents were jolted to do something positive after another mandate given to them by the presidency.
“We heard that President Goodluck Jonathan gave strict instructions to the new Inspector-General of Police, (IG)  Mohammed Dikko Abubakar to find Kabiru Sokoto within one month and resolve the security crisis in the country if he must be confirmed as substantive IG. You know, the police and SSS work hand in hand.” Our source explained.

It was reliably gathered that President Jonathan was disturbed by local and foreign security reports which forewarned him to do something quickly to re-assure Nigerians from the south, especially the Igbos who were leaving the North in their hundreds, about their security anywhere in the country.

“There were fears expressed in recent security reports that the country may dissolve following exodus of some Nigerians living in the North, particularly South-East indigenes. It was recommended that the arrest of frontline Boko Haram elements and re-organisation of the Security system will check the impending implosion,” source said, adding, “There was also the MD Abubakar factor, the new IGP wants to justify the confidence reposed in him, though Sokoto was not arrested by the police per se, but the force supplied useful information. The thinking in security circle today is that former IGP, Rafiz Ringim and police commissioner Zakari Biu really compromised their position and deliberately refused to do something concrete about Sokoto. I believe that they did not make any serious move to re-arrest him. Now, how would he justify the fact that Sokoto was arrested just barely two weeks after Ringim was removed?

Our source said that the security agencies were spurred by the ultimatum given to them and the sudden renewed pressured by their boss, the SSS Director and Acting IGP. Intelligence officers from the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) also played vital role in the final arrest of Kabiru Sokoto.

According to our sources, “There have been joint security meeting attended by several officers. During each session they compared notes and agreed on the way forward. The police voluntarily shared their intelligence gathering on Kabiru Sokoto with Joint Security team. The SSS took over from there and finally broke the iceberg.”

Further investigation disclosed that the president is worried by the claim that Boko Haram plans to launch the second phase of their terrorism campaign shortly. The second phase of their plan includes the killing of eminent Nigerians in both private and public sector.
Some of these Nigerians like the Nobel Laureate; Professor Wole Soyinka has reportedly informed the presidency and security agencies to take a pro-active action on the matter.

Sources stated that Abul Qaqa during interrogation after his arrest, allegedly blamed the Kanuri members of the group for the arrest of other Boko Haram members who ware Hausa-Fulani, Chadians, and Cameroonians.

He informed that the group is at the verge of disintegration as a result of intra ethnic and religious crisis. On the case of those who put their lives on the line in other to achieve the group's objective. Qaqa was said to have told security Agents that the so-called suicide bombers were handpicked and forced to carry out their assignment on the pain of death. Qaqa said that most of those picked for the deadly assignment were Hausa-Fulani and non Nigerians. He blamed the Kanuri members of his group for the ethnicism and disregard for the lives of non-Kanuris. Qaqa remonstrated: “No Suicide Bomber of the group volunteers ever to die that way. They are usually handpicked and once you are handpicked, it is death either way. If you refuse, you would be killed on the orders of the leadership.”

Hot chase
For long, the SSS has been on the trail of Sokoto through useful information gathered from his conversation with now detained Qaqa. The SSS knew he was in Umaisha in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State and kept a tab on him until they were convinced to arrest him in Mutum-Biu, Taraba State.

Sokoto's arrest was a concerted effort by State Security Agents, Boko Haram, turn coat and patriotic Civilians. Vital information was said to have been given to security agents by neighbours in Mutum-Biu where he was arrested inside a wardrobe in his brother's residence and through the assistance of SSS underground cover agents who have been monitoring Sokoto from his hole in Nasarawa to the point of waterloo in Taraba.

Kabiru sokoto was said to be the number two man in Boko Haram's hierarchy. He was said to have masterminded the December 25, 2011 bomblast in St Theresa's Catholic Church Madalla, Niger State, which reportedly claimed over 40 lives.

Sokoto was born in May 9, 1983, to the family Umaru Jabbi of Gagi village, Sokoto South LGA, Sokoto. When his father died, he was adopted by his paternal uncle, Abubakar Dikko. He completed his primary education at Model Primary School, Gagi town in 1996.

He had his secondary school education at the Ahamdu Bello Academy in 1996, but was said to have absconded shortly after and re-applied for admission as a fresh Junior Secondary School Pupils in Sultan Bello Secondary School, Sokoto South LGA from where he passed out in 2003. He gained admission into the college of Nursing and midwifery, Sokoto in 2005 and was said to have exhibited high level of truancy and tendencies associate with extremists, a trait which accounted for his poor academic record. He absconded from the institution in 2007 when he out-rightly refused to re-sit some papers he failed in an examination. Sokoto was alleged to be instrumental to the visit of late leader of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf to Gagi Village, Sokoto in 2009.

It was during the visit that Yusuf was pronounced leader of the Boko Haram Sect. Sokoto was first arrested about a month ago but he escaped from his captors on January 15, 2012 in Abaji, an outskirt of Abuja.

Sokoto's escape led to the removal of former Inspector General of Police Hafiz Ringim and the on-going trial of the Police Commissioner Zakari Biu in Abuja.

When the news of the re-arrest of Kabiru Sokoto broke last week, Zakari was said to have screamed and suddenly became jittery.

Kabiru Sokoto was brought to Abuja amid tight security provided by Military personal and SSS operatives.

Ojukwu begins final journey home in Zungeru, Aba to shut down on Feb 28.

The final journey home for the late Ikemba of Nnewi, Chief  Chukwuemeka  Ojukwu kicked off in the ancient town of Zungeru in Wushihi Local Government Area of Niger State on Saturday.

The community played host to various dignitaries including the governors of Abia, Anambra and Niger States in addition to two senators, former ministers and first class traditional rulers  among others who converged on there to pay their last respect to the Igbo leader following a burial rite organised by Niger State.

Governors Theodore Orji of Abia State, Peter Obi of Anambra State and Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State who doubled as the host were in attendance with Prof. ABC Nwosu, former Minister of Health, Senators Uche Chukwumerije, Ben Obi and some first class traditional rulers in Niger State, including the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar.

The chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Sanusi Ado Bayero urged  the citizenry  that in their  march to finding peace and a united front, they should always learn the lessons of the history of the personalities of the ilk of Chief Ojukwu on whose laps a lot of responsibilities and inevitable torrents of events were led.

Aba to shut down as Ojukwu’s body arrives Feb 28

Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) says markets and schools in Aba,  Abia State, will be closed on February 28 to enable residents of the commercial city to pay their last respect to the body of Eze Igbo Gburugburu, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, which will be brought to the city on that date as the late Igbo leader’s remains makes its last journey to its final resting place.  

Disclosing this in a chat with Daily Sun, MASSOB Director of Information for Aba region, Sunny Okereafor said the closure of markets and schools in Aba on February 28 to enable residents of the city come out and pay their last respect to the fallen hero was not only a way of fulfilling one of Ojukwu’s wishes but showing the love and high esteem in which the people held him.

He said Ojukwu equally showed tremendous love and respect for residents in that there was no major action he took during his life time, that he never came to Aba to either intimate and or confide in them, stressing that nothing would be too much sacrifice by residents in honour of the departed hero.

According to him, “Aba was so dear to the heart of the late Ikemba that there was no major public decision he took in life he did not come to Aba either to confide in, or seek the opinion of the residents. First of all, we should not forget that it was in Aba Ojukwu started work as district officer (DO) when he came back from England before joining the Nigerian Army.

“Again in 1967, Ojukwu came to Aba to intimate and perhaps seek the opinion of residents of the city before declaring the war and to cap it all, when he returned from exile; he also came to Aba to inform them. The same thing also happened when he decided to go into partisan politics,” he recollected.

Okereafor therefore urged all residents of the commercial city to come out en masse on February 28 at the Enyimba Stadium where Ikemba’s body would lie in state. Meanwhile, the Abia State government has put to rest the rumour which made the rounds recently that the corpse would no longer be brought to Aba as originally planned.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor T. A. Orji, Ugochukwu Emezue, hinted that Enyimba Stadium where Ojukwu would lie in state on February 28 was wearing a new look just as he assured that security had also been put in place for the Aba event.

"I did not escape, I was released by the Police" says Kabiru Sokoto.

The claim by the Police that the kingpin of the Boko Haram sect, Kabiru Sokoto, arrested in connection with the Christmas Day bomb blasts at Madalla, Niger State, escaped from lawful custody may have been a hoax after all.

There were indications on Friday, in Abuja, that his escape was allegedly aided by some top police chiefs in concert with the top echelon of the dreaded sect.

According to Saturday Tribune, the suspect, who is now in the custody of the State Security Services (SSS), had actually given details of his purported escape to operatives grilling him.

Nigerians were stunned on January 15, this year when the police declared that Kabiru Sokoto had escaped from custody at Abaji, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja while on investigation to search his residence.

Consequently, the Federal Government ordered the immediate suspension of the Commissioner of Police in charge of Anti-Terrorist Squad, Mallam Zakari Biu under whose custody the suspect escaped along with other policemen involved in the investigation into the matter and ordered a full-scale investigation into his alleged escape.

The government also relieved Mr. Hafiz Ringim of his post as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) with immediate effect for alleged negligence of duty.

However, it was gathered that following the re-arrest of Kabiru Sokoto by the combined team of military personnel and the operatives of the SSS penultimate Friday in Mutum-Biu, Taraba State, he had opened up on his purported escape.

Sources claimed that he denied that he escaped from lawful custody but that he was purportedly released by the police based on an alleged arrangement made with them by the top echelon of the sect with their contact in the police.

The suspect, it was learnt, alleged that the police facilitated his initial escape to a location in Toto, before he moved to Taraba State, where he had planned to flee to neighbouring Republic of Cameroun before he was caught.

It was further learnt that following the suspect’s revelation, the SSS reportedly marked one of the said top police officers and others down for further interrogation with a view to unraveling those behind the purported escape within and outside the police.

A very senior officer in the service told our correspondent in confidence that Kabiru Sokoto was cooperating with his interrogators which, he said at the end of the day, would assist in no small way in unraveling the mystery behind the activities of the sect in the country.

NBA accuses judges of corruption.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) threw a bombshell at the weekend  when it accused some senior members of the legal profession, including retired justices,  of working as agents of corruption in the judiciary, especially with respect to election petition cases.

Speaking at the valedictory session held in honour of the late Justice Anthony Aniagolu at the Supreme Court Complex Abuja, President of the NBA, Mr. Joseph Daudu, who made the disclosure before the justices of the Supreme Court, said some senior lawyers and retired justices parade themselves as consultants  in election petition cases for incredible sums of money, so as to act as conduit pipes between his client and the election court.

While expressing concern over the development, Daudu  revealed that the NBA would, in due course, inaugurate an anti-corruption commission to counter the menace.

He said: “Sadly, it is no longer a moot point that the corruption that encompassed the larger society has infiltrated the justice sector. I make no distinction here between the Bar and the Bench. Corruption is now a live issue that is threatening to tear apart the foundations and fabric of the society.

“We are no doubt aware that some of our colleagues, including very senior counsel and at times eminent retired judicial officers go about offering their services as consultants, particularly in election cases, for incredible sums of money, so as to act as conduit between their client and the election court.

“The end result is to facilitate ready-made justice for persons they are acting for. We must strongly deprecate this practice. Our members and the public should feel free to avail themselves of this NBA anti-corruption body.”
Daudu said that the NBA’s anti-corruption commission would identify members of the profession who engaged in corruption within the justice system, adding that names of such culprits and evidence of corrupt practices would be forwarded to relevant agencies for prompt action.
He also said that lawyers who file frivolous cases and application should be prosecuted.

“I have approached the Attorney-General of the Federation to call a meeting of the General Council of the Bar so that, inter alia, the existing rules of professional ethics can be amended to include such areas that will safeguard the dignity of the courts and integrity of judicial process,” he added.
Earlier, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, had described the late Justice Aniagolu as a distinguished, just and a gentleman, who was bestowed with remarkable intelligence and knowledge

Shocking US records show safety breach caused airline crashes in Nigeria.

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Documents on three deadly jetliner crashes in Nigeria — including one in which a plane filled with children going home for Christmas burst into flames — offer a harrowing look at the loosely enforced safety regulations and oversight in Africa's most populous nation.

People look at the wreckage of a Sosoliso Airlines DC-9 aircraft in Port Harcourt, Nigeria December 11, 2005

The records obtained by The Associated Press show that the captain of another Nigerian flight that crashed had gone back to work as a pilot despite being shot in the head years before. And in another case, a pilots' manual included blank pages instead of key safety information.

Nigeria's government long has declined to release formal records surrounding three fatal crashes in 2005-2006 including the one that killed scores of children.

While none of the airlines involved in the three crashes still fly in Nigeria, the safety concerns come after the West African nation gained a coveted U.S. safety status last year that allows its domestic carriers to fly directly to America.

The AP requested the documents about the crashes through a Freedom of Information Act request from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The U.S. became involved in those inquiries because the planes were manufactured by U.S. companies and because Nigeria requested the help of American investigators.

Though officials now say air travel is much safer, the documents add to worries about flights in Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people where graft and incompetence often dominate government and where the demand for air travel has spiked over the last five years.

A report on the Oct. 22, 2005 crash of a Bellview Airlines flight that killed 177 people, including a U.S. citizen, showed the plane nose-dived into the ground at high speed. Investigators reportedly found only human remains that were "nothing bigger than toes and fingers," the report read.

The plane's captain, a 49-year-old former pilot, had been hired by Bellview after he had been working at a dairy for about 14 years, the summary read. The pilot also had been "shot in the head during a robbery attempt" during that break from flying, the report said.

"Interestingly, the Nigerian ... medical records do not contain any medical or hospitalization history of this event," the report read. The unnamed author of the report wrote that investigators would follow up on that detail, though no other documents released by the FAA refer to it again.

Harold Demuren, director general of Nigeria's aviation authority, said officials have worked to ensure safety regulations were followed.

"Nigeria had a really woeful accident record and those were the results," Demuren said. "However, you must add to it that things have improved tremendously since then."

Nigerian officials have offered conflicting reasons for the three major crashes in 2005-2006, never releasing full reports on what happened.

At the Bellview crash site, deep in rural Nigeria, villagers looted the few pieces of what remained from the plane, likely including its "black box" recorders, according to an investigation summary.

The Dec. 10, 2005 crash of a Sosoliso Airlines flight full of schoolchildren from Abuja to Port Harcourt, which killed 107 people, appears to have involved both pilot error and weather.

The pilot was "reportedly racing a thunderstorm" nearing the airport, an FAA memo reads. The inclement weather also forced the pilot to make an instrument landing — meaning that visibility had been reduced to the point the pilot needed to rely on instruments to make his landing, the report read.

The plane crash landed on the grass alongside the runway, broke apart and caught fire.

The third major crash — an Oct. 29, 2006 Aviation Development Co. flight from Abuja to Sokoto — killed 96 people, including the top spiritual leader for the nation's Muslims. The plane crashed 76 seconds after going airborne.

Just before the crash, alarms began sounding in the cockpit and the pilots' incorrect actions stalled the plane, according to the report.

"Although bad weather may have created the situation, which the pilots reacted to, they reacted inappropriately," the report reads.

Even more disturbing for investigators was the airline's operation manual for pilots and cockpit staff, which "did not contain any information on adverse weather condition as that section was blank."

The manual was duly approved by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority despite containing the blank section.

"The deficiency in the operation manual would probably make it difficult for pilots to take appropriate decision on when to go or not to go in (an) adverse weather condition," the report said.

A 2009 study done for the World Bank concluded the aviation authority spends more than 90 percent of its budget on salaries and cannot fund training or equipment needs.

The authority "is still struggling to enforce quality, safety, and security standards on federal agencies operating Nigeria's airport and airspace systems," the study said.

Demuren, the authority's director general, acknowledges that challenges remain for his agency as it has an aging work force and old equipment but he insists things have improved greatly.

In the five years since the ADC crash, Nigeria has not had another major commercial airplane crash, something the nation's leaders point to with pride. In August 2010, the U.S. announced it had given Nigeria the FAA's Category 1 status, its top safety rating that allows the nation's domestic carriers to fly directly to the U.S.

The Nigerian government said it also now has full radar coverage of the entire nation. However, in a nation where the state-run electricity company is in tatters, state power and diesel generators sometimes both fail at airports, making radar screens go blank.

Yet air travel has never been so popular in Nigeria, whose growing middle and business class rely on air travel to avoid the country's poorly maintained and dangerous roads. The country had nearly 14 million air passengers in 2009, according to a December study by Lagos-based Ciuci Consulting and Financial Derivatives Co.

The nation's largest carrier, Arik Air Ltd., soon will have a fleet of 40 aircraft, the study said.

Yet Arik, like the nation's seven other domestic carriers, faces increasing economic pressure from rising jet fuel costs in a nation that must import the majority of its fuel despite being Africa's top oil producer, said Fola Onasanya, an analyst at Ciuci Consulting.

Major maintenance must be done outside the country, as Nigeria does not have the manpower or capability to do it locally, Onasanya said. Government regulations and taxes also add additional burden on companies in a nation where airlines have scrimped on maintenance in the past to cut costs.

"There's always been that pressure," Onasanya said.