The case files of 15 high-profile individuals, including the Governor of
Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, Senator Peter Nwabaoshi, and others facing
graft and other criminal charges have disappeared, findings by Sunday
PUNCH have revealed.
The missing files also included the
non-declaration of assets and possession of foreign accounts cases
against Anambra North senator, Stella Oduah; the President of the
Nigerian Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick; and four other NFF
officials as well Akwa Ibom North-East Senator, Bassey Akpan, among
others.
The case against Uzodimma involved alleged contract fraud
to the tune of N26bn. He reportedly received $12.5m from the Nigerian
Ports Authority in 2014 to dredge the Calabar channel, but he allegedly
failed to execute the contract.
Sequel to the disappearance of
the files, the Ministry of Justice has written to the former head of the
legal unit, Special Presidential Investigation Panel on the Recovery of
Public Property, Dr Cletus Ukpong, seeking information on the case
files.
The files were said to be among the 23 high profile cases
listed in a handover note by the chairman of the now defunct SPIP, Okoi
Obono-Obla, to the Solicitor-General of the Federation, Dayo Apata
(SAN), in August 2019, after Obono-Obla was suspended by the President,
Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) on August 14.
The
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha,
subsequently directed Apata, who is the Permanent Secretary in the
ministry of justice, to take charge of the panel.
But one year
after Apata took over the panel, the whereabouts of the files were said
to be unknown, prompting the Solicitor-General to write to Ukpong for
information on the cases, the parties and the courts handling them.
The
Solicitor-General, in a letter with reference number,
SGF/PS/SPIPRPP/733/1, dated July 27, 2020, asked Ukpong to furnish the
AGF’s office with information on the 15 court cases and the parties
involved.
The letter was titled, ‘Re: Request for case files and
demand for accurate information regarding certain unverifiable suit
numbers.’
The letter read in part, “Please refer to my letter
reference no. SGF/PS/SPIPRPP/733/1 dated May 6, 2020, wherein I
requested that you furnish the office of the Honourable Attorney-General
of the Federation and Minister of Justice with accurate information
detailing the suit numbers, parties and the courts where the matters
listed below are pending:
“Suit nos. FHC/ABJ/CR/108/2018 (FRN vs
Stella Oduah); FHC/ABJ/1392/2018 (Sen Hope Uzodinma & Anor vs SPIP);
FHC/ABJ/CS/290/2018/ (FRN vs Access Bank Plc); FHC/CR/453/2019;
FHC/ABJ/CR/1107/2017 (Chinedu Udora vs ACP Suleiman Abdul & 2
others);
FHC/ABJ/CR/407/2019; FHC/ABJ/L/820/2018 (FRN vs George
Nkanta & 4 ors earlier taken over by the AGF for prosecution);
FHC/ABJ/L/1727/2018 (FRN vs Senator Peter Nwaoboshi) and
FHC/ABJ/CR/93/2019 (FRN vs Amaju Pinnick & four others).”
The
letter added, “This reminder letter is to further inform you that the
office of the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister
of Justice is yet to receive any response till date.”
The
Solicitor-General further explained that none of the listed cases were
recovered from the SPIP office or traceable to any court, hence the
request for information on them. He noted that prompt response to the
demand would enable the AGF to see the cases “to their logical
conclusion.”
But the former head of the SPIP legal unit, in his
response dated August 9, 2020, said he was not in a position to supply
the information being sought by the ministry.
He explained that
he had earlier handed over all the cases he was handling for the SPIP on
receiving Apata’s demand letter dated August 15, 2019, noting that he
did not handle some of the cases listed in his (Apata) most recent
letter.
Ukpong stated, “I believe I did not handle some of the
listed cases in your letter and it is difficult to ascertain such now
with respect to records available to me now.”
“I had earlier
requested in writing for the release of my personal documents and
property carted away in the process but I have yet to receive any
response.”
The ex-SPIP prosecutor added that some of the missing
case files might have been “farmed out to external solicitors who were
yet to brief me on them.”
“I was not in a position and I did not
farm out any of these cases to any external solicitor to handle for the
panel. Therefore, I am not in a position to supply some of the requested
information or attach meaning to the listed suit numbers,” Ukpong
noted.
The lawyer, however, mentioned the case involving Senator
Akpan, which he said was before the Chief Judge of the Federal High
Court, adding that it was being handled by the AGF’s office.
On
Uzodimma’s case, the ex-SPIP prosecutor stated that “it appears the
matter was farmed out in my opinion,” adding that the same goes for the
suit involving Access Bank.
Speaking to our correspondent on the
phone on Saturday, the lawyer said the AGF had refused to release his
personal effects, including credentials that were taken away over a year
ago
They broke into my office and carted away all the files, and
my personal files, books, and credentials are missing; that’s the power
of the government, there is nothing I can do about it,” he said.
Files’ disappearance calls for thorough probe – Sagay
But
commenting on the alleged missing files, the Chairman, Presidential
Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof Itse Sagay, said the
situation called for a thorough investigation, adding that the Federal
Government should set up a panel to quiz the ministry of justice and the
former SPIP officials staff to ascertain the whereabouts of the files.
He
said, “This deserves to have a fact-finding panel set up because it is a
major issue in the anti-corruption war; that files opened with regards
to prominent people who are suspected of huge corruption disappeared. It
is important that government sets up a fact-finding panel and to invite
the two parties (ministry of justice and ex-SPIP officials) together so
that whoever has the files can be traced.”
Malami not aware of missing files – Aide
The
Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations to the AGF, Dr Umar
Gwandu, said his principal had no prior knowledge of the high-profile
cases listed by the Solicitor-General in his letter, stressing that
Malami equally had no idea of the missing case files.
He said,
“The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of
Justice does not have any prior knowledge of the 15 case files of the
prominent Nigerians you were referring to.
The AGF is not aware
of any report, formal or informal, emanating from or being brought to
the AGF office on the purported incidence. No orders were made by the
AGF and no such orders could have been made in the office legitimately
without his sanction, and no such sanction was made.”
Gwandu
further dismissed the allegation that the AGF directed his staff to
break into the SPIP office, describing it as ridiculous.
Investigation reveals more about missing files
Meanwhile,
findings have shown that some of the SPIP cases whose files were listed
as missing were withdrawn from court following the claim by the AGF
office that they were to be reviewed for better handling. Some were
struck out by the court after the AGF office claimed that the files were
missing.
On November 5, 2019, the AGF office withdrew the
corruption charges instituted against five officials of the Nigeria
Football Association, including its President, Amaju Pinnick, over
alleged misappropriation of $8.4m and N4bn belonging to the NFF.
A
lawyer from the AGF office, Mr Abubakar Musa, informed Justice Ijeoma
Ojukwu of the Federal High Court in Abuja that the office decided to
withdraw the case in order to review it and decide the appropriate
action to take on it.
Justice Ojukwu struck out the case when the application for withdrawal was not opposed by the defence lawyer, Mohammed Katu.
The
SPIP case against Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State was also struck
out by the Federal High Court in Abuja on similar grounds.
But
some of the SPIP’s high-profile cases, such as the one instituted
against a former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, have been
struck out by the court on the basis of the AGF office’s claim that the
files were missing.
For instance, on February 24, 2020, Justice
Binta Nyako struck out the case involving Senator Ike Ekweremadu after
the prosecuting counsel from the AGF office, Mr Pius Akutah, told the
court that the former lawyer handling the case for the SPIP had
disappeared with the case file.
Akutah had at the proceeding pleaded with the judge to order the former counsel to release the file to the AGF office
But
Ekweremadu’s lawyer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), urged the judge to
either strike out the case or adjourn it indefinitely.
Responding,
Justice Nyako, alluding to the enormous power of the AGF office, noted
that the prosecutor representing the AGF “should not be waiting for me
to make an order against an individual.”
Justice Nyako added,
“So, as it is today, you don’t know the case against the defendant since
you don’t have the file. I am going to strike out the case, when you
are ready you can come back.
“The case is hereby struck out for
want of diligent prosecution. The prosecution is allowed to come back
whenever they are ready to proceed with the case.”
The SPIP had
filed two counts against Ekweremadu on May 11, 2018, alleging that he
failed to declare nine landed assets in Abuja; two in London, the United
Kingdom; eight in Dubai, the United Arab Emirate; and three in Florida,
the United States of America.
The defunct panel alleged that the
offences which he allegedly committed were contrary to and punishable
under section 3(3)(1)(a) of the Recovery of Public Property (Special
Provision) Act 2004.
Corrupt persons spared on account of party allegiance – TI
Commenting
on the development, the Chairman, Transparency International Nigeria,
Musa Rafsanjani, said the current regime’s anti-graft campaign lacked
coordination, noting that many corrupt people were being spared on
account of their allegiance to the President and some senior officials.
“That
is why the cases against many people in leadership positions today,
from governors to federal lawmakers, have been completely silenced
because they are in the same party and are loyal to the president and
some people in government. You can’t fight corruption that way.”
The
Executive Director, Civil Liberties Organisation, Ibuchukwu Ezike, said
the government had never been serious with the anti-graft war, despite
the establishment of two anti-graft agencies, noting that it was a
gimmick to deceive Nigerians.
He added, “They are taking
individuals to court but they would not investigate the cases properly.
What we have seen is that when you are a poor person, you continue to
suffer, but if you are rich, the law would protect you. The fight
against corruption has not been justified; the corrupt are walking
freely. We have never trusted the fight against corruption by any
government in this country.”
Also, the President, Campaign for
Democracy, Mr Usman Abdul, said for a government that came with the
promise to fight corruption, this was unacceptable. We look at the fight
against corruption as mere rhetoric if we are talking about missing
case files.
He added, “This calls for a probe. The President must
order a probe and clean up the mess in the Ministry of Justice. With
this, one will begin to doubt the capacity of the ministry to prosecute
corruption cases. The AGF and other actors should step aside pending the
outcome of that probe.”
Also, the Executive Chairman, Centre for
Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Mr Debo Adeniran, said, “This
shows that some of the people working with the President are sabotaging
the anti-corruption efforts. The Ministry of Justice under Malami and
Apata has not shown adequate commitment to the fight against corruption.
There should be a probe to recover the files.”
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