Halliburton: 60 lawyers want Obasanjo probed

From GODWIN TSA, Abuja

Sixty lawyers yesterday stormed a Federal High Court Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to seek an order of mandamus compelling the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate former President Olusegun Obasanjo and others for their alleged involvement in the Halliburton bribery scandal.

The application is praying for "an order of the court to grant leave to the applicants to apply for an order of mandamus to compel the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate former president Olusegun Obansanjo and others for their alleged involvement in the Halliburton bribery scandal."

Although the applicants did not name the other persons whom they want investigated by the anti-graft agency, they named EFCC as respondent in the action which they instituted pursuant to order 34 Rule 3 (2) of the Federal High Court (Civil procedure ) rules 2009, Section 5 and 6 of EFCC Act 2004 and the inherent jurisdiction of the court.

Specifically, in his affidavit in support of the motion, Mohammed Yahaya, on behalf of the plaintiffs said the late president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua constituted an administrative panel to look into the Halliburton bribery scandal, sometime in 2008. He stressed that the panel was headed by the then Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, and had the Chairman of the EFCC, with representatives of the National Security Adviser, Director-General State Security Service (SSS) and the Director- General, Nigeria Intelligence Agency as members.

Mohammed said: "The panel invited all those suspected to have had hands in the matter including Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

However, he said Obasanjo deliberately and doggedly refused to honour the invitation of the panel, which he said submitted an interim report to the late former president.

Also he said from the interim report submitted, some prominent Nigerian officials including Obasanjo were suspected to have been deeply involved in the bribery scandal.

"Despite the submission of the interim report to the late president and a follow-up report submitted to the serving President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the EFCC had not taken any step to ensure that Obasanjo is properly investigated and if found culpable, prosecuted".

EFCC had said it would not revisit the controversial $180m Halliburton scandal probe except if directed by the presidency. The anti-graft commission was investigating the scandal before the late President inaugurated a Presidential Committee in 2007 to carry out the assignment.

No reason was given by the Presidency for the takeover of the investigation in which some former Heads of State and prominent Nigerians were alleged to have benefited.

The EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission are statutorily vested with the powers to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of financial crimes.
Source: Sun, 16^th July 2010.

Inmate Dupes Banker N12 Million
From Kirikiri Prison

Bidon Mibzar

Abuja — A prisoner, who was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in 2008 over advance fee fraud-related offences has defrauded a banker to the tune of N12million from his cell at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Lagos.

An EFCC source revealed that the prisoner, Ikechukwu Ogbu, alias Prince Eze, created a 419 syndicate from inside the inner recesses of the Kirikiri Prison, with which he had been duping unsuspecting members of the public. His forte is what is known in an advanced fee fraud as love scam.

Ogbu was said to advertise himself as an eligible bachelor, who desperately needs a wife. Those who respond to his adverts end up adding to the long list of his victims. However, the riddle, which EFCC operatives are trying to resolve is how a supposed prison inmate managed to place an advertorial in the love links page of the Vanguard of March 7, 2009. In the advertorial, Ogbu wrote, 'I am Prince Eze, 46, from Anambra State, lives in Lagos, genotype AA, blood group 0 and needs a working class business lady between 39-45 to settle down, with phone numbers as on 07057928637 or 07085350598.'

Several women, it was learnt, called the numbers.

One of them, a lady who works at the National Assembly in Abuja, after making contact with her proposed spouse, took a flight to Lagos to beat others to it the game of winning the prospective husband. But she received the shock of her life when she landed at the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport and no one was there to pick her.

This prompted her to call Ogbu, who then told her that he was actually being detained in Kirikiri Prison by the EFCC over money laundering matters, whereas he is serving a jail term. He told the woman to come over to the prison to meet with him. She did. On getting to the prison yard, she was accorded VIP treatment by the warders, giving her the impression that Ogbu was an influential man who is being detained over a minor issue.
Source: Leadership, 24^th June 2010.

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