Former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) chairman Nuhu Ribadu was ecstatic yesterday over the imprisonment of Bode George for contracts fraud.
Ribadu, who as EFCC chair probed George’s tenure as chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), said it was heartening that the investigation was not in vain.
He said in a statement issued from London that "ultimately, the law catches up with the bad guys", adding: "Nigeria will be great again".
The statement entitled: "Our country will rise above the present rot" reads: "The conviction of Chief Olabode George, former Chairman Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), and four other board members, at the court of Justice Joseph Olubunmi Oyewole, in Ikeja Lagos, marks a great reference point in the investigation, prosecution, and trial of corruption cases in Nigeria.
"I salute the courage and intellect of the learned judge who has demonstrated over time that he is an exemplary reference point in the fight against corruption and for a true definition of rule of law in the country.
"As is very well known, the successful resolution of cases in favour of justice and equity commences from a thorough investigation. In this regard, we must also salute the long and strained investigation leading to the indictment of Bode George in 2005.
"At moments like this, investigators, stretched out in exhilarating adrenalin, are rightly thrilled that their hard work is rewarded by the society and its best institutions.
"It is a measure of the shamelessness of our elite and the institutions that fuel their values that Chief George could be awarded a national honour in our country, and that he could later sue some newspapers for libel on account of the damning indictment report I prepared against him.
"Chief George’s subsequent prosecution is evidence that ultimately the law catches up with the bad guys.
"Cynics will find therapy in the courageous stature of Justice Oyewole whose extraordinary example, in concluding a full trial of such a complicated case in just 14 months, ought to guide other courts where cases of grand corruption are still trapped.
"Nigeria will be great again!"
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Anambra: INEC Bars Soludo from Election Activities
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Anambra governorship candidate, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has yet another battle to fight as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday announced he would be excluded from activities leading to the February 6, 2010 election, on account of a court order. Also, the electoral umpire has picked issues with the party over the controversial method through which Soludo emerged as its flagbearer.
But in yet another twist, Judge B. O. Nwankwo of the Anambra High Court yesterday granted an injunction restraining INEC from removing Soludo's name as the candidate of the PDP in the governorship poll. The injunction followed a prayer sought by Okey Muo Aroh, one of the 47 aspirants in the botched PDP governorship primaries.
INEC's decision to officially exclude Soludo follows an Abuja High Court order restraining him from parading himself as the party candidate. According to the Anambra State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Chief Rowland Uwa, who spoke to newsmen in Awka, the Anambra State capital, the commission had no option than to obey the Abuja court order which was served on it yesterday. Uwa, however, explained it was only Soludo as a candidate and not the party that is being excluded from the activities that would lead to the governorship election next year.
He disclosed that INEC is planning a forum for all candidates of political parties for the election as well as their respective parties tomorrow. Soludo would therefore be unable to attend as a result of the court order, he said. The resident electoral commissioner also stated that the commission's Chairman, Prof Maurice Iwu, would address the stakeholders’ forum. He advised all governorship candidates and their deputies to collect their letters of accreditation from his office on or before 6pm today.
Chairmen and secretaries of the respective political parties involved in the election should obtain duly signed letters of credence from their national secretariats, he added. Uwa further stated that all INEC accredited observers and civil society groups who participated in the 2007 election were invited to the forum which would kick off by 12 noon. Meanwhile, Iwu expressed its disappointment with the way Soludo emerged last week when he met with the National Chairman of PDP, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor; the Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Harilu Mohammed Bello; the National Secretary of PDP, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje; and the National Legal Adviser of the party, Chief Olusola Oke, at INEC office in Maitama, Abuja. According to sources, the INEC chairman lambasted the PDP chieftains for not leading by example in ensuring that internal democracy thrives in their party.
“INEC is not happy that internal democracy did not take place in the selection of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo as your party’s flag bearer for the Anambra State governorship election. We are particularly not happy that PDP as a ruling party is not showing good example over the institution of internal democracy in the affairs of political parties”, Iwu was quoted as saying by the source. It was gathered that Iwu urged PDP to take advantage of the December date for the substitution of candidates to put its house in order. The National Chairman of PDP, Ogbulafor, was said to have thanked the INEC chairman and asked the National Legal Adviser of the party, Oke, to respond to his comments.
In response, Oke reminded the INEC chairman of the legal tussles which the party waded through before it eventually decided to adopt Soludo as a consensus candidate. Oke told Iwu that before the National Working Committee (NWC) took the decision, there were nine legal constraints against the party. According to Oke, the PDP chose Soludo in line with its constitution as contained in articlexs 17.1 and 17.2. Oke specifically referred the INEC Chairman to the Supreme Court verdict on the rights of political parties to choose or select their candidates as contained in the apex court’s landmark judgment of Ehinlanwo vs Oke earlier this year.
The legal adviser stated that no one has the right to meddle in the affairs of political parties, particularly with regard to the choice and selection of candidates, provided they are in line with the constitution of the party. After the meeting, Iwu again, urged the party to take advantage of the December date for substitution. In another development, a rally believed to have been organised by Mr. Chris Uba in the state has been suspended by the party.
In a statement, the Zonal Secretary of PDP, Vin Okpalaeke, said the NWC of the PDP directed the rally scheduled for today in Awka be suspended based on grounds that it aimed at undermining "the gains" of the party in the state and Soludo's candidacy. "For the avoidance of doubt, our great party will initiate appropriate actions against all persons who flout this directive,” it said.
But in yet another twist, Judge B. O. Nwankwo of the Anambra High Court yesterday granted an injunction restraining INEC from removing Soludo's name as the candidate of the PDP in the governorship poll. The injunction followed a prayer sought by Okey Muo Aroh, one of the 47 aspirants in the botched PDP governorship primaries.
INEC's decision to officially exclude Soludo follows an Abuja High Court order restraining him from parading himself as the party candidate. According to the Anambra State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Chief Rowland Uwa, who spoke to newsmen in Awka, the Anambra State capital, the commission had no option than to obey the Abuja court order which was served on it yesterday. Uwa, however, explained it was only Soludo as a candidate and not the party that is being excluded from the activities that would lead to the governorship election next year.
He disclosed that INEC is planning a forum for all candidates of political parties for the election as well as their respective parties tomorrow. Soludo would therefore be unable to attend as a result of the court order, he said. The resident electoral commissioner also stated that the commission's Chairman, Prof Maurice Iwu, would address the stakeholders’ forum. He advised all governorship candidates and their deputies to collect their letters of accreditation from his office on or before 6pm today.
Chairmen and secretaries of the respective political parties involved in the election should obtain duly signed letters of credence from their national secretariats, he added. Uwa further stated that all INEC accredited observers and civil society groups who participated in the 2007 election were invited to the forum which would kick off by 12 noon. Meanwhile, Iwu expressed its disappointment with the way Soludo emerged last week when he met with the National Chairman of PDP, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor; the Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Harilu Mohammed Bello; the National Secretary of PDP, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje; and the National Legal Adviser of the party, Chief Olusola Oke, at INEC office in Maitama, Abuja. According to sources, the INEC chairman lambasted the PDP chieftains for not leading by example in ensuring that internal democracy thrives in their party.
“INEC is not happy that internal democracy did not take place in the selection of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo as your party’s flag bearer for the Anambra State governorship election. We are particularly not happy that PDP as a ruling party is not showing good example over the institution of internal democracy in the affairs of political parties”, Iwu was quoted as saying by the source. It was gathered that Iwu urged PDP to take advantage of the December date for the substitution of candidates to put its house in order. The National Chairman of PDP, Ogbulafor, was said to have thanked the INEC chairman and asked the National Legal Adviser of the party, Oke, to respond to his comments.
In response, Oke reminded the INEC chairman of the legal tussles which the party waded through before it eventually decided to adopt Soludo as a consensus candidate. Oke told Iwu that before the National Working Committee (NWC) took the decision, there were nine legal constraints against the party. According to Oke, the PDP chose Soludo in line with its constitution as contained in articlexs 17.1 and 17.2. Oke specifically referred the INEC Chairman to the Supreme Court verdict on the rights of political parties to choose or select their candidates as contained in the apex court’s landmark judgment of Ehinlanwo vs Oke earlier this year.
The legal adviser stated that no one has the right to meddle in the affairs of political parties, particularly with regard to the choice and selection of candidates, provided they are in line with the constitution of the party. After the meeting, Iwu again, urged the party to take advantage of the December date for substitution. In another development, a rally believed to have been organised by Mr. Chris Uba in the state has been suspended by the party.
In a statement, the Zonal Secretary of PDP, Vin Okpalaeke, said the NWC of the PDP directed the rally scheduled for today in Awka be suspended based on grounds that it aimed at undermining "the gains" of the party in the state and Soludo's candidacy. "For the avoidance of doubt, our great party will initiate appropriate actions against all persons who flout this directive,” it said.
Court jails Bode George, five others for fraud
The sensational life of a Lagos politician, Olabode Ibiyinka George, collapsed yesterday at the gate of a prison.
A Lagos High Court, Ikeja jailed the former chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and five others for two and half years each apiece without an option of fine. George is a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader.
Justice Olubunmi Oyewole sentenced them to two years on each of the seven-count charges of abuse of office and six months each for the other 27-count charge of disobedience to constituted authority. The jail sentences will run concurrently
The other convicts are former CEO of NPA Aminu Dabo, O. Abidoye, Abdullahi Tafida, Zanna Maideribe and Sule Aliyu.
They were driven out of the court premises in a prison pick-up van amidst threats from George’s supporters who shielded them from photographers.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned the convicts on charges that bordered on wilful disobedience to constituted authority, contract splitting and conspiracy in August, last year.
They were, however, not found guilty on the other charges as the prosecution led by activist lawyer Mr. Festus Keyamo, the court noted in its findings, could not prove the commission of the offences alleged against them beyond reasonable doubt.
Mid way into the more than three hours judgment, one of those who stormed the court in apparent solidarity with the convicts slumped and was taken out to be revived. Mr Justice Oyewole went on with the delivery of the judgment.
In the course of the trial, the convicts had said they were not charged in their personal capacities but as members of the board of NPA and that unless shown, the board of NPA is a public office, and they should be acquitted.
But the court held: "The facts indisputably before the court are that the defendants are natural persons who were appointed to serve as directors on the board of the NPA, a public corporation owned solely by the Federal Government of Nigeria and established under an Act of the National Assembly….
"It is an evident fact upon which the court can take judicial notice that only natural persons are appointed to hold public offices and not corporate or incorporate bodies.
"Furthermore, the board of a corporation is an organ of that organisation and does not possess a corporate legal existence separate from that of the corporate body it belongs to. It cannot, as such, possess legal identity as to sue or be sued independently."
The court also knocked the convicts defence that they cannot be held liable for acts committed by their subordinates.
"Persons acknowledged out of millions of Nigerians by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to be of proven integrity and of cognitive experience in relation to the activities of the NPA cannot claim ignorance or simply play Pontius Pilate when obviously irregular contracts placed before them were approved by them without question. It amounts to wilful blindness and must have its consequences.
"By Section 10 (3)(b) and (5)(c) of the NPA Act the board of the NPA is given powers to control the managing director and executive directors of the NPA.
"The board was also given express powers in the said Act to obtain advice from non-members and co-opt such special members for specific purposes. Such a board cannot claim inadequacy. After all, as the ancient wisdom says; you cannot bear the title of eagle and be unable to prey on chickens. The culpability of the defendants in this regard is direct and not vicarious.
"I therefore reject the defence put forward by the defendants in this regard as totally untenable.
"I hold that the defendants while employed in the public service as chairman and directors respectively on the board of the NPA at the material times of exhibits D2 and D3 did approve split contracts. It is an arbitrary act which prejudiced the approving authorities superiority to the NPA board constituted by them at that time, and that they thereby abused their offices."
The convicts said they failed to abide by laid down financial regulations because it will affect the nation’s economy.
But Justice Oyewole disagreed, saying the convicts cannot be more Catholic than the Pope.
"The position of the learned prosecutor and the other prosecution witnesses was that while there may be good reasons to seek a presidential waiver in respect of the application of the said circular, flagrant disobedience was not the proper course of action.
"As appointees of the President of Nigeria, the defendants are subject to his direct and indirect authority.
"The authority behind the circular, exhibit P3, extends not only to the President but ultimately to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
"Paragraph 2 of the said circular begins with the following word:
‘After extensive consultations with stakeholders, the following guidelines are being issued to fully implement the new government policy.’
"An implication of the preamble is that exhibit P3 is not the product of some whim but based on wide consultations extending beyond the narrow purview of the NPA.
"The defendants cannot claim to be more Catholic than the Pope.
"While infallibility is beyond any man, the overall mandate to administer the polity, including the NPA, is that of the President and where government functionaries are at liberty to apply or reject government policies as they so will, anarchy would ensue. Such is the manifestation of a failed state."
Sentencing the convicts after their lawyers’ request for mitigation, Justice Oyewole said: "When public office is abused, the entire system is assaulted. This must not be treated with kid gloves, if the quality of service in our public life is to be attained to an appreciable standard of the civilised world.
"For the right deterrence to be served, therefore, sufficient firmness must be demonstrated."
Justice Oyewole rose immediately the sentence was pronounced.
Earlier, Mr Tunji Ayanlaja (SAN), George’s lead counsel, in his plea for mitigation, told the court that the conviction of his client on a technical charge could scare others who interested to serve the nation.
He pleaded that the court should not send the convicts to prison but caution and discharge them in order not to truncate their political careers even as it has not been shown that they benefited personally from the offences.
"I will like to draw your lordship’s attention to a comment that was made 47 years ago in a felony case in this court ‘blessed be your lordship’s judgment and your lordships pronouncement in this judgment.’
"I will urge your lordship to put this into consideration. Public service in our country today has been left to those who should not be there and those who have risked their lives to serve will have to bear the brunt of public service that is what this judgment has made obvious, that if you serve in public service you must bear the burden.
"The trial has taken 14 months, it has subjected the defendants to a lot of suspense and immense pressure. My lord, you will find out from the evidence that none of them has been accused of making profit or from making unjust enrichment from serving the mother land. You found them guilty on some of the counts; some of the counts are very, very technical in nature.
"Henceforth, if public servants are held to technical offence, nobody will take public service. My Lord, I want you to put into consideration that all the defendants have attended the trial as honest and committed Nigerians. None of them has been found guilty of any offence in serving the mother land before now.
"The first defendant (George) is somebody who served in different capacities. He was in the armed forces, a military governor of Ondo State and has not been accused of any criminal action. The pressure the trial has put on them is enough condemnation and I urge your Lordship not to put a comma on their public career so that they can still offer their services to the nation. All the time they were acting they thought they were acting in the interest of the nation. I urge your lordship to be very lenient to all the accused persons. I know it is in your power to caution and discharge them because the offence is so technical and no evidence that the nation lost anything by the decision they took.
"The silence in the court room shows that what is being considered is very serious and you have shown a strong signal to the whole country that it is no longer business-as-usual. The Bar has been enriched by this judgment."
Ayanlaja urged the court to apply Solomon’s wisdom in handling the matter, instead of destroying the political careers of the convicts.
Other silk lawyers in court are: Deacon Dele Adesina, Otunba Kunle Kalejaiye and Bolaji Ayorinde.
Adesina, in his allocutus, described Dabo as a professional architect who still has the zeal to serve even as he described the demeanour of all the other accused as remorseful.
A Lagos High Court, Ikeja jailed the former chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and five others for two and half years each apiece without an option of fine. George is a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader.
Justice Olubunmi Oyewole sentenced them to two years on each of the seven-count charges of abuse of office and six months each for the other 27-count charge of disobedience to constituted authority. The jail sentences will run concurrently
The other convicts are former CEO of NPA Aminu Dabo, O. Abidoye, Abdullahi Tafida, Zanna Maideribe and Sule Aliyu.
They were driven out of the court premises in a prison pick-up van amidst threats from George’s supporters who shielded them from photographers.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned the convicts on charges that bordered on wilful disobedience to constituted authority, contract splitting and conspiracy in August, last year.
They were, however, not found guilty on the other charges as the prosecution led by activist lawyer Mr. Festus Keyamo, the court noted in its findings, could not prove the commission of the offences alleged against them beyond reasonable doubt.
Mid way into the more than three hours judgment, one of those who stormed the court in apparent solidarity with the convicts slumped and was taken out to be revived. Mr Justice Oyewole went on with the delivery of the judgment.
In the course of the trial, the convicts had said they were not charged in their personal capacities but as members of the board of NPA and that unless shown, the board of NPA is a public office, and they should be acquitted.
But the court held: "The facts indisputably before the court are that the defendants are natural persons who were appointed to serve as directors on the board of the NPA, a public corporation owned solely by the Federal Government of Nigeria and established under an Act of the National Assembly….
"It is an evident fact upon which the court can take judicial notice that only natural persons are appointed to hold public offices and not corporate or incorporate bodies.
"Furthermore, the board of a corporation is an organ of that organisation and does not possess a corporate legal existence separate from that of the corporate body it belongs to. It cannot, as such, possess legal identity as to sue or be sued independently."
The court also knocked the convicts defence that they cannot be held liable for acts committed by their subordinates.
"Persons acknowledged out of millions of Nigerians by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to be of proven integrity and of cognitive experience in relation to the activities of the NPA cannot claim ignorance or simply play Pontius Pilate when obviously irregular contracts placed before them were approved by them without question. It amounts to wilful blindness and must have its consequences.
"By Section 10 (3)(b) and (5)(c) of the NPA Act the board of the NPA is given powers to control the managing director and executive directors of the NPA.
"The board was also given express powers in the said Act to obtain advice from non-members and co-opt such special members for specific purposes. Such a board cannot claim inadequacy. After all, as the ancient wisdom says; you cannot bear the title of eagle and be unable to prey on chickens. The culpability of the defendants in this regard is direct and not vicarious.
"I therefore reject the defence put forward by the defendants in this regard as totally untenable.
"I hold that the defendants while employed in the public service as chairman and directors respectively on the board of the NPA at the material times of exhibits D2 and D3 did approve split contracts. It is an arbitrary act which prejudiced the approving authorities superiority to the NPA board constituted by them at that time, and that they thereby abused their offices."
The convicts said they failed to abide by laid down financial regulations because it will affect the nation’s economy.
But Justice Oyewole disagreed, saying the convicts cannot be more Catholic than the Pope.
"The position of the learned prosecutor and the other prosecution witnesses was that while there may be good reasons to seek a presidential waiver in respect of the application of the said circular, flagrant disobedience was not the proper course of action.
"As appointees of the President of Nigeria, the defendants are subject to his direct and indirect authority.
"The authority behind the circular, exhibit P3, extends not only to the President but ultimately to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
"Paragraph 2 of the said circular begins with the following word:
‘After extensive consultations with stakeholders, the following guidelines are being issued to fully implement the new government policy.’
"An implication of the preamble is that exhibit P3 is not the product of some whim but based on wide consultations extending beyond the narrow purview of the NPA.
"The defendants cannot claim to be more Catholic than the Pope.
"While infallibility is beyond any man, the overall mandate to administer the polity, including the NPA, is that of the President and where government functionaries are at liberty to apply or reject government policies as they so will, anarchy would ensue. Such is the manifestation of a failed state."
Sentencing the convicts after their lawyers’ request for mitigation, Justice Oyewole said: "When public office is abused, the entire system is assaulted. This must not be treated with kid gloves, if the quality of service in our public life is to be attained to an appreciable standard of the civilised world.
"For the right deterrence to be served, therefore, sufficient firmness must be demonstrated."
Justice Oyewole rose immediately the sentence was pronounced.
Earlier, Mr Tunji Ayanlaja (SAN), George’s lead counsel, in his plea for mitigation, told the court that the conviction of his client on a technical charge could scare others who interested to serve the nation.
He pleaded that the court should not send the convicts to prison but caution and discharge them in order not to truncate their political careers even as it has not been shown that they benefited personally from the offences.
"I will like to draw your lordship’s attention to a comment that was made 47 years ago in a felony case in this court ‘blessed be your lordship’s judgment and your lordships pronouncement in this judgment.’
"I will urge your lordship to put this into consideration. Public service in our country today has been left to those who should not be there and those who have risked their lives to serve will have to bear the brunt of public service that is what this judgment has made obvious, that if you serve in public service you must bear the burden.
"The trial has taken 14 months, it has subjected the defendants to a lot of suspense and immense pressure. My lord, you will find out from the evidence that none of them has been accused of making profit or from making unjust enrichment from serving the mother land. You found them guilty on some of the counts; some of the counts are very, very technical in nature.
"Henceforth, if public servants are held to technical offence, nobody will take public service. My Lord, I want you to put into consideration that all the defendants have attended the trial as honest and committed Nigerians. None of them has been found guilty of any offence in serving the mother land before now.
"The first defendant (George) is somebody who served in different capacities. He was in the armed forces, a military governor of Ondo State and has not been accused of any criminal action. The pressure the trial has put on them is enough condemnation and I urge your Lordship not to put a comma on their public career so that they can still offer their services to the nation. All the time they were acting they thought they were acting in the interest of the nation. I urge your lordship to be very lenient to all the accused persons. I know it is in your power to caution and discharge them because the offence is so technical and no evidence that the nation lost anything by the decision they took.
"The silence in the court room shows that what is being considered is very serious and you have shown a strong signal to the whole country that it is no longer business-as-usual. The Bar has been enriched by this judgment."
Ayanlaja urged the court to apply Solomon’s wisdom in handling the matter, instead of destroying the political careers of the convicts.
Other silk lawyers in court are: Deacon Dele Adesina, Otunba Kunle Kalejaiye and Bolaji Ayorinde.
Adesina, in his allocutus, described Dabo as a professional architect who still has the zeal to serve even as he described the demeanour of all the other accused as remorseful.
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