Governance News, March 2004

In this edition,

JUDICIARY MIRED IN BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS
FIVE NIGERIANS CHARGED IN $242 MILLION '419' FRAUD TRIAL
HALLIBURTON AGAIN UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
… UK LAWYER NAMED IN BRIBERY INQUIRY
AFRICAN COURT PROTOCOL COMES INTO FORCE
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMMISSION UNCOVERS N1.7M FRAUD
GOVT PROBES ATTEMPTED FRAUD AT INEC
WHY MONTHLY ALLOCATIONS ARE PUBLISHED, FINANCE MINISTER
JUDGE, FORMER PERM SEC DISMISSED OVER CORRUPTION
GANI SUES GOVT OVER MINISTERS' PAY IN DOLLARS
IMMIGRATION SACKS CORRUPT OFFICERS

JUDICIARY MIRED IN BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS
For the first time in recent years, justices of the Supreme Court
Justices are facing a barrage of criticisms related to bribery and
revealing of their judgment in advance.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais had to
speak out openly in court in Abuja in February on the issue: "We have
nothing to hide. Let the police step in and do their job. We are
interested in getting to the root of the matter. Let me say and
assure all who are here and who would hear of this matter that there
is absolutely no truth in the several uncouth and insupportable
allegations made against me and my brethren in this court."

The accusation against the Justices is the aftermath of the ex-
convict case against Delta State Governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori,
who is alleged to have been convicted by an Upper Area Court, Bwari,
Abuja, in 1995 over fraudulent activities.

The case has run through the gamut of argument on the identity of the
person involved in the 1995 case, as Governor Ibori, though bearing
the same names as the convict; has denied being the person so
convicted. While affirming the ruling of the Court of Appeal that
there was conviction of the accused at the Upper Area Court, the
Supreme Court in February transferred the case back to the High
Court, for the identification of the said convict.

A group known as Derivation Front with operational office in Delta
State had, in a letter dated 20 January, 2004 told Justice Uwais that
the judgment on the appeal instituted by Governor that was scheduled
to be delivered on February 6, 2004 was already a public knowledge in
Delta weeks before the judgment is scheduled to be delivered.

Besides telling Uwais that the judgment would be read by Justice
Akintola Olufemi Ejiwunmi; the group's national coordinator, Edikeme
Akpovilli alleged that a bribe of N5 billion was distributed to the
seven Justices panel that heard the case between Governor Ibori and
two members of his political party (PDP), Messrs. Goodnews Goodman
Agbi and Anthony Alabi.

"It is now common knowledge in Asaba that the Apex Court will
definitely uphold the judgment of the Court of Appeal for an
identification of the James Onanefe Ibori of the Bwari
proceeding. "The clear interpretation is that as was the case in the
Gwagwalada High Court and the Court of Appeal, Abuja, a judgment to
be delivered by the Supreme Court come 6 February 2004 is on the
streets," the group stated.

And as it turned out on the appointed judgment day, the Supreme Court
redirected the case to the High Court for the identification of the
convicted James Onanefe Ibori. Coincidentally, too, Justice Akintola
Olufemi Ejiwunmi delivered the lead judgment.

But this was after Justice Uwais had read a statement in the open
court denying the allegations against him and his six colleagues.
Describing the assertion by the Derivation Front as "wild"
allegation, Uwais emphasised that because no Justice of the nation's
apex Court has any skeletons in the cupboards, they were ready to
subject themselves to critical probe by the police.

"It is with very grave concern and apprehension for the independence
of the Judiciary in our beloved country that I am making this
statement. This is because a few people who are mischievous and
totally misguided in their approach think that they can dictate by
intimidation what they perceive as the way their cause should be
considered and determined by the courts. In that regard, they wrongly
think that decisions of courts can be bought or influenced to satisfy
their own warped idea of justice.

"Because of this, they have no respect for the rule of law nor do
they believe that there are Judges who can never be bought nor be
influenced to decide cases because of any pressure or gratification,
be it in kind such as money or other benefits in order to decide a
cause or matter.

"The above remarks have become necessary because since we adjourned
this case on the 6 November, 2003 for the judgment to be delivered
today, a group of people who describe themselves as Derivation Front
with one Mr. Edikeme Akpovilli as its National Coordinator, decided
that the best way to achieve their own kind of success was to write
contemptuous and insulting letters to me.

"By their first despicable action, which was advertised in the
Tribune Newspaper last year, they alleged that I received a bribe of
the sum of N250 million in order to favour James Onanefe Ibori, the
governor of Delta State who is a party in this case. This was
followed by a letter that was written to me on 20 January 2004 which
alleged that I was given a sum of N5 billion for distribution among
my brethren of this Court, in order to influence the judgment of this
Court, which they claimed they knew would be decided in favour of the
Governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori.

"The next letter was written to me on 29 January, 2004 threatening to
display to the public the Court's judgment to be delivered this
morning. A couple of days ago, they capped their scurrilous and base
allegations by attaching to a letter dated 2 February, 2004 addressed
to the Inspector-General of Police, the last two pages of what they
perceived as part of the judgment to be delivered in this matter this
morning.

"Now, let me say and assure all who are here and who would hear of
this matter that there is absolutely no truth in the several uncouth
and insupportable allegations made against me and my brethren of this
Court. I make bold to say that none of us would tailor the ends of
justice for filthy lucre, which these people consider to be what is
required to do justice among the peoples of this our great country.

"Our oath of office commands us to do justice without fear or favour
to all manner of people. Besides, we are men who have been tested and
found to have been Judges of unblemished character for several
decades in this country. We are therefore, by the Grace of God not
about to throw away our reputation for honesty, justice and fairness
in the determination of this case or any other case that may come
before us. Each and every case that comes before this Court would be
decided justly and fairly according to our oath of office and the
hallowed traditions of our honourable profession and this Court of
which we are the proud inheritors."

"Le me make it clear to all and sundry and no matter how highly or
lowly placed, that we shall not allow ourselves to be stampeded,
blackmailed or intimidated into taking any step that is contrary to
the dictates of our conscience."

Already, members of the Derivation Front had also in another
statement made available to journalists, claimed that they were not a
faceless group of people and were also desirous of seeing a thorough
police probe of the allegations they made against the Supreme Court
Justices.

The group averred: "We beg to disagree with the claims of the Chief
Justice and insist clearly that we are not a faceless and cowardly
organisation. We stand clearly by every word contained in our letters
to the Chief Justice of Nigeria and insist that the police should
investigate our claims that there was a negotiated and circulated
judgment, a claimed product of N5 billion bribe."

FIVE NIGERIANS CHARGED IN $242 MILLION '419' FRAUD TRIAL
Prosecutors leveled 86 counts of fraud and conspiracy against five
people in February for allegedly swindling a Brazilian bank of $242
million, in the biggest crackdown yet on the nation's advance-fee
fraud or "419" scams.

The five are accused of luring an employee of Sao Paulo's Banco
Noroeste into siphoning off the funds from his employer, persuading
him he could land a share in a lucrative Nigerian construction
contract if he just paid enough handling fees up front.

The five appeared in court in Abuja, in handcuffs to hear the
charges. All the suspects, including housewife Amaka Anajemba, lawyer
Obum Osakwe, and businessman Emmanuel Nwude -- described by
prosecutors as "a major shareholder" in a leading Nigerian bank --
pleaded innocent.

Penalties for each of the counts range between seven and 10 years.
Four Nigerian companies -- Ocean Marketing, Fynbaz, Emrus, and the
African Shelter Bureau -- also accused of involvement in the alleged
crime were not represented in court.

Presiding Judge Lawal Gumi entered innocent pleas on behalf of the
companies and adjourned proceedings until a later date. There was
mild drama in court when suspect Nzeribe Okoli, while making his
plea, said he would make "shocking revelations" during the
trial. "There are so many hidden things which Nigerians should know,"
Okoli said before he was interrupted by the judge, who told him to
restrict his answers to the questions he was asked.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alleges that the
suspects told a Brazilian bank worker he would receive $13.4 million
from a $187 million Nigerian airport contract -- if he invested money
up front. The bank worker allegedly dug illegally into his bank's
funds, transferring the $242 million -- in segments as high as $4.75
million at a time -- to accounts around the world designated by the
suspects, the court papers showed.

Nigeria has gained global notoriety as a base for such advance-fee
fraud, known as '419' schemes after the section of the country's
criminal code that prohibits fraud. In most of the cases, scam
artists proposition victims with e-mails claiming to have millions of
dollars from inflated contracts, the estates of dead dictators, or
other illicit proceeds, and seeking help to transfer the money
abroad. The victims are then made to pay never-ending "service fees"
and other charges -- the object of the scams.

Nuhu Ribadu, head of the EFCC which was established by President
Olusegun Obasanjo in December 2002 to combat sophisticated fraud and
money-laundering rings, told a news conference that he intended to
use this case to prove that "no one is above the law." The case was
also the subject of criminal investigations in Switzerland, Britain,
the United States and Brazil, Ribadu said.

HALLIBURTON AGAIN UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr.
Nuhu Ribadu in February said his Commission has recovered N80 million
from Halliburton Energy Services in Nigeria, which cheated Nigeria in
taxes.

According to reports, Halliburton has informed the SEC (Securities
and Exchange Commission) that one of the company's subsidiaries
made "improper payments" of about $2.4 million to an entity owned by
a Nigerian national who purported to be a tax consultant. "The
payments were made to obtain favorable tax treatment and clearly
violated our Code of Business Conduct and our internal control
procedures," said the SEC filing in January. Halliburton said based
on the findings of an investigation, several employees had been
fired. However, Governance News leant that Halliburton claimed none
of its senior officials were involved.

Also, the United States has launched an investigation into
allegations that a subsidiary of Halliburton was involved in the
payment of $180 million in bribes to win contracts in the Nigerian
LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) project.

In a development that also concern Halliburton, Mrs. Oluremi Oyo, a
senior aide to President Olusegun Obasanjo said the President has set
up a six-member committee over the theft of radioactive materials in
December 2002 from Halliburton. Members of the Committee are
Ambassador Olu Adeniji, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Mr. Akinlolu
Olujinmi, Minister of Justice; Mr. Tafa Balogun, Inspector-General of
Police, and representatives of the Department of State Security
Service (SSS), Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Director-
General of the National Nuclear Regulatory Agency.

Oyo said the committee is to ensure that all those involved in the
act, no matter how highly placed are brought to book and that "the
committee is charged with identifying person or persons instrumental
to the theft of the radioactive material in December 2002. The
committee will also establish whether any harm has been done to any
person or persons who have come into contact with the material. As
you know, radioactive materials are harmful to health."

She said that the radioactive materials have been traced to a
recycling plant in Germany. She, however, regretted that the stolen
material was quickly taken to Halliburton in the United States last
month before Nigeria could retrieve them. Oyo added that such an act
violates the Nuclear Safety and Radiation Act of 1995.

In Washington, Halliburton, also under fire over its Iraq contracts,
and the company is believed to be cooperating with the U.S. Justice
Department in studying possible kickbacks paid to secure the LNG
project.

Halliburton, which was run by Vice President Dick Cheney from 1995
until the 2000 US presidential race, has been involved in a natural
gas project in Nigeria since the 1990s along with three other
companies including French firm Technip. Halliburton spokeswoman
Wendy Hall said the company is working with the U.S. Justice
Department on the issue, which involves the payment of up to $180
million in possible kickbacks. French judicial authorities are also
considering looking into the matter.

Cheney, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing during his tenure
with Halliburton, was head of the company during the period in which
the bribes might have been paid. Responding to French media reports
about a French prosecutor's inquiries into possible bribes in the
Nigerian contract, the French partner involved in the Nigerian gas
project issued a statement in which it denied wrongdoing. "In fact,
the investigation has been opened against unnamed persons," said
Technip, without providing details.

… UK LAWYER NAMED IN BRIBERY INQUIRY
A solicitor in a small north London firm has been named in connection
with a $180m French and American corruption investigation which could
lead to the indictment of Dick Cheney, the US vice-president.

Jeffrey Tesler, a partner in Kaye Tesler & Co in Tottenham, has been
identified in the French press as a financial intermediary in the
deal being investigated. The Paris inquiry, led by Judge Renaud van
Ruymbeke, concerns allegations of bribery against an international
consortium building a $4bn liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in
Nigeria during the regime of the late dictator Sani Abacha.

The leading member of the consortium, Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), is
a subsidiary of the Halliburton. It was revealed in February that SEC
has also opened a criminal investigation. Mr. Tesler is said to have
channeled money through a company he set up in Gibraltar, called
TriStar, and bank accounts in Switzerland and Monaco. Internal
consortium correspondence suggests Mr. Tesler has had a long-standing
relationship with both KBR and prominent Nigerians in the Abacha
regime.

According to the consortium, Mr. Tesler was engaged by KBR to provide
commercial support services. A senior official close to the inquiry
told a British newspaper: "The evidence the judge has uncovered so
far certainly seems to support his belief that this lawyer was behind
the setting up of a typically complex offshore system."

The official said Mr. Van Ruymbeke had asked the Swiss and Monaco
authorities to give him access to private bank accounts in connection
with transactions between TriStar and the consortium. He added: "I
think you can assume it's pretty certain the judge will want to speak
to Tesler sooner or later."

AFRICAN COURT PROTOCOL COMES INTO FORCE
The Protocol establishing the African Court on Human and
Peoples’
Rights has come into force, following the ratification of the
instrument by 15 African countries, excluding Nigeria. The states are
Algeria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, The
Gambia,
Lesotho, Libya, Mali, Mauritius, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Togo,
and Uganda.

The Protocol arose from the need to improve on the performance of the
African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR), based on the
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights of 1986. The court is
expected to arbitrate on human rights violation cases. Its operations
take effect from 29 January 2004, 30 days after Comoros Island, the
fifteenth member state, ratified the instrument.

Independent Advocacy Project (IAP), the good governance group in a
statement called on Nigeria and other countries that have not
ratified the Protocol to urgently do so.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMMISSION UNCOVERS N1.7M FRAUD
The National Assembly Commission said it has uncovered a N1.694
million fraud involving seven of its staff who have been placed on
indefinite suspension without pay.

A statement signed by a spokesman of the Commission Mr. Anyigor
Nwokpoku noted that the fraud was committed through the inflation of
the commission's staff nominal roll. The seven who are officers of
the Finance and Accounts Department and the Audit Unit of the
commission, according to the statement were, "found to have inflated
the nominal roll of staff of the commission which provided them with
an opportunity to illegally pay themselves the sum of N1.694 million
when the commission paid its staff furniture and housing allowance
last September. They were also involved in duplication of payment."

The indictment of the said staff, according to the statement,
followed their confession before an administrative panel of enquiry
set up by the management of the commission last November to
investigate the allegation.

GOVT PROBES ATTEMPTED FRAUD AT INEC
An alleged attempt to defraud the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) of N281 million is being probed by the federal
government, Governance News has learnt. Top officials of the
commission suspected to be involved in the scam have been invited for
questioning by the State Security Services (SSS).

Sources at INEC headquarters in Abuja stated that there were
insinuations that some insiders were involved in the attempted fraud,
which was thwarted by a bank used by INEC in Abuja.

According to the sources, two men, who are now at large, wrote on
forged INEC letter-head paper to one of the old generation banks in
Abuja, asking it to pay 12 cheques valued at N281 million for
maintenance jobs done for the commission. The manager of the bank
however became suspicious and wrote to INEC to confirm whether the
commission actually authorized the payment. The response from INEC
was negative. "Going by the way the fraud was perpetrated, there was
no way you will rule out the possibility of insiders collaborating in
the matter," sources at INEC said.

WHY MONTHLY ALLOCATIONS ARE PUBLISHED, FINANCE MINISTER
Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said that the monthly
allocations to governments at all levels are being published in
national dailies to demonstrate government's transparency and
accountability to Nigerians. Also, she said the Federal Government
will soon enter into discussions with the states on how to handle the
savings from the excess crude oil proceeds.

Okonjo-Iweala said, "A key part of the reform programme is how to
make the government more transparent to the people in what it does.
Transparency also means accountability. Those are the things that go
together.

"Part of the problems people have had is that they keep saying that,
they don't know much about the budget, they don't know much about the
revenue. They don't know what their local governments get or the
states get and so on and so forth. We thought that in this overall
programme, there should be more budget transparency as well as
overall transparency of our expenditure so that people can also hold
us public officers accountable.

"If they know what they are supposed to be getting in their areas,
they can now ask questions. Why is it that we have not had this
happening in our areas, why are there are no roads, water supplies.
Why are governments not doing this and that? What happened to the
money that we got? You know its peoples' money; they have the right
to know.

"It's in that spirit that Mr. President very much supported that we
go ahead and publish these. You know in the past, I think two or
three years ago they had published what they got from federation
account not local governments. It's never been done. If people say so
I can see actually what my local government got, then they can ask
where the money is going."

Okonjo-Iweala expressed the determination of the Finance Ministry to
press ahead with the reform programme along with the Extractive
Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and other initiatives of
the administration that are designed to make government more
transparent on the management of the nation’s resources.

JUDGE, FORMER PERM SEC DISMISSED OVER CORRUPTION
The federal government has announced the dismissal – with
immediate
effect - of Justice Chris P.N. Senlong of the Federal High Court and
of Dr. Julius Makanjuola, former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of
Defence. Senlong’s dismissal followed the recommendation of the
National Judicial Council (NJC), which found him guilty of
corruption. He was linked with some corrupt practices at the Akwa-
Ibom State Election Petition Tribunal.

Ufot Ekaette, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation said
in a statement on Senlong: "This is in line with the provisions of
Section 292 subsection (1) (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria which empowers the President to remove a
judicial officer from office on the recommendation of the National
Judicial Council."

Makanjuola was arrested and detained in 2001 after the Federal
Government claimed he stole over N420 million from the funds of the
Ministry of Defence while he served there as Permanent Secretary. His
case was handed over to the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission
(ICPC) for investigation and possible prosecution. The Commission
actually took him before an Abuja High Court where criminal
proceedings were instituted against him in accordance with the
provisions of the ICPC Act.

The case was initially heard at an Abuja Magistrate Court at Wuse and
later to the High Court in Abuja. Makanjuola was charged for
allegedly defrauding the federal government of about N300 million.
The prosecution could not make progress as Makanjuola also initiated
several suits against the ICPC among other grounds, challenging its
qualification to prosecute him and the court's order to grant him
bail.

In the legal tango that ensued, the Federal Government through the
State Counsel from the Attorney General's office led by one Mrs.
Mbamali entered a Nolle Proseque which meant an indication to
discontinue the proceedings. Following the Government' as decision to
discontinue the case, the court granted bail to the accused who
THISDAY checks revealed may have disappeared to London since last
year.

GANI SUES GOVT OVER MINISTERS' PAY IN DOLLARS
Nigeria’s foremost human rights lawyer, Mr. Gani Fawehinmi has
dragged President Olusegun Obasanjo to court over the payment of two
ministers' salaries in foreign currency. The ministers are Dr Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala (Finance) and Ambassador Olufemi Adeniji (External
Affairs).

Fawehinmi, in an Originating Summons filed at a Federal High Court,
Abuja, in February asked the Court to determine if the President's
authorisation of a minister's salary outside that prescribed in an
act of the National Assembly and in foreign currency is not an abuse
of power under the Nigerian Constitution.

The lawyer alleged that though the yearly salary of a Minister is
N794, 085, Okonjo-Iweala is earning a yearly salary of $247,000
(about N36 million); far above what the law prescribed. Adeniji
according the affidavit earns $120,000 (about N17 million).

Fawehinmi wants the court to determine whether any public officer in
Nigeria particularly a Minister is entitled to be paid yearly salary
outside the salary prescribed by "Certain Political, Public and
Judicial Office Holders (salaries and allowances, etc) Act No. 6 of
2002.

"Whether any public officer in Nigeria, particularly a Minister of
the Republic of Nigeria is entitled to be paid in foreign currency
outside the currency prescribed by the aforementioned act."

In the light of the above, Fawehinmi asked for an
injunction "restraining the federal government of Nigeria, its
agents, servants, privies or howsoever called particularly the 1st
defendant (Obasanjo) from paying the Ministers or any other Public
Officers covered by the Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office
Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc) Act No.6 of 2002 outside the
salaries prescribed in the said Act."

IMMIGRATION SACKS CORRUPT OFFICERS
If you ask Nigerians which government institution they consider the
most corrupt, the Immigration Service will probably ranked as one of
the most dishonest institutions. In February, the Nigeria Immigration
Service (NIS) and the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) moved to
sanitize their image when both institutions sacked 74 officers for
various offences, including alleged extortion, forgery and illegal
patrol.

Comptroller-General of Immigration, Mrs. Uzoamaka Nwizu, said 61
officers of the service have either been dismissed or suspended for
various criminal offences. FRSC’ Director of Public Affairs,
Mr.
Yakubu Attah said that apart from the 13 officers who have been
dismissed for alleged extortion, another eight marshals were
currently being prosecuted for alleged forgery of certificates to
secure employment into the commission.

Nwizu said that out of the 61 officers being sanctioned, 10 have been
dismissed, two terminated, two demoted, one retired while others have
been placed on suspension after receiving warning for various
offences, including forgery, absenteeism, drunkenness, illegal patrol
and insubordination.

--

Independent Advocacy Project (IAP)
5 Iyalla Street, Alausa-Ikeja, Lagos Nigeria.
234 8033020170 Fax: 2341 4934894
e-mail: [email protected]
website: http://www.ind-advocacy-project.org