Dokpesi arraigned, remanded in EFCC custody
Bafarawa, Dasuki, Yuguda, others charged
Magu: We’ll recover all stolen public funds
President Muhammadu Buhari last night accused former President Goodluck Jonathan of breaching public trust in the procurement of arms by the Office of the National Security Adviser for the prosecution of the war against Boko Haram.
Buhari made the disclosure when he hosted members of the House of Representatives to dinner yesterday at the old banquet hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The president stated that it was unfortunate that billions of naira and hundreds of dollars were expended on military equipment which could not be verified.
The president, who listed the steps he had taken at finding a lasting solution to the insurgency including several trips he had made to foreign countries when he assumed office, reaffirmed that his government was committed to ridding the country of terrorism.
Buhari stated that the reconstitution of the military hierarchy was done to re-equip and retrain the soldiers to perform optimally.
He said: “I decided to host this dinner to thank you so far. We still have a long way to go. There are a lot of rubicons to be crossed, but let’s be very clear about our objectives.
“Our objective is that we first secure the country and efficiently manage it because we are all in government. In fact, we are the government. You, the executive and the judiciary, so nobody should contemplate alienating one another.
“We have already set our priorities right during our campaigns to secure the country then efficiently manage it.
“Securing the country is obviously dealing decisively with Boko haram. When we came in, the military leadership had to be removed and reconstituted, a new set put in with a clear target to reorganise, retrain, re-equip and make sure that Boko haram is uprooted and neutralised.
“We had some good intentions while the joint task force comprising the Lake Chad Basin Commission countries of Cameroun, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Benin, because of good neighbourliness, decided to join us.
“There was an agreement to dedicate a number of troops to be cited in different places in the Lake Chad Basin area so that by the end of the rainy season, an aggressive attack will be unleashed on Boko haram.
“But we are realistic to know that Nigeria is the battleground. So we expended the meagre resources we have to ensure that the morale of the military is raised by getting officers to be on the ground with the men.
“But unfortunately for us as a people, we discovered that the billions of naira and hundreds of millions of dollars that were supposed to be expended by the previous government to acquire good equipment and ammunition for the military, there was an abuse of trust at various levels that cost Nigeria a lot of lives and goodwill.
“On this we cannot keep quiet and it is coming out gradually. It is very unfortunate. It is a known fact that Nigeria earned its respect from Burma to Zaire to Liberia to Sierra Leone.
“But it reached a stage where the Nigerian military could not secure 14 local governments out of 774 local governments. As I have always said how has the mighty fallen. But we are doing our best and I hope our best will be good enough.”
Buhari said he would seek the understanding and support of the legislature and assured its members of the cooperation of the executive to work in unison to improve the fortunes of the country and end the insurgency.
“Let us secure the country first. Let us efficiently manage the country. That was why I travelled back and forth to Niger, Chad, Cameroun and Benin; to Germany to meet leaders of the G7 and to meet with the other leaders all aimed at trying to meet the international community to put our case forward,” he told his audience.
Responding on behalf of the lawmakers, the Speaker of the House, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, thanked the president for signifying his commitment to cooperate with the legislature in the fight against the insurgency.
He said that despite the relationship, the two arms of government might also disagree to agree when necessary.
According to him, it was obvious that the president’s ultimate aim was to secure the country, but warned that the country might be heading for harder times if the president eventually failed to deliver on his promises on the economy.
“If we don’t get it right under you, then, those of us in this generation should forget about getting it right,” he said.
The president’s remarks came on the heels of an order by the Federal High Court in Abuja remanding the Chairman of Daar Communications Plc, owner of African Independent Television (AIT) and Raypower radio station, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) pending the determination of his bail application today.
EFCC on Tuesday filed a six-count charge against Dokpesi for allegedly being in breach of public trust, procurement fraud and laundering N2.1 billion he purportedly received from the office of the NSA.
He was arraigned by the commission yesterday in conjunction with his company Daar Holdings and Investment Limited.
Dokpesi however pleaded not guilty to the charges after they were read to him.
In the charge signed by Aliyu Yusuf, Deputy Director, Legal and Prosecution Department of EFCC, the accused was alleged to have between October 2014 and March 19, 2015 committed procurement fraud by fraudulently receiving the sum of N2,120,000,000 into the account of Daar Investment and Holding Company with First Bank of Nigeria Limited for funding of media activities for the 2015 presidential election campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The alleged offence is contrary to Section 58(4)(b) of the Public Procurement Act 2007 and punishable under Section 58(6) and 7 of the same Act.
However, after taking his plea, attempts by the counsel to the accused, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), to move the application for his bail yesterday failed, as the prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), insisted that he had just been served with a copy of the bail application.
Jacobs told the trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, that he needed time to study and react to the fundamental issues raised by the accused person in the bail application.
By consent of the two lawyers, Justice Kolawole fixed today for arguments on whether to grant the bail to Dokpesi or not.
The court fixed the case for trial on January 17, 18 and February 2 and 3, 2016.
The EFCC early this month arrested Dokpesi alongside the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd); a former Minister State for Finance, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda; a former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa; and the former Director of Finance and Admin at the NSA’s office, Alhaji Shuaibu Salisu, among others, in connection with the alleged misappropriation of $2.1 billion meant for the procurement of arms.
Also, the EFCC confirmed yesterday that the charges against other suspects in the arms deals had been filed at the Federal High Court, but were yet to be assigned to judges.
The commission’s spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujiaren, confirmed this last night to THISDAY.
“The charges against the suspects are ready; they have been filed in court, but they have not been be assigned to judges,” he said. He was also uncertain of the date of their arraignment.
According to Uwujiaren, the suspects included Yuguda, Dasuki, Salisu, Bafarawa, and his son, Sagir, the former acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Haliru Mohammed Bello, and his son, among others.
A source in the legal unit of the EFCC said the suspects have been charged for fraud and money laundering.
In a related development, the acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, has said that the commission will leave no stone unturned in the effort to recover public funds that have been stolen under the guise of arms procurement in Nigeria.
Magu, who stated that the commission was on top of the ongoing investigation, added that all the culprits in the arms procurement scandal would be brought to justice.
A statement by Uwujiaren said Magu spoke yesterday at a forum to mark the International Anti-corruption Day which had as its theme, “Break the Corruption Chain”, at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.
Magu said: “Corruption is like a chain whose effect impacts various aspects of the society, undermines democracy and the rule of law, distorts markets, erodes the quality of life, leads to human rights violations and fans the embers of terrorism and other threats to human security.”
Magu said the EFCC had resolved to break the corruption chain in a fair, accountable and transparent manner, adding that the commission had so far investigated a total of 1,881 cases this year alone.
According to him, “Of this figure, 280 cases were filed in courts and 78 convictions were secured. In this period also, eight interim and two final forfeiture orders were handed down by various courts on applications brought by the commission.”
The EFCC boss further added that he had put in place internal measures to sanitise the commission.
He also expressed gratitude to President Buhari for creating the enabling environment for the commission to carry out its mandate, adding that he would undertake institutional reforms to increase the commission’s capacity to fight corruption.
He urged civil society organisations as well as other partners to join hands with the commission in the anti-corruption fight.
“Our common resolve is far stronger than the challenges we face in the fight against corruption. I call on you to embrace the EFCC’s public enlightenment campaigns, the activities of our Zero Tolerance Clubs in tertiary institutions and our inter-faith initiatives, because in this effort to break the corruption chain, no man is an island and only when we work together can we make a difference,” he said.
Earlier, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, said corruption has a disastrous impact on development when funds meant for social amenities are diverted by public office holders for their personal use.
Ki-moon, who was represented on the occasion, added that corruption could exacerbate violence and insecurity.
“It is time to deliver a clear message around the world that rejects corruption and embraces the principles of transparency, accountability and good governance. This will benefit communities and countries and it will help to usher in a better future for all,’’ he added.
In his remarks, the Director General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dr. Joe Abah, called for the enhancement of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).
He also pointed out that the newly introduced zero-based budgeting process by the federal government would ensure discipline in the implementation of budgets.
Also, Lilian Ekeanyanwu, representing the Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR) urged the anti-corruption community to take advantage of the positive signals emanating from the presidency.
“We must hit the ground running. We must have a national strategy to bring awareness about the issue of corruption and find methods to curb the malaise, while keeping the populace involved,” she said.
The Deputy Chief Mission of the United States Embassy, Maria E. Brewer, in her contribution, stated that corruption could undermine institutions and slow development of any nation.
She said that the United States was ready to partner with Nigeria in the fight against corruption.
This year’s Anti-Corruption Day was organised by the Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT), the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). It holds on December 9 every year.
This Day.
No comments:
Post a Comment