Featured

EFCC Accuses Gov Ortom of N22bn Fraud

Published

6 years ago

July 31, 2018

Eric

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has linked Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State to an alleged fraud to the tune of N22bn.

This is just as the EFCC revealed that 21 members of the Benue State House of Assembly are under investigation for allegedly diverting N375m meant for the procurement of vehicles that would be used for oversight functions.

The allegations are contained in a report of an investigation which began in 2016 but was made available to our correspondent on Monday.

According to the report, the governor, between June 30, 2015 and March 2018, ordered the withdrawal of N21.3bn from four government’s accounts in Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank of Nigeria and the United Bank for Africa.

On paper, about N19bn out of the money was said to be meant for the payment of six security agencies that had been deployed in the state to address the incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

However, the EFCC stated that less than N3bn of the money was paid to the security agencies while the remainder could not be accounted for.

The report reads in part, “We investigated four bank accounts belonging to two Benue State Government’s agencies. The first agency is the Benue State Government House which has an account in UBA with number 1017348051 and another account in GTB with number 0027952907. These accounts received N1, 916, 635, 206 from the state’s allocation between June 30, 2015 and March 2018.

“The second government agency is the Bureau of Internal Affairs and Special Services. The agency has an account with UBA with number 1007540119 and a First Bank account with number 2023788057. Between the same period, the accounts were credited with N19, 468, 951, 590 from the Benue State allocation.”

The anti-graft agency said one person identified as Oliver Ntom, withdrew over N19bn from the account of the Bureau of Internal Affairs and Special Services based on the instructions of the Permanent Secretary, Boniface Nyaakor.

The money, which was allegedly withdrawn under the pretext of security votes, was said to have been diverted while the memos written in respect of the withdrawal were destroyed.

The report adds, “Investigations revealed that N19bn was withdrawn by one Oliver Ntom, a cashier. Sometimes, in a day, he would withdraw as high as N500m by cashing several cheques worth N10m each.

“The permanent secretary upon interrogation said anytime security agencies requested funds, he would approach Governor Ortom who would ask him to write a memo to that effect. The permanent secretary would write and the governor would approve the money.

“The permanent secretary said the funds are usually given to six security agencies. He said the highest that any security agency gets is N10m a month while the least any of the agencies gets is N5m a month.

“He said after the money has been released, the governor usually orders that the memo be torn to pieces. It is important to note that if a total of N60m is given to all the security agencies collectively every month as claimed by the permanent secretary, it cannot amount to half of N19bn in three years.”

The commission said the funds being spent were not in the budget of the Benue State Government.

It further accused the governor of failing to pay salaries despite withdrawing N1.328bn from the Joint State Local Government Account in Fidelity Bank with number 5030058730.

The report adds, “Investigations revealed that one John Bako, a member of one of the security outfits in Benue, withdrew N28m while one Andooi Festus, believed to be a cashier from the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs withdrew N1.3bn. They have been invited.”

Meanwhile, the EFCC has invited 21 out of the 30 lawmakers in the Benue State House of Assembly for allegedly diverting part of the N375m meant for the procurement of vehicles in 2016.

According to the anti-graft agency, the Benue State Government had in 2016 awarded a contract worth N417m (N375m after tax) to Mia-Three Nigeria Limited to procure 30 Prado TXL vehicles for the lawmakers.

However, only eight members received the vehicles while the others diverted the funds.

The report adds, “About 21 of the lawmakers are under probe. However, 25 of the lawmakers have returned all the money they received which adds up to N245m. Four others have failed to return the remaining sum of N31m.”

Attempts to get a reaction from Ortom were unsuccessful. Calls to the mobile of his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Terver Akase, were neither picked nor returned.

A response to a text message sent to him on the subject was still being expected as of the time of filing this report at 7.30pm.

Featured

Cubana Chief Priest Arraigned, Granted N10m Bail

Published

12 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Eric

Instagram celebrity, Pascal Okechukwu aka Cubana Chief Priest, on Wednesday, pleaded not guilty for alleged Naira abuse.

He pleaded not guilty to the three-count charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The socialite was arraigned at the Federal High Court, Lagos before Justice Kehinde Ogundare on Wednesday.

The anti-graft commission filed a three-count charge against Cubana Chief Priest accused of abusing the naira at a social event, an act said to be contrary to the provisions of the Central Bank Act of 2007.

After pleading not guilty, the court granted him bail in the sum of N10million with two responsible sureties in like sum, who must be gainfully employed with the federal or state government and not less than grade level 16.

The sureties, the court emphasized, should have landed property and the document must be verified by the court.

Cubana Chief Priest is also to submit his travel passport to the custody of the court.

The bail conditions must be perfected within seven days but in the meantime he was released to his lawyer who must give an undertaken to produce him later. Failure to do so, he will be remanded in correctional facility.

The charge filed on April 4 by EFFC’s prosecutor Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) alongside seven other lawyers representing the chairman of the Commission, are as follows:

Count 1: “That you, Okechukwu Pascal on 13th February, 2024, at Eko Hotel, within the jurisdiction of the court, while dancing during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same for two hours, and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007”.

Count 2: “That you Okechukwu Pascal sometime in 2020, in Lagos during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same for two hours, and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007”.

Count 3: “That you Okechukwu Pascal sometime in January 2024, in Lagos during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007”.

Meanwhile, the defendant also informed the court of his pending application to challenge the jurisdiction of the court to hear the charge.

Justice Ogundare has adjourned till May 2nd to hear the application

This is coming days after the EFCC arraigned controversial cross-dresser Idris Okuneye better known as Bobrisky on similar charges for which he was sentenced to a six-month jail term.

Featured

EFCC Charges Cubana Chief Priest to Court over Naira Abuse

Published

1 day ago

April 16, 2024

Eric

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed a three-count charge against Instagram celebrity, Pascal Okechukwu aka Cubana Chief Priest, for allegedly spraying and tampering with the Naira at a social event, in violation of the provisions of Central Bank Act of 2007.

Cubana Chief Priest will be arraigned on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, before Justice Kehinde Ogundare of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

Reports say the charge against Okechukwu was filed on April 4, 2024 by EFFC’s prosecutor Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) alongside seven other lawyers representing the chairman of the Commission.

In Count 1, it was alleged, “that you, Okechukwu Pascal on 13th Feb. 2024, at Eko Hotel, within the jurisdiction of the court, while dancing during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same for two hours, and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007”.

In count 2, it was alleged, “that you Okechukwu Pascal sometime in 2020, in Lagos during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same for two hours, and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007”.

In Count 3, it was alleged, “that you Okechukwu Pascal sometime in January 2024, in Lagos during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act 2007”.

This is coming days after the EFCC secured the conviction controversial cross-dresser, Idris Okuneye aka Bobrisky, on similar charges. He was subsequently sentenced to six months imprisonment without an option of fine.

Featured

El-Rufai Accuses Tinubu’s Govt of Paying Trillions of Naira in Fuel Subsidy

Published

2 days ago

April 16, 2024

Eric

The immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has ignited debate on fuel subsidies, alleging that President Bola Tinubu’s government has spent trillions of Naira subsidizing petrol (PMS) since taking office in May 2023.

This revelation comes amidst ongoing discussions about fuel subsidies in Nigeria. The government previously announced a removal of fuel subsidies, leading to a rise in pump prices. However, El-Rufai suggests the effort was unsuccessful, forcing a return to subsidies at a reportedly higher cost.

The former governor spoke on Monday in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital while delivering a Lead Paper at the occasion of Capacity Building Workshop on Enhancing Skills of Government Officials in Policy Implementation.

“The present administration,” El-Rufai said, “has so far spent trillions of naira for subsidy,” even exceeding pre-removal levels, ha stated.

He claimed the current price of petrol, between N600 and N750 per litre, is artificially low due to the subsidy. Without it, prices could be closer to those of diesel, which currently exceed N1,000 per litre in some areas.

“But as I also said earlier during my presentation, the removal of fuel subsidy by the present administration is another good policy by President Tinubu. I have always supported withdrawal of fuel subsidy.

“But as you can see, in the course of implementation, the government has now realized that the subsidy has to be back, because right now, we are paying a lot of money amounting to trillions of naira for subsidy even more than before, because the impact has been seen and the packages of support that will reduce the impact have not been effective in reducing the impact, and so, the federal government has to backpedal by subsidizing petrol.

“Many people don’t know this. If they want to know whether there is fuel subsidy or not, they should compare the prices of petrol and diesel per litre. This is because, under normal circumstances, petrol suppose to be more expensive than diesel. As it is, diesel is above N1000, while petrol stood at about N600 per litre. So we are still subsidizing for fuel in Nigeria,” he stated.

El-Rufai’s comments raise questions about the effectiveness and sustainability of fuel subsidies in Nigeria. The high cost highlighted by El-Rufai suggests the program may be straining government resources. It remains to be seen how the Tinubu administration will address this issue and whether they plan to revisit subsidy removal attempts.