THE suspended chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ambassador Sam Edem, paid about a billion naira to regain his virility, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja was told on Wednesday.


It will be recalled that the herbalist, Matthew Sonoma, allegedly consulted by the former NDDC boss, had said he assisted Edem to restore his sexual potency after he complained about having problems with his manhood in a statement to the police.


The former NDDC chairman, however, denied the statement by Sonoma, saying that he had never at anytime lost his virility. Under cross-examination by Sonoma’s counsel, Chief Albert Akpomudje SAN, the court heard how the herbalist was introduced to Edem by a youth leader of one of the organisations in the Niger Delta.


The matter is before Justice Gabriel Kolawole of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja. When asked if it was true that he paid money to have his virility restored by Akpomudje, the suspended NDDC boss denied the allegation.


According to him: “My manhood has never gone down and I have never asked anybody to assist me in restoring it. My manhood never failed at anytime. It has always been functioning.


“My manhood has never stopped working, I repeat, it has never stopped working,” Edem said. He was also accused of approaching the herbalist for medicines to get favour from the governor of Akwa Ibom State. Akpomudje said, according to the statement made to the police, “the name of the medicine is Dog no dey bite the owner. It was done to get favour from the former governor.”


Edem also told the court that threats made by the accused in the suit made him part with the sum of N715 million. He said after he realised that the accused was a fraud, he kept his distance but the accused kept threatening him through text messages and phone calls demanding for more money.


“At first I gave him money as a token, but he later came back and asked for a loan. Whenever I refused to give him more, my security aide would advise that I cooperate to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and I did. At various times, he threatened me, attacked my convoy and even threatened to bomb my wife’s school in Uyo. I was concerned, because there are over 3,000 students in that school. I was forced to part with more money,” he said.


Sonoma, who is facing a 15-count charge for, allegedly, fraudulently obtaining N715 million from Edem, pleaded not guilty. It will be recalled that the Federal Government had suspended Edem for, allegedly, spending N270 million on rituals. He and two other suspects, Perekambowe Ogah and Kakas Amgbari, still at large, are principal suspects in the alleged scam.


His suspension was contained in a two-paragraph statement from the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Ambassador Babagana Kingibe.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/02072009/news/news1.html