A lot has been said about Nigeria's Attorney General Michael Aondoakaa since he assumed office and perhaps even more since his current face-off with the British legal system over James Ibori.

This man has caused Nigeria so much embarrassment and has effectively told the world by his actions that corruption in Nigeria is beyond remedy-any remedy. Nigerians at home and abroad have continued to fight that this corrupt AG should be kicked from office, arrested and docked for his many crimes.

Sadly, his primary constituency the (Nigerian) legal proffession rep on issues like this by the NBA has been outstanding in its deafening silence. It calls to question the caliber of people occupying positions at the Nigerian Bar Association.

[b]Justice for sale? Many scandals of Aondoakaa-[/b]National Life    PDF  Print  E-mail
Written by DARE ODUFOWOKAN and KUNLE OWOLABI, NATIONAL LIFE   
Wednesday, 30 September 2009 11:45


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Michael Aondokaa
Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, is definitely a troubled man. Like a man who had murdered sleep, his alleged past misdeeds seem bent on catching up with him, sooner than expected. For a man who is seen by many Nigerians as an overzealous aide of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the avalanche of allegations currently dogging the AGF’s every step, are no doubt damaging.


Since emerging as head of the justice ministry, the embattled AGF has not stopped surprising Nigerians with his approach to a number of issues of national importance. While some Nigerians were quick to accuse him of playing to the gallery, in his capacity as the chief law officer of the country, many more brazenly label him a pro-corruption crusader, after listening to him explain away some crucial impediments to the war against corruption.

Little wonder that, rather than pity the embattled minister, who sources say is on the verge of losing his juicy job, many Nigerians have been pouring invectives on the Benue-born lawyer for what they described as his hypocritical interpretation of President Yar’Adua’s much touted commitment to the rule of law. And to make matters worse for the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), damning facts continue to emerge on what is now known as the ‘many scandals of Aondoakaa’.

Sources within the presidency and the judiciary informed National LIFE that Nigeria’s legal sphere had never been as polluted as it currently is under Aondoakaa. “I am not surprised to hear that the President is considering dumping him. He was, and would remain a bad news to the judiciary,” a Lagos-based attorney said during the week.

Checks by National LIFE revealed that scores of damaging reports had littered the AGF’s dossier for too long, prompting the presidency to place him under surveillance. The outcome of this, according to a source, led to talks of his imminent sack. “The AGF has been under close watch following myriads of complaints to Mr. President, of his activities. But his current problem has to do with an alleged undisclosed trip to London recently. I think his cup is now filled up. He may be on his way out,” a well-placed source in told National LIFE.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be incorrect to say the foundation for the scandals currently threatening Aondoakaa’s job was laid even before he was appointed the AGF. According to a close ally of the troubled minister, before his appointment, Aondoakka and some other lawyers had gone to court to challenge the legality of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The case, according to the source, was instituted on behalf of the former governor of Benue State, George Akume, who was then being hounded by the commission over allegations of money laundering and financial impropriety.
The case was at the Supreme Court when Aondoakaa was appointed minister, thus making him both the plaintiff and defendant in the matter. The case was eventually thrown out by the apex court for lack of diligent prosecution.

On his appointment, according to insiders, the first thing Aondoakaa did was to hasten the President to issue a directive that made it compulsory for the EFCC, ICPC and other anti-corruption agencies to get clearance from  his office before instituting a case against any suspect.

Critics of the AGF say he got the directive in preparation for his plan to cage, if not totally extinguish the EFCC. “Aondoakaa saw his appointment as AGF as a God-sent or was it man-made opportunity to finish, once and for all, his long-drawn battle with the EFCC. The presidential directive was the tool he needed. So, he went for it on assuming office,” said a source who had worked closely with the AGF.

The directive, however, was not to be helpful for long as it was soon rescinded following court judgement in a case challenging it instituted by fiery Lagos lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana.

Falana had gone to court to challenge the directive as unlawful, citing a Supreme Court pronouncement in the case of Osahon vs Federal Republic of Nigeria. He averred that any law enforcement agency can institute criminal proceedings in a court of law on its own, provided the Attorney General can take over at any point. His permission, he argued, is not needed to commence prosecution. The Court agreed with him and the directive was quashed.
It was the loss of this precious cover that probably exposed the alleged pro-corruption antics of the AGF. From that point, controversy seemed to mark every step taken by the minister, as every of his actions - official and political - attracted stiff criticism.

Today, he is enmeshed in a myriad of condemnations following EFCCs’ denial of an earlier statement from the AGF’s office that the anti-corruption agency has cleared some former governors being investigated by the police in Britain.
The commission had, in a statement, said it did at no time say that the concerned former governors were no longer under its searchlight. It then described the AGF’s statement as inappropriate.

“It is therefore inappropriate to input or infer that the former governors have been exonerated in matters that are still pending or yet to be determined by the law court which is the only competent organ of government that can pronounce guilt or innocence in matters like the ones under reference.

“The Commission has to make this clarification in view of the volume of enquiries from concerned Nigerians so as to lay to rest all doubts and insinuations as to the position of the Commission and its leadership in all these,” the statement said.

And in a move that further underscores the minister’s scandalous interference in the said trial, the Metropolitan Police in London, also accused Aondoakaa of trying to stall the process by not co-operating with it in the investigation and prosecution of former Delta State governor, James Ibori, for alleged corruption and money laundering.

A senior Met Police officer, DC McDonald, who is working on the case against Ibori and his associates, had said it appears the AGF is unhappy about the case, adding that his attitude had stalled the investigation.
“The authorities in Nigeria promised there wouldn’t be a breakdown of communication, but now there is a recorded lapse on their part. Since Ribadu was removed in 2007, many people have been removed or redeployed,” MacDonald said.
Curiously, it is the same Aondoakaa who is the main culprit in the on-going crisis in the aviation sector. He is pointedly being accused of conspiring with Mr. Wale Babalakin of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, to illegally acquire the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Aviation experts have flayed the recent directive from the Attorney General to Aviation Minister, Mr. Babatunde Omotoba, that Bi-Courtney should take over the said terminal, describing it as fraudulent.
Describing Aondoakaa’s directive as a shocking volte-face by the Federal Government, which had earlier brushed aside pressure to concede the terminal to Bi-Courtney, the President of National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Comrade William Ukah, said the action, if not checked, is capable of affecting the aviation industry adversely.

“The AGF’s directive is a shocking one. The federal government had all along refused to be cajoled or tricked into handing over the terminal to these people. We believe that something is wrong and the instruction is not official,” the union leader said in response to growing allegations that Aondoaka might have been gratified into giving the directive. As at the week end, no word had come from the AGF over the matter.

The controversy over President Yar’Adua revisiting the issue of Lagos State’s 37 additional councils also featured Aondoakaa as a star actor.

When the Federal Government reignited the controversy with a directive to the state to disband the Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) and revert to the constitutionally recognised 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs), Aondoakaa was the man who canvassed government’s position on the matter while fielding questions from State House correspondents at the end of a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja.
He had boasted that “Government would do everything within the law to avert the constitutional breach which the action of the Lagos State Government was out to achieve.”
Asked whether he had studied the response of the Lagos government on the matter as directed by the President, the minister betrayed his interest in the matter when he said: “I have nothing to study; the law is there; the President directed me and I have replied him. What do you mean by studying the matter? The judgment is there, the judgment of the Supreme Court is thorough. What do I have to study? There is no going back on the matter.”
Though Aondoakaa said he was out to protect the integrity of the Constitution and ensure that nobody violated it, it was not difficult for critical observers to see beyond the veil of his argument and behold a man acting out a script. So battered was the public rating of the AGF by this issue that he was forced to stop commenting on the matter.
Embattled Aondoakaa was also given a prominent mention when a scandal broke over alleged underhand dealings in the out-of-court settlement of a Federal Government case against American pharmaceutical giant – Pfizer - over the 1996 clinical trial of Trovan, a meningitis drug, in Kano State.
The AGF was accused of bringing on board the Federal Government’s legal team, Dr. Paul Botwev Orhii, the man who facilitated the out-of-court resolution of the 13-year old legal tussle. Orhii’s first known contact with the government reportedly occurred when he wrote a letter to Michael Aondoakaa, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, in December 2007, requesting to be engaged as an expert witness for Nigeria in the case.
The Federal Government had asked Pfizer to pay $700 billion as compensation to alleged victims of the drug trials. A number of US-based lawyers served as consultants to the Federal and Kano State governments, as the matter was heard in five courts across the country.
On 20 December, 2007, barely seven months after he was admitted into the Bar of the state of Texas, Orhii wrote President Umar Yar’Adua through the office of the AGF, asking to be engaged as an expert witness against the American drug manufacturers. The request was granted within a month, or as some observers put it, with an “alacrity not normally associated with government business in Nigeria”.
The speed with which Orhii was engaged has been described by a foreign news agency as “Nigeria’s quickest hiring in 48 years”. The fact that he had no record in the type of class action instituted against Pfizer also fuelled criticism by Nigerians in and outside the country.
Aondoakaa and Orhii are from Benue State and it was alleged that the AGF brought Orhii into the legal team prosecuting the case against Pfizer to enable him (AGF) corner a portion of the deal, which Pfizer might pay as settlement in the suit.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) merely added to the growing opposition to Aondoakaa’s style of rule of law, when last Thursday, it took a critical review of the AGF’s role in the trial of former corrupt public officers, saying it was an embarrassment to the legal profession.
The NBA president, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) who spoke at a public function, said Aondoakaa’s gestures and pronouncements “stand at variance with the much vaunted campaign by the government for probity and the rule of law. The NBA views the current controversy and cycles of conflicting statements and denials between the office of AGF and EFCC as embarrassing.”
The NBA, which has Aondoakaa as a member, added that as a leader, the AGF should always be conscious of the effects of all he says or does.
“It is unfortunate that governance in Nigeria has been reduced to such a level that leaders who should know better do not seem to realise that conflicting statements between one department of government and the other do not present Nigeria in good image before the international community. They diminish the country and embarrass our friends. More specifically, the cycle of media reports and denials creates crisis of confidence not only in the justice delivery sector but in the often-stated commitment of government to fight corruption.
“Nothing has exemplified further the suspicion that government has lost the fight against corruption as the conflicting statements between the AGF and the EFCC,” the NBA said.
Short of calling for Aondoakaa’s sack, the NBA said the minister’s “activities and pronouncements can only serve the purpose of those through whose sordid deeds the country lies prostate. We cannot on one hand be seen to be protecting the kleptocratic elite for whom corruption is a way of life and on the other hand claim we are unequivocal in the fight against corruption. The NBA feels it is time to re-think the war against corruption and combat the scourge.
There is also an allegation of under-hand dealing, in which the office of the AGF was said to have collected over $2.5million from the Cross River State government to facilitate the gazetting of Tinapa Resort.

http://www.saharareporters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3832:justice-for-sale-many-scandals-of-aondoakaa&catid=42:exclusive&Itemid=160

Good topic. Aondoaaka and Iwu are two of the biggest problems in Naija.

What about those who appointed (selected) them? 

I wonder how did he got the appointment as Attoney General of the Federation in the first place

AND why is yar'duall still retaining him??

that aondoakka is a hydra headed monster, corrupt MRFcker , people like him that make this country a bad place to live in.

aondoakka is a virus that should be deleted from Fg

Our problem are those that are still keeping aondoakka there.

They're birds of a feather

but why is the president not thinking at all? does he need a prophet to tell him that even he's no saint, AODONKA IS THE DEVIL AND THUS IS RUBBING MORE MORRE NEGATIVELY ON HIM

Most professional organizations in Nigeria and in some other places operate like secret cults, not until their member is caught pants down in full view of the public do they stick out their neck to investigate and make public pronouncements. Just look at the case of ANAN and the customs boss.

otokx:

Most professional organizations in Nigeria and in some other places operate like secret cults, not until their member is caught pants down in full view of the public do they stick out their neck to investigate and make public pronouncements. Just look at the case of ANAN and the customs boss.

A lot depends on who occupies that seat at that material time. Some people actually diminish an office by their ineffectiveness and ineptitude.

Nigerians have always looked up to civil liberty org and the NBA to speak for them. Now its a case of clapping with one hand. The NBA need to speak now more than ever b/c Aondoakaa is not just a rogue public official but he is a lawyer doing a lot of harm to the legal proffession.

Forget d MAGA we call AGF. AGF your mama ynash dat man na really virus.

FBS:

What about those who appointed (selected) them? 

Ibori financed yaradua's campaign. While others were angling for the more lucrative ministries like works and Housing, he opted to have the AG slot because of his many legal problems bordering mostly on money lundering. Others chop clean mouth but Ibori no fit.

sunnela:

but why is the president not thinking at all? does he need a prophet to tell him that even he's no saint, AODONKA IS THE DEVIL AND THUS IS RUBBING MORE MORRE NEGATIVELY ON HIM

A lot of pple ascribe Yaradua's ineptitude to his illness which I think is more of an infirmity of the mind- hardly the kidney failure we are made to believe.

MrCrackles:

Aondoakaaa is a massive disgrace to Nigeria, Nigerians and the human race collectively. . . .
To allow a useless human being like Aondoakaa sit atop and preside over legal matters on behalf of the country is a big joke
And it just represents the big joke Nigeria as a country is in the first place!
Mscheww!

Nigerians have done everything short of walking to his office and dragging him out. No way this guy would have remained in that office under IBB even Abacha-the slowpoke. Yaradua has completely surpassed everybody's permutation of him as an anti people villain.

Pennywise:

Ibori financed yaradua's campaign. While others were angling for the more lucrative ministries like works and Housing, he opted to have the AG slot because of his many legal problems bordering mostly on money lundering. Others chop clean mouth but Ibori no fit.
A lot of pple ascribe Yaradua's ineptitude to his illness which I think is more of an infirmity of the mind- hardly the kidney failure we are made to believe.

YAraDULL YAraDULL YAraDULL YAraDULL YAraDULL how many times i call u so, ur brother shehu will never 4give u d very day u go join them cos u don spoil ur family name finish.

Nigeria is 49! Forty nine years in the life of a nation is enough to make a mark. Is it not shameful that, at 49, we still beg nations like Finland to assist us? Is it not shameful that, at 49, we are yet to become a member of G20? Who will help us tell this president that, with the way things are, he sits atop of a country being constantly misled by him and consistently legally ridiculed by the Michael Andoakaas of his government?

This is d worst AGF weve ever had in this country.Where is he from (state)

Guy forget it. the lad is in sync with his boss. Probably get the nod from Yar Adua before he blurts out those words that never cease to shock us

I dont think this man will be sacked. For some reason, i believe Umaru put him there on purpose if not he would have long gone.
It is sad and shameful that we have to endure the embarassment of having this kind of AGF,
Too sad

Anybody who thinks Aondoakaa will be sacked is just dreaming only good people are sacked not bad people.

I will come back to read this is too long for me.

Am going to take an excerpt from a guy's blog cos he realy described the whole nonsense in satire.
*Nigeria has turned into a theatre of comedy and the current movie genre on the red-carpet is anti-corruption.A month ago it was "Sanusi and the Banking Five",now it's "Aondoakaa and the Thieving Three".These comedians have become very useful in providing the much needed distractions Abuja politicians need while they pillage this country.As tickets to these blockbuster comedies are being sold in front of newspapers,our lame president is busy gallivanting the middle east and inaugurating the opening of thier Schools.
The biggest clown on the stage is no1 but Our corrupt Attorney General of the Federation,Mr Micheal Aondoakaa*
note this excerpt is an edited version.
However,on a more serious note,there's sth wrong with our judicial system if not corrupt fiends like Aondoakaa would have been schemed out as scum during the process of nomination.It is very clear that Aondoakaa conflicting interests with the FG's stance on corruption was the cornerstone for his nomination as AGF,this man was the defence attorney of the former governor of Benue state in a case between the corrupt,erstwhile governor and the EFCC,he was and still is also Ibori's defence lawyer in different cases between Ibori and EFCC.With this glaring revelation how he managed to become AGF is what beats my imagination,Yaradua is clearly not in control of anything,he's too bothered about his failing health to care,his wife Hajia Turai who clearly is an ignoramus when it comes to politics is the one that does most of what the bedridden Yaradua could have done,No wonder Dangote seeing that he was loosing influence in government decided to donate 1billion Naira to her pet project.It's the likes of Ibori who was a major sponsor of Yaradua's campaign that nominated that Arrow! Gosh! Human beings can be wicked in thier quest for survival,Aondoakaa is the worst AGF nigeria has ever produced,that man is a disgrace to anything that's good,he makes me want to like OBJ's Era.My prayer for this country is for Yaradua to Die and let's see the worst,nothing will happen except for once we might be lucky not to be under the chains of mediocre leadership.

What are the powers of the NBA in such a situation like this? Can they sanction the AGF?

Utaroz:

What are the powers of the NBA in such a situation like this? Can they sanction the AGF?

Several. To start with they can officially condemn his actions and demand for his removal. Secondly lawyers should walk out of any court in which he is physically present.

But first-an official condemnation and demand for removal from office by the NBA. Otherwise Nigerians will begin to think he wields an unholy influence over the NBA- and that will be very sad indeed.

without intending to support the AG for any other actions he has been taking since he assumed office,on this particular faceoff with the met police,the AG is in order,for christ sakes nigeria is not anserwable to the british or to any other nation for that matter,i dont know why we always look down on ourselves andnation,do you know how many times the nigeria govt has asked this same british met police for asstance without any favorable response,when requests are made to them,it takes them sometimes as much as 2 years to even reply cos according to them such request must go through different process,now they ask us for assitance and we want our AG to run and do their biddings,abeg!!!!!

Nope , Nope. Capital No
The reason why most of us subscribe to British intervention or involvement by way of co-operating with the Met Police is that we all know nothing good would come out of any prosecution done in Nigeria. Pure and simple.
If there was justice in Nigeria, i dont think any of us would support the move of responding to the Met Police if we were certain James Ohanefe Ibori and his cohorts would get a proper trial and punishment in Nigeria

frankkky:

without intending to support the AG for any other actions he has been taking since he assumed office,on this particular faceoff with the met police,the AG is in order,for christ sakes nigeria is not anserwable to the british or to any other nation for that matter,i dont know why we always look down on ourselves andnation,do you know how many times the nigeria govt has asked this same british met police for asstance without any favorable response,when requests are made to them,it takes them sometimes as much as 2 years to even reply cos according to them such request must go through different process,now they ask us for assitance and we want our AG to run and do their biddings,abeg!!!!!

And so how does a deliberate act of the AG to muddle up a case of corruption help Nigerians? By the way he has not been found guilty yet. Ibori and accomplices have a chance to embarrass the met police and its witnesses by proving their innocence in court. No the AGF wont have that.

In any case it is not the British auth that has corruption problem or has a wordwide notoriety for corruption, it is Nigeria and the Nigerian govt and the evidence of it abounds and you see it each time the body of a nigerian is recovered in the mediterranean.This is not a tit for tat. It is a lame excuse to justify another criminal act by Aondoakaa

Aondoakaa is only reading in between d lines

The AG ought to be censured by his peers in the NBA and his fellow colleagues in the inner Bar.
In any rational society that would have happened.However i have nothing to say because
the AG would leave office one day and derision and scorn would be his fate.
I am not worried about him Where is Abacha? Where is IBB? Where is Aikhomu?
The man has depleted any sense of goodwill this country has left.
The NBA has a toothless Society ditto CIBN,NMA,ICAN.Its a relic that has
outlived its usefulness. That is why the AG can do as he likes

toba:

This is d worst AGF weve ever had in this country.Where is he from (state)

The dude is from Benue, but i doubt if he is representing his state well. The man is an embarassment even to his profession.