Oladimeji Ramon

Human rights lawyer, Mr . Femi Falana (SAN ), has listed 10 alleged corruption cases that can fetch the Federal Government not less than $ 74.5 bn and N 2 .5 trn if prosecuted.

The lawyer said without resolving these high - profile corruption cases in which the funds were trapped , it would seem that the Federal Government was chasing shadows in its anti- graft war .

Falana listed the 10 cases in a paper titled, “ Promoting Transparency and Accountability in the Recovery of Stolen Assets in Nigeria : Proposals for Reforms,” which he delivered in Lagos at a seminar organised by a human rights advocacy group , Socio- Economic Rights and Accountability Project , in collaboration with the Ford Foundation , USA.

Top on the list of the cases , Falana said, was the alleged diversion of $ 20. 2bn from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

He said the details of the alleged fraud were captured in reports by the National Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative covering 1999- 2012.

According to him , NEITI concluded that the $ 20.2 bn fraudulently ended up in the hands of some oil companies and agencies of the Federal Government as opposed to being remitted into the Federation Account .

Falana said the alleged $ 20.2 bn fraud at the NNPC and nine other monumental frauds worried him enough that he had had cause to write a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission calling for the probe of the alleged frauds .
He said, “ Convinced that the Federal Government was chasing shadows in the fight against corruption , I have had cause to petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to open the allegations of corruption which border on crimes against humanity . In the said petition , I alleged as follows :

“ From five cycles of independent audit reports covering 1999- 2012, the National Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative revealed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, some oil companies and certain agencies of the Federal Government have withheld $ 20. 2bn from the Federation Account .

“ In 2006, the Central Bank of Nigeria removed $ 7bn from the nation ’s external reserves and placed same as deposit in 14 Nigerian banks . In 2008, the bank gave a bailout of N 600 bnn ($ 4 bn ) to the same banks . Up till now, the CBN has failed to recover the said sum of $ 11bn from the banks.

“ On September 6 , 2016, the NNPC announced that arrangements had been concluded to recover the sum of $9 . 6bn in over- deducted tax benefits from joint venture partners on major capital projects and oil swap contracts. The NNPC is said to have recovered the said sum of $9 . 6bn but has not remitted same into the Federation Account . ”
Falana listed as number four , the alleged outstanding sum of $ 1. 9 bn “ which ought to be recovered from Mobil Oil Producing Nigeria Unlimited and paid into the Federation Account .”

According to him , the $ 1. 9 bn is the outstanding sum out of the $ 2 .5 bn which Mobil ought to pay the Federal Government for the renewal of three oil blocks .

Instead of paying $ 2 .5 bn , Falana said, “ curiously , the $ 600 m paid by Mobil was accepted by the Federal Government ,” sometime in 2009.

He also tasked the Federal Government to demand accountability on the over $4 bn recovered out of “ the estimated $ 5 bn stolen by a former military ruler , the late Gen . Sani Abacha .”

“ The office of the Accountant General should be asked to account for the recovered loot . Furthermore , the moves to recover the remaining loot of about $ 800m are being frustrated by Swiss and United States governments,” the lawyer said.

He also called on the Federal Government to forthwith comply with the judgment obtained by SERAP at the Federal High Court which ordered the Federal Government to account for the spending of the recovered Abacha loot under the regimes of ex- Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo , the late Musa Yar’ Adua and Goodluck Jonathan .

Next on Falana’ s list was “ the $ 470 m contract awarded to ZTE (a Chinese company) in 2009 by the Federal Government for the construction of CCTV cameras in Abuja and Lagos .”

He asked , “ Since the contract was not executed, what then has happened to the $ 470 m ?”
Falana also wants the Federal Government to take steps to recover the N2 . 5trn allegedly paid as subsidy by the Central Bank of Nigeria , to a cabal of fuel importers.

“ Although the EFCC has charged some suspects to court, the whole fraud ought to be revisited as the investigation into the monumental fraud was compromised by the Jonathan administration , ” he said.

Again , he urged the Federal Government to take action towards the recovery of $ 12.7 bn from some oil companies , being the value of 60.2 million barrels of crude oil which the oil companies allegedly stole , “ shipped from Nigeria and discharged at the Philadelphia port in the United States from January 2011 to December 2014 and were not recorded locally recorded.”

He said , “ The EFCC ought to be directed to recover the $ 12. 7bn from the shipping and oil companies that carried out the fraud .
“ If the investigation of the stolen crude oil can be extended to other ports in the United States , China , India , France, United Kingdom etc , Nigeria may be able to recover not less than $ 200 bn during the same period .”

Finally, the human rights lawyer said the Attorney General of the Federation , ought to recover the sum of $13. 9 bn which telecommunication company, MTN “ illegally transferred” out of Nigeria .

“ The huge fund should be recovered while the economic saboteurs involved in the illicit transfer should be prosecuted,” Falana said.
He stressed that “ it is imperative for the EFCC to conduct an investigation into the colossal fraud and recover the huge proceeds of the economic and financial crimes to the states ’ coffers.”

He also tasked the government on the quick passage of relevant laws that would aid the Federal Government in its effort to recover funds looted by corrupt public officials .

One of such laws, which must be urgently passed, he said, is the Proceeds of Crime Bill.
When passed into law , the bill, according to him , will address the problem of “ absence of a forfeiture law in a distinct legal framework in Nigeria .”

Making a case for the passage of the Proceeds of Crime Bill, in his presentation, Falana said, “ In view of the urgent need to chart the law in Nigeria in respect to forfeiture of assets in respect of unlawful activities , it is hoped that the National Assembly will pass the Proceeds of Crime Bill into law .”

He said it was regrettable that despite the existence of a treaty such as the United Nations Convention Against Corruption of 2005, some Western nations still held onto funds stolen from Nigeria and kept in their banks .
He flayed the United States of America and Switzerland particularly for maintaining a puritanical stance to frustrate Federal Government ’s effort to recover the funds stolen and kept in the country by Abacha .

“ The government of the United States has filed copious objections to the suit filed by Nigeria in Jersey for the recovery of over $ 3 oom of the Abacha loot . The gravamen of the objection is that the fund be released to the United States to manage on behalf of Nigeria .
“ In the same vein, Switzerland has insisted that the sum of $ 321 m of the Abacha loot would not be repatriated to Nigeria unless the World Bank would be allowed to monitor the disbursement of the fund .

“ Such patronising attitudes of western governments cannot be justified having regard to the fact that they had connived with a few unpatriotic Nigerian public officials in the grand looting of the treasury of Nigeria ,” Falana said.


http://punchng.com/10-corruption-cases-that-can-fetch-fg-74-5bn-n2-5trn/

Noted

He also tasked the Federal Government to demand accountability on the over $4 bn recovered out of “ the estimated $ 5 bn stolen by a former military ruler , the late Gen . Sani Abacha







shey the same presido wey say abacha no steal any money

At a point this man should be clamouring for the removal of Buhari he is here saying gibberish about what he doesn't know? It wasn't just MTN that pulled money out of Nigeria , infact many other companies pulled out monies amounting to over 80 billion dollars as a result of Buharis percieved short sightedness ..

Nigeria fraud scam 419 are our hobbies

1999 scam?....

Buhari and the cabal are not interested in those kind technical cases, their focus is Patience Jonathan, Dasuki, and other PDP goons that had refused to cross carpet

For me is last point is trash,let the USA,Switzerland and world bank or UN monitor the way the monies will be spent,if the Nigeria government does not agree,the money should not be release.

I don't even care as much about recovering those loot as I do seeing every public officer who's stolen public funds rot in jail.

If there's a way, I'd even like to see their spouses rot in there with them, after all, they tend to encourage one another while the plundering takes place.

Take up the case and get 10%

That's how it's done

We are not yet serious about fighting corruption in Nigeria

Nigeria is a joke

FarahAideed:
At a point this man should be clamouring for the removal of Buhari he is here saying gibberish about what he doesn't know? It wasn't just MTN that pulled money out of Nigeria , infact many other companies pulled out monies amounting to over 80 billion dollars as a result of Buharis percieved short sightedness ..

Ogbeni, you hardly make sense, yet always in a hurry to make the first comment. The SAN is talking about stolen money amounting to over 70B USD and you are talking about 80B USD withdrawn from the economy by the owners which is not a crime. How much is NL paying for endorsement that always carry you away? Do you know more than the SAN?

georjay:
He also tasked the Federal Government to demand accountability on the over $4 bn recovered out of “ the estimated $ 5 bn stolen by a former military ruler , the late Gen . Sani Abacha







shey the same presido wey say abacha no steal any money

try n discuss intellectually for once in ur life

This is serious

if he thinks the FG is not aware of these then let him continue.

Okoroawusa:

try n discuss intellectually for once in ur life

Maybe that is his own suggestion for the recovery of his stolen destiny.

Is this not the same Falana that was accused of buying seized assets from EFCC at giveaway price?

I've always heard this issue about MTN 'illegally' transferring money out of Nigeria, but I've never heard it explained anywhere exactly what that means. Last I checked, foreign companies operating in Nigeria are free to repatriate profits to their home country, so I've never quite understood where the illegalitg comes from.

FarahAideed:
At a point this man should be clamouring for the removal of Buhari he is here saying gibberish about what he doesn't know? It wasn't just MTN that pulled money out of Nigeria , infact many other companies pulled out monies amounting to over 80 billion dollars as a result of Buharis percieved short sightedness ..

Where is the sense in this? Remove Buhari and replace him with those that squandered our collective wealth abi? A renowed SAN gave a list of corruption cases the FG can pursue to generate trillions of dollars and all you can do is shout "remove Buhari." You guys just make comment as though Nigeria was heaven before Buhari came in. Jeez!

Buhari till 2023

COMPAQ:
I've always heard this issue about MTN 'illegally' transferring money out of Nigeria, but I've never heard it explained anywhere exactly what that means. Last I checked, foreign companies operating in Nigeria are free to repatriate profits to their home country, so I've never quite understood where the illegalitg comes from.

You asked a very good question. I'm also confused. Is just like telling me not to send my profit to my village for personal projects.

Misterdhee1:

Where is the sense in this? Remove Buhari and replace him with those that squandered our collective wealth abi? A renowed SAN gave a list of corruption cases the FG can pursue to generate trillions of dollars and all you can do is shout "remove Buhari." You guys just make comment as though Nigeria was heaven before Buhari came in. Jeez!

I used to think the guy has sense but I was mistaken. I don't like buhari but that doesn't mean I should behave like an idiot.

Noted

Omololu2121:
For me is last point is trash,let the USA,Switzerland and world bank or UN monitor the way the monies will be spent,if the Nigeria government does not agree,the money should not be release.

Honestly, that's my view point. The funds that our leaders have been kept in charge of how well have they managed it. Embezzlement is what will end up with the money if released to Nigeria.

That argument of Falana shows he has got a showdy interest in the unrecovered funds.

FarahAideed:
At a point this man should be clamouring for the removal of Buhari he is here saying gibberish about what he doesn't know? It wasn't just MTN that pulled money out of Nigeria , infact many other companies pulled out monies amounting to over 80 billion dollars as a result of Buharis percieved short sightedness ..

Since removing Buhari is more important to u can u kindly present a replacement cos Aso Rock can be vacant.let's try and get sense with multivitamin na!!!

Foreign reserves now $40.5B, they would have to kill us to loot this money again.

RATHER THAN CHASE THESE THEY WILL SPEND TIME RUNNING AFTER PLANTAIN SELLERS AND SEIZING PLANTAIN AND BEANS. YOU WONDER WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE FOODS SEIZED FROM POOR HAWKERS.

THEY SPEND TIME CHASING LEVIES FROM SMALL SCALE BUSINESSES THAT ARE STRUGGLING TO PAY RENT AND THEY LET THE BIG PEN ROBBERS GO UNTOUCHED.

WE NEED A NEW ORIENTATION.

Falana can be appointed special prosecutor to help recover this money

In view of the fact that Mr Falana has & knows the details of most of these frauds, the EFCC can mandate his law firm to take up the cases and if successful, he is paid a percentage of the recoveries. I think it will be a win win situation for both the country and himself.