The continued investigation of businessman Sam Iwuajoku, embroiled in the import duty waiver scandal, has revealed a lot more than anticipated about his
highly placed collaborators. Iwuajoku, the CEO of Unigate Investment who was last week arrested by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC), has been spilling the beans according to investigators close to his case.
Saharareporters has learnt that the arrested businessman, who also faces gunrunning charges, has fingered former President Olusegun Obasanjo as a direct beneficiary of the import waiver scam. Iwuajoku is a co-owner of a private airline known as "Executive Jet Services," operators of a slew of jets some of which are unregistered through a Gibraltar-based company, Seaside View Management Limited. The other owner is Aliko Dangote.
Executive Jet Services brought in a brand new Bombardier Challenger 300 jet 3B-SSN, registered in Mauritius and delivered to Nigeria in June through the
Shannon/Limerick Airport in Ireland. As reported by Saharareporters, Obasanjo is known to own the private jet. The former president, who made an ignoble exit
from office in May, flew on the jet in early June on his return from a short junket to Jamaica.
Iwuajoku himself owns a private jet that he purchased through a company known as "Corporate Oil and Gas Services Limited" based in Stone Mountain, Georgia in the US. It is a British Aerospace made BAe125 800A made in 1985 with registration number N270HC. Just before the EFCC arrested him last week, Iwuajoku hastily smuggled the jet out of Nigeria. A flight plan obtained by Saharareporters shows that the aircraft first flew out of Lagos to Palma de Mallorca Airport in Spain before
flying to the United States a few days ago.
Saharareporters sources disclosed that Iwuajoku’s private jet and the jet purchased for Obasanjo were purchased with proceeds of kickbacks to the former president. EFCC operatives plan to confiscate Iwuajoku's private aircraft.
EFCC officials were set on Iwuajoku’s trail after finding out that the largely unknown businessman was on several occasions issued import duty waivers by former President Obasanjo on the pretext that he was involved in building power projects in the Niger Delta area. He is reputed to be the largest importer of steel in Nigeria.
Saharareporters investigators found out that in 2006, Iwuajoku brought three shiploads of rice into Nigeria without paying import duties. In that instance, he was
said to have collaborated with Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State.
Businessman Alhaji Aliko Dangote, one of the closest confidantes of former President Obasanjo, is also reportedly involved in Iwuajoku’s import duty scams.
Iwuajoku is a well-known associate of Dangote who is a direct beneficiary of import duty waivers worth in excess of N100 billion. Several top officers of the
Nigerian Customs have also been implicated in the scam. Emmanuel Nnamdi (Andy) Uba, Obasanjo’s former aide, was reportedly instrumental in facilitating the questionable import duty waivers.
Iwuajoku is likely to be arraigned this week.
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