SaharaReporters had on April 23 exposed how Momoh made a handwritten agreement to borrow money from one of his friends, while raising the N10 million bribe which he paid to secure his office.
A director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs serving in the Directorate of Technical Cooperation In Africa, Suleiman Momoh, who raised a N10 million bribe which he paid to secure his office, has been removed and replaced after SaharaReporters’ story.
Authoritative sources stated that Momoh was removed on Wednesday as the Head of Human Resource Department after he was summoned and could not defend the issues raised against him.
The former Head of HR, Mr Haliru Abubakar, was reportedly reinstated by the DTCA Director-General.
SaharaReporters had on April 23 exposed how Momoh made a handwritten agreement to borrow money from one of his friends, while raising the N10 million bribe which he paid to secure his office.
Apart from the agreement, there was also a petition against Momoh which was forwarded to the DTCA when Momoh refused to pay back the borrowed money – a petition which was swept under the carpet by the former Director-General and the Minister of State For Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada.
SaharaReporters had obtained the handwritten document, titled, “Payment agreement,” which reads, “I, Suleman Momoh, hereby recertify that upon inability to pay on 7/1/020, I wish to crave your indulgence to allow me till 14/1/2020 to pay back the sum of N3,800,000 being the total sum of money agreed to be paid in lieu of N2,500,000.
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“A cheque of N3,500,000 of mine from Access Bank has been deposited with the understanding that the money shall be paid in cash. This date, 14/01.2020, is binding on me and can be enforced through legal action,” Suleiman Momoh, 7/1/2020.”
Sources confirmed to SaharaReporters that Momoh had been replaced after SaharaReporters’ story.
“Yes, Momoh has been removed as Head of HR. He was unable to clear himself of the issues raised against him. The former Head of HR (Mr Haliru Abubakar) who was removed to make way for the fraudulent Mr Momoh, was reinstated by the new DG.
“Momoh should be dragged to the anti-corruption agency for further investigation as a deterrent to other errant public officials. The Ministry may want Momoh’s case to lie low because heads will roll but it is appropriate that he is probed,” the source stated.
SaharaReporters had reported that the N10 million Momoh raised through borrowing from friends was paid to someone working in the Presidency in January 2020 to ensure that Momoh was made a director at the MFA because the former director at the DTCA was retiring.
SaharaReporters had gathered that the issues came to light after Momoh refused to return what he borrowed to Mr Gift Agadagu, a businessman from whom he collected N2.5 million.
It was learnt that Momoh asked Agadagu in December 2019 to lend him the money, with a written agreement that he would pay back the sum in January 2020, but trouble started when Momoh, after becoming a director, refused to repay the money.
Agadagu thereafter raised a petition to the DCTA of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in May 2020 to complain about Momoh and get his money back but the petition was not acted upon and swept rather under the carpet.
SaharaReporters had obtained the petition in which Momoh’s wife confirmed that her husband paid N10 million to an Aso Rock staff member to get the directorship position at the DCTA which he is currently occupying.
Sources at the corruption-ridden DCTA told SaharaReporters that the petition came to the attention of the Minister of State of Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada, but it was killed because “the minister’s boys also got shares of job racketeering money from the DCTA.”
The petition raised against Momoh had been titled, “Complaint of Criminal Abuse of Office and Obtaining Money by False Pretence Against Suleiman Momoh” which was never acted upon prior to SaharaReporters’ story.