June 11, 2008
Saharareporters has uncovered the sleazy behind-the-scene deals that cleared the way for Mrs. Farida Waziri’s confirmation as the new chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Reliable information gathered by Saharareporters revealed that members of the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics, Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes, which screened Mrs. Waziri, were paid off handsomely to overlook the new chairperson’s serious ethical baggage.
Mrs. Waziri's screening by the committee was done via a televised session at the National Assembly. Though members of the committee had expressed initial criticism of Mrs. Waziri's appointment, they unanimously jettisoned a strong petition against the candidate written by Mr. Gani Fawehimi (SAN). They carefully ensured that the content of the petition did not shape the screening process.
Instead, the screening session turned on softball questions that had been pre-planned. Most of the questions lobbed at the candidate had to do with her plans for the future of the anti-corruption agency. The questions lacked depth, and there were no serious follow up questions.
In the beginning, the screening committee’s leadership gave the impression that they were prepared to properly screen Mrs. Waziri. But our sources within the National Assembly have told us that the posturing was part of a calculated plan to drive up the committee’s “asking price” for approving the EFCC chairperson.
One source involved in the “financial negotiations” between Mrs. Waziri’s sponsors and the committee told us that the corrupt former governors behind her candidacy initially offered a sum of N250 million, but the committee leadership wanted N500 million to get the job done. The committee’s fierce grandstanding when its leadership warned Mrs. Waziri against resuming in office was aimed at forcing her sponsors to pay up the right price.
Our sources said Senator Sola Akinyede was initially opposed to Mrs. Waziri’s appointment. In fact, he and Senate President David Mark explored several strategies for ensuring that her appointment was frustrated. However, Mr. Akinyede, who our source described as a "coward," could not carry through with his initial resistance. He claimed that he was overwhelmed by other committee members, including Senator Jibril Aminu, who was fingered in the Siemens bribe scandal.
On his part, Mr. Mark also backed off due to the unresolved troubles with his election. An electoral tribunal invalidated his election, and the case is on appeal. As one source told us, “The Senate President’s corrupt reputation doesn't make him a good source of resistance against Mrs. Farida Waziri.”
Impeccable sources told Saharareporters that soon after approving her appointment with "immediate effect", Yar'adua left the attorney general, Michael Aondoakaa, and Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara to facilitate her screening and eventual confirmation by the Senate.
But several former governors led by James Ibori, whose newspaper, Daily Independent, acted as the propaganda wing for those pushing for Waziri’s confirmation, felt that the arrangement was too untidy and risky. They feared that Florence Ita-Giwa, then presidential liaison to the National Assembly, could not be trusted to handle the confirmation. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo initially appointed ita-Giwa. Ibori’s group felt that Ita-Giwa, who is romantically linked with Obasanjo, could leak information to Obasanjo about the bribing of the committee members. Ibori prevailed on Yar'adua to relieve Ita-Giwa of her appointment as presidential liaison to the president. She was replaced with former Senator Mohammed Abba Aji, a man more trusted by the coalition of corrupt governors who financed Mrs. Waziri’s appointment. Abba Aji facilitated the bribing of members of the Presidential Elections Petitions Tribunal to validate Yar'adua’s election last February.
Abba Aji's first official pronouncement was to assure the public that the opposition to Mrs. Waziri's candidature as EFCC chair had been resolved. Soon after, the committee that looked into her malfeasance cleared her and submitted a report that paved the way for her eventual confirmation.
In addition to the funds provided by corrupt ex-governors, our investigations revealed that Baba Gana Kingibe, the Secretary to the Federal Government, arranged for more cash to “meet the demands of the committee.”
Once “settled,” the committee set about its task of confirming Mrs. Waziri in a process that smacked of a predetermined outcome. In its final report, the committee claimed that it could not ascertain that the EFCC chairperson had already resumed work at the EFCC headquarters. This was a blatant attempt to cover the truth since it was a matter of public knowledge that she had made two official trips to the EFCC headquarters and also traveled to Lagos to meet with the agency’s operations officials prior to her confirmation hearings.
It was also revealed that an armored car meant for the chairman of the agency had since been parked in her Abuja residence with the keys handed over to her.
The U.S. government also played a part in facilitating Mrs. Waziri’s eventual "clearance". Sources told Saharareporters that since Yar'adua made a u-turn over his strong opposition to the American government’s plan to set an African Command (AFRICOM), the U.S. has been enthusiastic to shore up Yar’adua’s regime.
The American government’s embrace of Mrs. Waziri's candidature as head of the EFCC was part of a series of softened gestures to show appreciation for the Yar'adua regime’s u-turn on AFRICOM.
Saharareporters had reported that the US embassy officials in Abuja met with Mrs. Waziri last week to discuss possible assistance for her candidacy, even though she was unconvincing and lackluster. Sources told our reporters that the instruction to accept her came directly from Washington. It was a major policy shift from the unqualified support the U.S. government had hitherto given to Mr. Nuhu Ribadu before he was suddenly transferred out of the agency.
Signs of America’s weakening support for Ribadu emerged when the U.S. Consular Section in Abuja refused to grant a visa to the Director General of National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Professor Akinyemiju Akindoyeni, who had planned to accompany Ribadu to receive an award at the World Bank headquarters. No explanation was offered for denying a visa to the widely traveled scholar.
Meanwhile, Saharareporters has received information that Mrs. Waziri’s tenure at the EFCC “will be a huge pay-off for her sponsors,” in the words of one of our sources.
“Under Mrs. Waziri’s supervision, there is serious effort to tamper with the major evidence in Chief James Ibori’s trial before Justice Mohammed Lawal Shuaibu.”
Saharareporters investigators found out that Yar'adua's office and the Central Bank of Nigeria, through its embattled governor, Charles Soludo, have commenced moves to change the date and purpose for which a $15 million cache was registered at the Central Bank. The cash was provided by Mr. Ibori to bribe former EFCC Chairman Ribadu. But the ongoing conspiracy is to change the entries to leave the impression that the money was donated to the presidency for reasons other than a bribe.
As widely reported in the money laundering case against Ibori, the $15 million was a bribe meant to influence the termination of corruption and money laundering investigation case against Ibori. According to press reports, the former chairman of the EFCC deposited the money with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the lawyers to the agency have listed the bribe as an exhibit against the former governor. Our investigators have discovered that a complete alteration of the entry for the cash is in high gear, all in a desperate attempt to free Ibori from prosecution.
Another worrisome aspect of Mrs. Waziri’s tenure is her suggestion, while answering questions posed by Senate committee members during her screening, that henceforth perpetrators of financial fraud will be prosecuted along with their victims. Several sources who are familiar with her track record as a law enforcement officer told us that she has a chummy relationship with Barrister Fred Ajudua, a major fraud kingpin in Nigeria, who is currently in hiding. “Mrs. Waziri owes a load of debt to 419 operators,” said the source. “She was literally embedded with 419 operators while she was in charge of the police unit meant to fight the vice. It is public knowledge that she never convicted a single high profile 419 case during her tenure at Alagbon Close in Lagos. Instead, she cavorted with male fraudsters, engaging in amorous relationships with several of them. It was an open secret that she slept with many 419 kingpins while at Alagbon Close and at the Special Fraud Unit on Milverton Road, Ikoyi where she openly courted John Nebeolisa (a.k.a Joneb) who later became the Igwe of Awkuzu in Oyi LGA area of Anambra State.”
A retired detective in Nigeria described her proposition to treat victims of fraud as criminal as “the most bizarre proposal to come from a law enforcement officer.”
She spoke about her intention to restructure the EFCC. According to our source, “This has to do with a list she already received from her corrupt backers to remove officers in the EFCC regarded as stubborn and uncompromising.”
She also told the panel of her plan to cut back on treating petitions, claiming that disgruntled politicians who are bad losers usually write petitions. But agency sources told Saharareporters that petitions from individuals are part of the mandatory means of collecting information about corruption. Other means include information received through “suspicious transactions reports (STRs)” filed by banks. But many banks never file these on time, if they are filed at all. The EFCC also engages in raids to search for financial criminals. About 70% of all EFCC information comes through petitions, according to an official in the operations department of the EFCC’s Lagos office.
Mrs. Waziri's boasted to the committee that she was willing to “step on toes.” But one of our sources scoffed at “that empty boast.” He added, “In view of her closeness to some of the most corrupt elements within the political class, how is she going to step on their toes except when she is dancing a waltz with them?”
Reliable information gathered by Saharareporters revealed that members of the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics, Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes, which screened Mrs. Waziri, were paid off handsomely to overlook the new chairperson’s serious ethical baggage.
Mrs. Waziri's screening by the committee was done via a televised session at the National Assembly. Though members of the committee had expressed initial criticism of Mrs. Waziri's appointment, they unanimously jettisoned a strong petition against the candidate written by Mr. Gani Fawehimi (SAN). They carefully ensured that the content of the petition did not shape the screening process.
Instead, the screening session turned on softball questions that had been pre-planned. Most of the questions lobbed at the candidate had to do with her plans for the future of the anti-corruption agency. The questions lacked depth, and there were no serious follow up questions.
In the beginning, the screening committee’s leadership gave the impression that they were prepared to properly screen Mrs. Waziri. But our sources within the National Assembly have told us that the posturing was part of a calculated plan to drive up the committee’s “asking price” for approving the EFCC chairperson.
One source involved in the “financial negotiations” between Mrs. Waziri’s sponsors and the committee told us that the corrupt former governors behind her candidacy initially offered a sum of N250 million, but the committee leadership wanted N500 million to get the job done. The committee’s fierce grandstanding when its leadership warned Mrs. Waziri against resuming in office was aimed at forcing her sponsors to pay up the right price.
Our sources said Senator Sola Akinyede was initially opposed to Mrs. Waziri’s appointment. In fact, he and Senate President David Mark explored several strategies for ensuring that her appointment was frustrated. However, Mr. Akinyede, who our source described as a "coward," could not carry through with his initial resistance. He claimed that he was overwhelmed by other committee members, including Senator Jibril Aminu, who was fingered in the Siemens bribe scandal.
On his part, Mr. Mark also backed off due to the unresolved troubles with his election. An electoral tribunal invalidated his election, and the case is on appeal. As one source told us, “The Senate President’s corrupt reputation doesn't make him a good source of resistance against Mrs. Farida Waziri.”
Impeccable sources told Saharareporters that soon after approving her appointment with "immediate effect", Yar'adua left the attorney general, Michael Aondoakaa, and Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara to facilitate her screening and eventual confirmation by the Senate.
But several former governors led by James Ibori, whose newspaper, Daily Independent, acted as the propaganda wing for those pushing for Waziri’s confirmation, felt that the arrangement was too untidy and risky. They feared that Florence Ita-Giwa, then presidential liaison to the National Assembly, could not be trusted to handle the confirmation. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo initially appointed ita-Giwa. Ibori’s group felt that Ita-Giwa, who is romantically linked with Obasanjo, could leak information to Obasanjo about the bribing of the committee members. Ibori prevailed on Yar'adua to relieve Ita-Giwa of her appointment as presidential liaison to the president. She was replaced with former Senator Mohammed Abba Aji, a man more trusted by the coalition of corrupt governors who financed Mrs. Waziri’s appointment. Abba Aji facilitated the bribing of members of the Presidential Elections Petitions Tribunal to validate Yar'adua’s election last February.
Abba Aji's first official pronouncement was to assure the public that the opposition to Mrs. Waziri's candidature as EFCC chair had been resolved. Soon after, the committee that looked into her malfeasance cleared her and submitted a report that paved the way for her eventual confirmation.
In addition to the funds provided by corrupt ex-governors, our investigations revealed that Baba Gana Kingibe, the Secretary to the Federal Government, arranged for more cash to “meet the demands of the committee.”
Once “settled,” the committee set about its task of confirming Mrs. Waziri in a process that smacked of a predetermined outcome. In its final report, the committee claimed that it could not ascertain that the EFCC chairperson had already resumed work at the EFCC headquarters. This was a blatant attempt to cover the truth since it was a matter of public knowledge that she had made two official trips to the EFCC headquarters and also traveled to Lagos to meet with the agency’s operations officials prior to her confirmation hearings.
It was also revealed that an armored car meant for the chairman of the agency had since been parked in her Abuja residence with the keys handed over to her.
The U.S. government also played a part in facilitating Mrs. Waziri’s eventual "clearance". Sources told Saharareporters that since Yar'adua made a u-turn over his strong opposition to the American government’s plan to set an African Command (AFRICOM), the U.S. has been enthusiastic to shore up Yar’adua’s regime.
The American government’s embrace of Mrs. Waziri's candidature as head of the EFCC was part of a series of softened gestures to show appreciation for the Yar'adua regime’s u-turn on AFRICOM.
Saharareporters had reported that the US embassy officials in Abuja met with Mrs. Waziri last week to discuss possible assistance for her candidacy, even though she was unconvincing and lackluster. Sources told our reporters that the instruction to accept her came directly from Washington. It was a major policy shift from the unqualified support the U.S. government had hitherto given to Mr. Nuhu Ribadu before he was suddenly transferred out of the agency.
Signs of America’s weakening support for Ribadu emerged when the U.S. Consular Section in Abuja refused to grant a visa to the Director General of National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Professor Akinyemiju Akindoyeni, who had planned to accompany Ribadu to receive an award at the World Bank headquarters. No explanation was offered for denying a visa to the widely traveled scholar.
Meanwhile, Saharareporters has received information that Mrs. Waziri’s tenure at the EFCC “will be a huge pay-off for her sponsors,” in the words of one of our sources.
“Under Mrs. Waziri’s supervision, there is serious effort to tamper with the major evidence in Chief James Ibori’s trial before Justice Mohammed Lawal Shuaibu.”
Saharareporters investigators found out that Yar'adua's office and the Central Bank of Nigeria, through its embattled governor, Charles Soludo, have commenced moves to change the date and purpose for which a $15 million cache was registered at the Central Bank. The cash was provided by Mr. Ibori to bribe former EFCC Chairman Ribadu. But the ongoing conspiracy is to change the entries to leave the impression that the money was donated to the presidency for reasons other than a bribe.
As widely reported in the money laundering case against Ibori, the $15 million was a bribe meant to influence the termination of corruption and money laundering investigation case against Ibori. According to press reports, the former chairman of the EFCC deposited the money with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the lawyers to the agency have listed the bribe as an exhibit against the former governor. Our investigators have discovered that a complete alteration of the entry for the cash is in high gear, all in a desperate attempt to free Ibori from prosecution.
Another worrisome aspect of Mrs. Waziri’s tenure is her suggestion, while answering questions posed by Senate committee members during her screening, that henceforth perpetrators of financial fraud will be prosecuted along with their victims. Several sources who are familiar with her track record as a law enforcement officer told us that she has a chummy relationship with Barrister Fred Ajudua, a major fraud kingpin in Nigeria, who is currently in hiding. “Mrs. Waziri owes a load of debt to 419 operators,” said the source. “She was literally embedded with 419 operators while she was in charge of the police unit meant to fight the vice. It is public knowledge that she never convicted a single high profile 419 case during her tenure at Alagbon Close in Lagos. Instead, she cavorted with male fraudsters, engaging in amorous relationships with several of them. It was an open secret that she slept with many 419 kingpins while at Alagbon Close and at the Special Fraud Unit on Milverton Road, Ikoyi where she openly courted John Nebeolisa (a.k.a Joneb) who later became the Igwe of Awkuzu in Oyi LGA area of Anambra State.”
A retired detective in Nigeria described her proposition to treat victims of fraud as criminal as “the most bizarre proposal to come from a law enforcement officer.”
She spoke about her intention to restructure the EFCC. According to our source, “This has to do with a list she already received from her corrupt backers to remove officers in the EFCC regarded as stubborn and uncompromising.”
She also told the panel of her plan to cut back on treating petitions, claiming that disgruntled politicians who are bad losers usually write petitions. But agency sources told Saharareporters that petitions from individuals are part of the mandatory means of collecting information about corruption. Other means include information received through “suspicious transactions reports (STRs)” filed by banks. But many banks never file these on time, if they are filed at all. The EFCC also engages in raids to search for financial criminals. About 70% of all EFCC information comes through petitions, according to an official in the operations department of the EFCC’s Lagos office.
Mrs. Waziri's boasted to the committee that she was willing to “step on toes.” But one of our sources scoffed at “that empty boast.” He added, “In view of her closeness to some of the most corrupt elements within the political class, how is she going to step on their toes except when she is dancing a waltz with them?”
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