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EFCC To Quiz Jaiz Bank CEO, Hassan Usman, Others, Over AGF’S Alleged N109bn Fraud

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EFCC will question Hassan Usman, CEO of Jaiz Bank, and others for suspected N109 billion theft by AGF.

 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC, may soon summon Hassan Usman, the managing director of Jaiz Bank Plc, and other senior members of the Islamic bank for questioning regarding their alleged roles in the N109 billion thatAhmed Idris, the disgraced former Accountant General of the Federation, is accused of stealing, according to sources in the commission.

 

Idris, who is currently facing charges from the EFCC along with two other conspirators, Godfrey Olusegun Akindele and Mohammed Kudu, allegedly stole the enormous sums of money by hacking into the Treasury Single Account (TSA), Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), and smuggled away billions of naira that belonged to the government.

 

The group was last week charged before Justice A. O. Adeyemi Ajayi of the Maitama, Abuja-based Federal Capital Territory High Court.

Investigative work by the EFCC revealed that the former Accountant General had opened bank accounts with an Islamic bank and utilized those accounts to refine his money-laundering techniques.

 

Investigations indicated that the bank was used to launder a sizable amount of money to high government officials at the federal and state levels, while the magazine is unable to determine the extent of some bank employees’ involvement in the crime.

 

According to information obtained by The Source Magazine, the commission is currently working to uncover any shady dealings the former AGoF may have had with some Islamic bank executives, which may have “enabled him to use the bank to launder public monies.” The bank must respond to important queries, according to an EFCC source.

The Accountant General and his accomplices must have chosen Jaiz bank, in order not to draw any suspicion from the public and banking regulators. But it’s now obvious that there’s no hidden place for the bank and greedy government officials who committed the fraud. The EFCC will get to the bottom of the fraud and expose those involved” another EFCC top official said on Tuesday.

“There is a need to question more top officials of the bank apart from the chief executive who must be privy to how and when huge sums of money were moved without deeming it fit to alert constituted authority in the country and EFCC. There’s no way huge sums will be moved without the MD’s knowledge, and we are quite sure these officials are not unaware of the money laundering law,” the official said.

The EFCC claimed that Idris utilized a substantial portion of the stolen money to launch businesses and buy real estate in Kano, where he is from, as well as Abuja and other places.

These properties include, among others, the Kano City Mall, the Gezawa Exchange Limited, and the Gezawa Integrated Farms.

 

A portion of the earnings from the theft were also utilized by the disgraced former accountant general to bribe important members of the state and federal governments, including former governor Abdul’Aziz Yari of Zamfara state, who was at the time the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).

 

During the trial last week, an EFCC prosecution witness Hayatu Ahmed, said Idris has accounts with Jaiz Bank which he used to make payments to individuals and companies, including a N280 million he paid into “Gezawa Commodity Market with Jaiz Bank.”

 

Additionally, it was discovered from EFCC sources that the bank was used in a large number of transactions that the disgraced Idris conducted with bureau de change. Several bureau de change in Kano and Abuja were paid via the bank, according to credible proof. The source stated that the dollar equivalent was then collected in cash and afterwards paid directly to people who had benefited from the crime.

 

Giving an overview of the fraud last week, the EFCC witness claimed that three groups shared the stolen money, including members of the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), including one of its commissioners, Peace Akomas, a former deputy governor of the Abia State who is accused of collecting N18.8 billion.

The second group is the AGF group, and it got a total sum of N18.01 billion.

 

“The third group, the Commissioners of Finance in the nine oil producing states, received N21.4 billion. The money was withdrawn by Akindele, converted to US dollars, and handed over to Akomas on behalf of the group.

 

“The fourth group is called the Yari group. This group received N17.15 billion. The entirety of the sum was transferred to the account of Fimex Professional Services on the instruction of the representative of this group – Abdul’Aziz Yari, former Zamfara state governor.

 

“The remaining N8.9 billion was retained by the second defendant. Furthermore, N4.29 billion was converted to US dollars by Akindele as appreciation for the consultancy contract, and the balance of N4.6 billion was given to Akindele,” the EFCC witness said in court.

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HOW ACCESS BANK STRUGGLES TO ATTRACT FRENCH COMPANIES…

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Nigerian Access Bank has been very outspoken about strengthening ties with France, but has not yet made much progress.

On the 10th floor of the Access Tower on Victoria Island in Lagos, the only sign that Access Bank has what it calls a “French Desk” is a tiny French flag in a corner. It has been nearly four months since the bank’s main shareholder and non-executive director, Herbert Wigwe, opened the Desk, but it has not yet done anything.

The Desk has been set up to help French companies work in Nigeria and vice versa. To this end, a partnership with the Business France office in Lagos is currently being finalised. However, its efforts will first focus on Ghana. Access Bank’s branch in Accra handles accounts for several major French companies, including TotalEnergies and the consultancy Mazars.

Presence in Paris

In May, Minister Delegate for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships Chrysoula Zacharopoulou attended the inauguration of the new French Desk, intended to mark a new step forward in Access Bank’s French strategy. Two weeks before, on 15 May, Wigwe became chairman of the French-Nigeria Business Council, replacing Abdulsamad Rabiu of BUA and then inaugurated a Paris branch at the Petit Palais with French Foreign Trade Minister Olivier Becht in attendance

Like the French Desk in Lagos, the Paris office, a branch of Access Bank’s London and run by Justin Maria, cannot do much. It currently cannot open an account for any clients, discussions are still on going with the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority.

 

Westward bound

The Paris branch of Access Bank and the French Desk in Lagos, which will also benefit from an office in Paris in the coming months, indicate its interest in the West African Economic and Monetary Union. The Nigerian bank acquired Standard Chartered Bank’s assets in Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, Tanzania and Sierra Leone, and now intends to break into the markets in Senegal and Ivory Coast.

 

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Businesses to enjoy more value with Glo Prime

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A new offer, Glo Prime, has been unveiled by Digital and telecommunications solutions provider, Globacom. It comes with a portfolio of call and data package aimed at aiding the growth of businesses by keeping them connected at all times and ensuring they get more value for the money they spend on the network.

 

The product, according to a Globacom statement, comes in four different plans with each of them delivering immense value to the businesses and other customers. The plans includeN1,500, N3,000, N5,000 and N10,000 packages.

 

Customer who chose Prime N1,500 pack will get 45 minutes of calls and  4GB of data, while those who prefer the Prime N3,000 plan will enjoy 100 minutes of calls and 12GB of data. Those who opt for Prime N5,000 pack will get 300 minutes of calls and 25GB data while 750 minutes of calls and a whopping 60GB of data await customers who pick the N10,000 pack.

 

Globacom stated that, “In a highly dynamic environment, there is  need for constant innovation to offer more value to our new and existing customers. The Glo Prime is, therefore, a portfolio of new plans designed to surpass similar products in the market in terms of flexibility, ease of use and value”.

 

It added that the introduction of Glo Prime reinforces the company’s position as a provider of the most competitive Voice and Data solutions for high value customers, both individuals and corporates.

 

The company, which marked its 20th anniversary in August, recently received two awards at the Consumer Value Awards and picked up another two at the prestigious Marketing Edge Annual Brand and Advertising Awards, lending credence to its  commitment to excellent service delivery and innovative offering to subscribers.

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Court halts Aiyedatiwa’s impeachment, kinsmen hold solidarity protest

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The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, restrained the Ondo State House of Assembly from impeaching the Deputy Governor, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, over alleged gross misconduct.

Justice Emeka Nwite gave the restraining order in a ruling shortly after Aiyedatiwa’s counsel, Kayode Adewusi, moved an ex parte motion to the effect.

The judge also restrained Governor Rotimi Akeredolu from nominating a new deputy governor and forwarding the same to the lawmakers for approval pending the hearing and determination of the substantive matter.

Justice Nwite held that after listening to Adewusi, he was of the view that the interest of justice would be met by granting the application.

“Therefore, the application of the applicant succeeds,” he held.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the embattled deputy governor had, in a motion on notice marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1294/2023, sued the Inspector-General of Police and the Department of State Services.

Others joined in the suit are Akeredoku, Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Chief Judge of Ondo State, and the House of Assembly as 1st to 6th respondents, respectively.

In the application filed by Mr Adelanke Akinrata on September 21, Aiyedatiwa sought four reliefs.

Justice Nwite, who granted all the reliefs, adjourned the matter until October 9 for hearing.

Meanwhile, hundreds of indigenes of Ilaje community in the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, on Tuesday, stormed Akure, the state capital, to protest against the ongoing impeachment process against Aiyedatiwa.

Aiyedatiwa, who is also an Ilaje man, had been served the impeachment notice by the state House of Assembly and was expected to respond to all the allegations in the notice.

The protesters, who gathered in front of the entrance of the Assembly gate with leaves in their hands, chanted various solidarity songs to express their support for the embattled deputy governor.

Some of them carried placards with inscriptions such as “Justice for Lucky, Lucky is innocent”; “Stop accusing him wrongly”; “Ilaje Nation stands with Aiyedatiwa”; “Aketi, Lucky is not your enemy,” and “Let Lucky finish his term,” among several others.

The protesters alleged that the impeachment proceedings were a plot to take Aiyedatiwa out of the race of the 2024 governorship election in the state.

Speaking on the development, one of the leaders of the protesters and Founder of the Ilaje World Congress, Mr Ola Juda, declared that the indigenes of Ilaje would not tolerate the impeachment move against Aiyedatiwa.

He said, “This gathering is the gathering of sons and daughters of Ilaje land; not only Ilaje, but we also have other sympathisers from Akure and Ese-Odo Idanre axis that have come together to protest against injustice and the battle that is going to erupt in Ondo State. The peace of Ondo State is being threatened by the actions of the Ondo State House of Assembly.

“For the past decades, an Ilaje man has never been a deputy governor but for the first time, we have a deputy governor, and yet powers that be have vowed that he will not finish his tenure. Aketi/Lucky mandate was given to both of them and if Aketi is still the governor of Ondo State, our mandate as the deputy governor remains.”

However, no member of the House came out to address the protesters.

The Akure Area Commander of the Ondo State Police Command, Mr Nzota Chidi, who addressed the protesters, advised them to be peaceful in order not to be infiltrated by miscreants.

In a related development, some former members of the Ondo State House of Assembly have condemned the process taken by the state Assembly to impeach the deputy governor.

The former lawmakers, under the auspices of the Concerned All Progressives Congress’ Ex-Lawmakers in Ondo State, said it was too early for the members of the 10th Assembly to take the issue of impeachment as a major priority at the expense of various challenges facing the state in recent times.

Speaking in Akure on Tuesday on behalf of others, a former lawmaker, Mr Abiodun Jerome, urged the state Assembly to play the game according to the rules, warning them against causing chaos in the state.

Jerome said, “Our intention is purely advisory. May we remind you, dear honourables (lawmakers) that Chapter 5 Part 2 and Section 90 to 129 of the Nigerian Constitution is very clear on the establishment of the House of Assembly and its functions.

“The present House of Assembly is less than four months old, and it’s very unfortunate that impeachment proceeding is their priority amongst the myriads of critical issues confronting our state presently.

“As former lawmakers, we have the responsibility to point attention to all forms of abnormalities we observe so that the general public is not misled. Although we could have ordinarily ignored the shenanigans of the orchestrators of the dastardly act, we are compelled by the trust once held by us with the political responsibilities as representatives of our various constituencies.”

Similarly, a political organisation under the aegis of Ondo State Consciousness Movement, on Tuesday, warned members of the Ondo State House of Assembly against being used as a political tool in the hands of the executive to achieve a predetermined objective.

The chairman of OCM, Shalom Olaseni, in a statement, said that the legislature should not allow its hallowed chambers to be tainted with political witch-hunts or targeted vendettas as being rumoured in various quarters in the state.

He said, “The alleged discord between the state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, who recently returned from a protracted sick leave abroad, and the deputy governor, stemming from the deputy governor’s alleged gubernatorial ambitions, should not be allowed to overshadow the pursuit of justice and adherence to constitutional principles.”

 

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