ARISE O NIGERIANS (III)

[Salimonu Kadiri]

​Despite being highly remunerated to induce patriotism and enhance performance, we have seen how Service Chiefs and top Senior Armed Forces officials exploited their official positions to fleece defence trustee accounts entrusted in their care. Generally, public servants in Nigeria (elected or selected, appointed or employed), whether military or civil, are very unpatriotic and greedy. They see Nigeria as an open kleptocracy in which stealing everything in sight is normal and they grab recklessly for themselves without feeling bad for the negative consequences of their thefts of developmental funds on citizens they are supposed to serve. Since the wellbeing of Nigerians does not matter, resources allocated by the Federal, States' and Local governments to build schools, hospitals, support research in science and technology, support commerce and industry, revamp infrastructure and agriculture are regularly shared by the conscienceless and heartless Nigeria's political class, civil servants and military elites. Speaking on treasonable stealing, defined as a coup against the socio-economic development of the people, which is fraudulently called corruption in Nigeria, the ex-Chairman of EFCC, Mrs Farida Waziri, on 28 September 2009 said in Kaduna, "Having dealt with corruption cases, I am inclined to suggest that public officers should be subjected to some form of psychiatric evaluation to determine their suitability for public office. The extent of aggrandizement and gluttonous accumulation of wealth that I have observed suggests to me that some people are mentally and psychologically unsuitable for public office. We have observed people amassing (stealing) public wealth to a point suggesting 'madness' or some form of obsessive-compulsive psychiatric disorder."  She said that two years after her predecessor, Nuhu Ribadu was haunted out of office for filing corruption charges in courts against about 30 ex-governors, with most of them belonging to the ruling political party, PDP, and even some of them had become law makers in the National Assembly. The present is a product of the past and there cannot be today without yesterday. The seeds of today's insecurity in Nigeria were sown some decades ago. Buhari's led APC promised to uproot the main cause of insecurity in Nigeria which is stealing of economic development funds by public officials on attaining presidency five years ago but, unfortunately, as his wife, Aisha Buhari pointed out in her October 2016, BBC interview, Buhari has surrounded himself with people who do not share his vision and the ideology of the APC. Since I have shown how disloyal and unpatriotic Senior Armed Forces Officers plundered the defence funds and thereby allowed Boko Haram and banditry to grow  let me, at least, illustrate with an example of how greedy and selfish civilians preyed on the resources of our dear country.

When Buhari came to power in 2015, he met piles of corruption cases filed, in fact, by the outgoing PDP government which indeed involved public servants and many PDP Governors. Speaking at a town hall meeting with Nigerians in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Sunday, 31 January 2016, President Buhari said, "On the fight against corruption vis-à-vis the judiciary, Nigerians will be right to say that is my main headache for now." He stressed further that the ongoing fight against corruption in Nigeria could be effectively tackled with strong support of the judiciary." On Wednesday, 10 February 2016, the President of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Augustine Alegeh, said that such generalisations and categorisations of the judiciary as being an obstacle to the anti-corruption crusade by President Buhari was aimed at intimidating the judiciary. He stated, "The NBA condemns in its entirety the generalisation and/ or categorisation of the Judiciary as being corrupt and an impediment to the zero corruption policy of the present administration." However, the NBA boss could not tell Nigerians why cases of corruption filed in 2007 were still undecided in 2016 after which the accused have been granted bails. A typical example is the, still ongoing, case of treasury looting involving  the Governor of Abia State from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. On July 27, 2007, the ex-Governor of Abia State for 8 years, Orji Uzor Kalu, was arraigned before an Abuja Federal High Court on a 107-count charge of money laundering, official corruption and criminal diversion of public funds in excess of N5 billion (later found to be N7.2 billion exactly). EFCC chaired by Nuhu Ribadu  accused Orji Uzor Kalu of transferring billions of naira belonging to the Abia State government to his Slok Airlines Company. He was evidently accused of transferring the funds over a period of time from the defunct Manny Bank, that later became part of Fidelity Bank, to Slok's account at Inland Bank. EFCC presented bank documents showing how Orji Uzor Kalu moved various sums of government money into the accounts of Slok Investment, Slok Nigeria Limited, Slok Incorporated and other companies owned by him. The presiding judge, Justice Binta Murtala Nyako, granted him bail which he fulfilled in addition to the surrender of his international passport to the court.

Two days after Kalu's immunity against prosecution as Governor of Abia State had expired, he sought from an Abia State High Court, on 31 May 2007, a restraining ex-parte order against the EFCC not to arrest and prosecute him for whatever reason and he was granted. Relying on the Abia High Court's restraining order, Orji Uzor Kalu petitioned President Yar'Adua to complain about the failure of EFCC to obey Abia High Court order of stay of arrest and prosecution against him. While pretending to put up a stiff defence on the charges against him, Orji Uzor Kalu planned to flee the country. Thus, on 7 August 2007, Kalu approached the presiding Court on his case in Abuja for the release of his international passport and for permission to travel to USA where his presence was immediately needed for physical and personal approval of brain surgery on his wife, Ifeoma Ada Kalu. He presented a sworn affidavit and a letter from Brigham Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, signed by one Dr Peter Black to support his request to be allowed to travel to the USA. EFCC contacted the hospital in question and in an e-mail response, the Secretary to Dr Peter Black, Hearther Galvin, said that his boss could not, and would never, have signed the letter purportedly seeking Kalu's presence in the USA for the wife's brain surgery. Moreover, the hospital denied having a patient by the name Ifeoma Ada Kalu, awaiting brain surgery as at that moment. In a normal country, Orji Uzor Kalu should have been arrested immediately and tried for perjury and forgery. When his ploy to abscond from trial in Nigeria failed Kalu, on 3 September 2007, filed a motion at an Abuja High Court seeking for an order to strike out EFCC's charges against him. During the hearing of Kalu's motion, on 5 September 2007, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice then, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa (SAN), sent a representative in the same manner as the current AGF, Abubakar Malami does, to take over the case from EFCC and urged the Court to respect Abia's Court order concerning Kalu. Abuja High Court simply referred the case to the Supreme Court to determine whether the decision of Abia High Court was binding on Abuja Federal High Court. However, the case continued at the High Court where at the end of the trial, Kalu's lawyers applied for no case submission which the Court ruled against. Kalu appealed against the decision of the High Court to the Appeal Court. On Friday, 27 April 2012, the Court of Appeal unanimously held that the former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu had a case to answer over his alleged theft of public funds while in office as the Governor between 1999 and 2007. The case was remitted back to the High Court for Kalu to defend himself. The case soon landed at the Court of Appeal again on request from Orji Uzor Kalu and his lawyers. In Kalu vs Federal Republic of Nigeria (2014) 1NWLR (PT1389) 479, the locus standi of the EFCC to prefer charges of theft against Kalu and his co-accused was what the appellants wanted the Court of Appeal to decide on. In dismissing Kalu and others' appeal, the Court of Appeal held that the argument of the appellants was rooted in the fallacious ground that the funds allegedly stolen by the accused and paid into the account of Slok Nigeria Limited was from the Security Votes of Abia State that were managed by Orji Uzor Kalu, as the Governor of Abia State, and the said Security Votes are UNACCOUNTABLE and UNRETIREABLE. The argument, the Court of Appeal pointed out, does not say, and it cannot be further stretched to mean, that because the funds from Security Votes are unaccountable and unretire-able, they are steal-able or/and can be pilfered with impunity. It is noteworthy that Kalu and his associates were not arguing that they did not transfer billions of naira from the bank account of the Abia State into the bank account of Slok Nigeria Limited, owned by Kalu and his family, but that they did the transfers because any measure taken on security is classified and whatever amount is spent on security is secrete and not subject to accountability (auditing) or return to the State's government bank account at the end of the financial year, if not expended. So, Kalu thought the transfer of money from Abia State Security Votes into his private company, Slok, constituted security measure for Abia people. Even with the decision of the Court of Appeal in 2014 confirming that the trial of Kalu and Co. initiated by the EFCC was appropriate, the case was still lingering because Kalu, since 2014 had appealed to the Supreme Court that his arraignment in court by EFCC was in disregard of Abia State High Court Order of 31 May 2007. On that, the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Appeal No. SC/215/2012 of 18 March 2016, finally decided on the ex parte order from Abia State High Court obtained by Orji Uzor Kalu that restrained Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from arresting, detaining or prosecuting him. The Supreme Court held that the Federal High Court where Mr. Kalu was arraigned is not bound by the injunction given by the High Court of Abia State. The charges preferred against Kalu at the Federal High Court could not be quashed on account of an ex parte order made by Abia State High Court, the Supreme Court said. Thus, the case was remitted back to the Federal High Court for re-start of Kalu's trial that had first begun on 27 July 2007, for treasonable stealing of Abia State funds. Remarkably, it took Supreme Court four years, after receiving the appeal to take decision.

Almost a year after the Supreme Court decision that negated the value of ex parte order procured by Orji Uzor Kalu to shield himself from arrest and prosecution by the EFCC, on account of his looting of Abia State treasury, the case was transferred from Abuja Federal High Court to Lagos Federal High Court and assigned to Justice Mohammed Idris. The trial commenced on 13 March 2017 and the prosecution closed its case on 11 May 2018 after calling 19 witnesses. Thereafter, the case was adjourned to 30 May 2018 for the accused to open defence. Instead of opening defence at the appointed date, a no case submission applications was filed by the defence causing the case to be adjourned for adoption of written addresses on the no case applications to 27 June 2018. Before that date, Justice Mohammed Idris was elevated to the Court of Appeal with effect from June 26, 2018. One of Kalu's legal team, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Gordy Uche, wrote to the President of Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, asking her to grant Justice Idris a fiat to conclude the case at the Federal High Court Lagos. Justice Bulkachuwa granted Kalu's defence lawyer's, Gordy Uche's (SAN), request in accordance with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJL) 2015, Section 396 (7) to conclude the hearing of Kalu's case which he started before his elevation. When the case commenced on 25 September 2018, another SAN in the legal team of Kalu, Dr Mike Ozekhome, filed a motion on behalf of Kalu before Justice Mohammed Idris, asking the judge to rescue and disqualify himself from the trial on the ground that he has been elevated to the Appeal Court. The prosecution lawyers referred to about 15 past cases where ACJL 2015 and Section 396 (7) had been deployed to allow elevated Judges to the Appeal Court to return to the High Court to conclude cases they had already started before elevation. Premised on precedents, Dr Mike Ozekhome's motion was dismissed and the trial continued. On Thursday, 5 December 2019, Justice Mohammed Idris sentenced former Governor of Abia State (1999-2007), Orji Uzor Kalu, and his accomplice, the former Director of Finance and Accounts at the Abia State Government House, Mr. Udeh Jones Udeogu, to 12 years imprisonment for stealing N7.2 billion from the people of Abia State. While Kalu accepted the judgment of the Court, Mr. Udeh Jones Udeogu appealed to the Supreme Court on the ground that his conviction was pronounced by a Judge of the Appeal Court and not of a High Court. On Friday, 8 May 2020, the Supreme Court upheld the appeal of Mr. Odeogu and nullified his trial and that of Kalu on the ground that the Constitution of Nigeria does not permit a judge elevated to a higher court to return to a lower court to conclude a part-heard case. The Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional the provision of Section 396 (7) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 on which the retired President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, relied on to authorise Justice Muhammed Idris to return to the lower court to conclude the case he started hearing before his promotion. Therefore, the Supreme Court ordered a fresh trial at the Federal High Court. Kalu was subsequently released from jail and on 10 June 2020 he returned to the Senate as a lawmaker for Nigerians. It is remarkable that it took four years for Supreme Court to decide whether a court order issued by Abia Court was bounding on Federal High Court or not, whereas it took the same Court, only four months to rubbish the High Court conviction. 

Orji Uzor Kalu had never wanted to be tried for stealing N7.2 billion from the treasury of the people of Abia State entrusted in his care between 1999 and 2007. For the purpose of pre-empting his arrest and prosecution by the EFCC, he procured an Abia High Court order which the Supreme Court declared not binding on Federal High Court. The Appeal Court also dismissed his motion that the diversion of Abia State's Security funds into his private company's account, Slok Nigeria Limited, did not constitute a crime since he, as the Governor, was not compelled by any law to account for how security votes were spent. Kalu had about 6 SANs Lawyers defending him before a Federal High Court Judge. One can wonder if the inflation of defence advocates was not intended to intimidate the Judge and fraustrate the trial. Lest we forget, it was one of Kalu's Lawyers who wrote to the now retired President of Appeal Court, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, to request that Justice Mohammed Idris, after his elevation to the Court of Appeal, be granted fiat in accordance with ACJL 2015, Section 396 (7), to conclude Kalu's case and the request was granted. When Justice Idris returned to resume hearing, another Lawyer in the team of Kalu's defence, Dr Mike Ozekhome (SAN) moved a motion that Justice Idris should rescue and disqualify himself from the trial because he was a Judge of the Appeal Court. It was obvious that Kalu's defence lawyers conspired to delay and frustrate the case. Those are the facts Supreme Court did not take into consideration when it decided to nullify the conviction of Kalu and company which made the decision to be illogical and against common sense. No law or Constitution is ever perfect and in interpreting and applying laws in cases, Judges should be of affliction with acquired intelligence deficiency syndrome. Kalu's case of treasury looting has been on for good 13 years; the evidence against him that he stole N7.2 billion ear-marked for the security of the people of Abia State is incontrovertible. Therefore, the nullification of Kalu's conviction on the ground that a wrong Judge pronounced the right judgment and as such ordered a retrial is against public interest and common sense and it gives general impression that the Supreme Court is  always ready to help perpetuate and exacerbate high profile thievery in Nigeria. Abia State with a landmass of 6,320 square kilometres has, according to 2006 population census, 2 million, 881 thousand, 3 hundred and 80 (2,881,380) people. One can only imagine the what impact N7.2 billion would have had on the economic security and welfare of Abia state people if the fund had not been stolen by ex-Governor Kalu. Abia State, like all States in Nigeria that have sufferred treasury lootings, is one of the epicentres of armed robbers and kidnappers for ransoms in the country.

While the trial of N7.2 billion Kalu's loot of Abia State is still lingering on, his successor in office between 2007 and 2015, Theodore Ahamefule Orji, has been granted administrative bail by the EFCC for alleged N27 billion fraud investigation. He is accused of diverting into his private account money disbursed to Abia State by Central Bank of Nigeria for Small and Medium Enterprise; Ecological Fund Account and Abia State Oil Producing Area Commission. The EFCC discovered that the funds looted from Abia State by Ex-Governor Orji were laundered through his son's, Chinedum Orji's, various companies' and personal accounts in about 100 different bank accounts. Some of the accounts traced to Chinedum Orji, the son of former Governor of Abia State, who is now the Speaker of Abia House of Assembly are as follows:

(1) Fotoworld Industry Ltd opened with GTBank, contains $21million; (2) Fotoworld Industry Ltd opened with First Bank contains N363 million; (3) Fotoworld Industry Ltd opened with First Bank, contains $84,000; (4) Fotoworld Industry Ltd  opened with First Bank contains N343 million; (5) Fotoworld Industry Ltd opened with First Bank contains £1.7 million; (6) Fotoworld Industry limited, opened with GTBank contains N88 million; (7) Fotoworld Industry Ltd, opened with GTBank contains $21million; (8) Exact Construction Ltd opened with Keystone Bank contains N1.2 billion (9) Exact Construction Ltd opened with Keystone Bank contains N636 million (10) Exact Construction Ltd opened with First Bank contains N599.8 million (11) Fotofast Industry Ltd opened with First Bank contains N21 million (12) Fotofast Industry Ltd opened with First Bank contains N224 million (13) Fotofast Industry Ltd opened with First Bank contains N4.1 billion (14) Fotofast Industry Ltd opened with First Bank contains N1.7 billion (15) Fotofast Industry Ltd opened with First Bank contains N274 million (16) Fotofast Industry Ltd opened with First Bank contains N64.9 million (17) Fotofast Industry Limited opened with GTBank contains N425.6 million (18) Fotofast Industry Ltd opened with GTBank contains N71.8 million (19) Fotofast Industry Ltd opened with GTBank contains N23.5 million (20) Fotofast Industry Ltd opened with GTBank contains N158.5 million (21) Fotofast Industry Ltd opened with GTBank contains N50 million. Hereafter follows Chinedum Orji's balance in his various personal bank accounts (22) Access Bank - $47,726. 64, (23) First Bank - N117.7 million, (24) Access Bank - $124.3 million (25) First Bank - N342.7 million (26) FCMB - N384.9 million (27) FCMB - N205.5 million (28) First Bank - $601,716. 62 (29) First Bank - N153.9 million (30) First Bank - N153 million (31) Access Bank - N178.3 million (32) Access Bank - $48,000. Various different bank accounts opened in respect of his company Cheetah Press Ltd contain the followings : (33) First Bank N1.1 billion, (34) Union Bank N430.9, (35) Standard Chartered Bank N42 million, (36) GTBank N241 million (37) GTBank N966 million (38) GTBank N143.9 million (39) UBA N2.2 billion (40) UBA N782.7 million and (41) His company, Travel BETA UBA's account contains $788,174 .22. What ex-Governor Kalu stole from Abia State is a chicken change compared with what his successor, Theodore Ahamefule Orji and his son Chinedum stole between 2007 and 2015. Ironically, not only are the two ex-governors of Abia State enjoying millions of naira monthly pension pay package from Abia State for serving the State as Governors, eight years total respectively, but they are currently both Senators with a monthly income of about N13.5 million. 

As it is in Abia State, so it is in all over Nigeria. When Kalu was arraigned for treasonable stealing of N7.2 billion in 2007 his colleague in Sokoto State, ex-Governor Attahiru Bafarawa was arraigned for treasonable stealing of N15 billion from Sokoto State's treasury. The same 2007, Saminu Turaki, ex-Governor of Jigawa State was arraigned for treasonable stealing of N36 billion from the State's treasury. While Joshua Chibi Dariye, ex-Governor of Plateau State (1999 - 2007) was jailed 10 years for treasonable stealing of N1. 64 billion, his successor in office, ex-Governor Jonah Jang (2007-2015) is currently being tried for treasonable stealing of N6. 3 billion from the State's treasury. When it comes to treasonable stealing in Nigeria there is no Northerner or Southerner, there is neither ethnic nor religious discrimination because the minority public servants, both military and civilians are united to marginalise and impoverish the masses. When they rig the nation's economy to their own favour, they cannot expect security to reign in the country because where there is economic injustice there can be no security. While President Muhammadu Buhari is, as always, battle ready against the source of insecurity to life and property in Nigeria which is treasonable stealing, those that he relies on to wage the battle are not trustworthy. They have changed the first three stanzas in the Nigerian National Anthem which are :

Arise, O compatriots, Nigeria's call obey

To serve our fatherland

With love and strength and faith

to

Arise, O Greeds, Nigeria's call to gluttons

To serve Nigeria is to steal gluttonously

And to steal gluttonously is to be public a servant 

To be continued.

S. Kadiri

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