Assets Archives - Naija Premium Gist

Court nullifies sale of assets recovered by Malami committee

May 11, 2022 No Comments

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on Tuesday nullified the sale of assets recovered by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), under the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations, 2019.

The judge gave the ruling in a suit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre against the AGF.

He also declared that the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations, 2019 as an invalid statutory instrument, saying the powers of the committee headed by Malami were beyond the legal powers of the office of the AGF.

The AGF had on November 9, 2020, inaugurated the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the disposal of assets forfeited to the Federal Government.

The establishment of the committee, according to the minister, was in line with the President’s directive of October 2018 following recommendations of the Presidential Audit Committee on Recovery and Management of Stolen Assets and a need for efficient management of the assets.

But HEDA through its counsel, Omotayo Olatubosun, challenged the AGF’s power to set up the committee, arguing that the regulations conflicted with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act, Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administrative Act, 2015, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act, 2004 and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission Act (ICPC), 2000, among others, on the disposal of forfeited assets.

In filing the suit, the plaintiff sought nine reliefs including the nullification of all disposals of assets by the committee.

In his judgment, Justice Lewis-Allagoa dismissed the AGF’s preliminary objection argued by the committee’s counsel, Tolu Mokunolu, and granted all of HEDA’s reliefs as prayed on the motion paper.

He said: “I am entirely in agreement with the submission of counsels to the plaintiff that the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations, 2019 are contrary to the statutory provisions of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC Act, Trafficking in Persons Cohabitation Enforcement and Administration Act, NDLEA Act and Immigration Act.

A careful perusal of the above statutory provisions will show the provisions for the Attorney-General of the Federation to make regulations for the agencies for disposal of assets under the various enactments listed above.

“The above statutory enactments are therefore the enabling source of the Attorney-General of the Federation to the regulations.

“Consequently, the administrative powers to be exercised by the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation must flow from the enabling statutes.

“It is pertinent to state that the powers of the Attorney-General of the Federation do not override the provisions of the enabling statutes stabilising the powers of the law enforcement agencies and anti-corruption agencies and consequently the powers referred to in the commencement clause of the regulations merely are to be exercised in accordance with the Acts not to usurp the mandatory powers vested in the law enforcement agencies and the anti-corruption agencies.”

Lifestyle

Assets Declaration: Magu Honours CCB Invitation

December 8, 2020 No Comments

The suspended Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, yesterday honoured the invitation of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) in Abuja.

Sources close to the matter also disclosed that Magu was at the CCB office in Abuja on Thursday, December 3, 2020 with his lawyers over the CCB’s invitation on his assets declaration.

But the suspended EFCC boss could not be attended to as the CCB was having its annual lecture with a theme titled: “Fighting Corruption for Socio-Economic Development”.

It was further gathered that Magu later visited the CCB on Friday, December 4, 2020 where he spent couple of hours for the interview on his assets declaration.

The CCB had earlier invited Magu on November 17, 2020 and asked him to come along with: Acknowledgement slips of all his assets declaration since he joined the public service; Copies of his appointment letter, acceptance, records of service and payslips from January to May, 2020; and all title documents of his landed properties both developed and undeveloped.

But Magu replied in his two letters to the CCB that he would not be able to honour its invitation on the grounds of lack of access to the relevant documents which the CCB is demanding from him.

Speaking through his lawyer, Mr Wahab Shittu, Magu explained that he did not shun the CCB invitation as reported by some sections of the media but only sought a new date over lack of access to relevant documents.

The letter reads in part, “ We wish to state with high sense of responsibility that we have written two letters to the Chairman of the CBB, intimating him about the inability of our client to have access to the relevant documents as required by the CCB.

“The letters, which were dated November 16 and 17, 2020, were addressed to the CCB Chairman”.

Shittu said: “The letters were titled- Re: Investigation of Activities- Letter of Invitation, Breach of Code of Conduct for Public Officers.

“Please note that the letters were stamped and acknowledged by the office of the CCB Chairman on the said date of November 17, 2020. We also wish to state the said letters were copied to the Director of Intelligence, Investigation and Monitoring while the letters were also stamped and acknowledged by his office”.

On Magu’s inability to honour the invitation initially, he said: “Explaining the inability of our client to honour the invitation, we stated as follows: “Your letter dated November 2, 2020 with reference No.-CCB/HQ/II & M/007/2093 addressed to our client has been passed unto us to respond to as follows:

“In the referred letter, our client was requested to appear before your distinguished body on Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 11am prompt concerning the above subject matter. We have firm instructions to inform your distinguished body that our client, regrettably will not be able to honour today’s invitation in view of certain circumstances beyond his control.

“Our client’s inability to honour your invitation is as a result of his inability to access his office and the requested documents since his suspension from office. We wish to inform you that the documents which you requested for and other personal documents are still in his personal office where he has been denied access up to date.”

He further requested that the invitation “to our client be extended pending the conclusion of the exercise of the mandate of the presidential Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up against our client and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“This request has become necessary since most of the documents requested by your Bureau were removed from our client’s offices by the Department of State Security Service (DSS) and the request of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry in the absence of our client while our client was in detention.

Shittu’s letter further stated that “based on the foregoing, it would be impossible for our client to answer your questions and provides those documents which are in the possession of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry and the Department of State Services (DSS).

“We therefore kindly request your distinguished body to graciously extend the invitation extended to our client pending the return of our client’s documents (which you requested).

“Please note that there is the need for our client to have access to the relevant documents in order to prepare for his defence to your invitation.

“In the circumstances, until such a time when our client gains access to his personal file in his office where most of the requested documents are, it is impracticable to honour your invitation, even if our client is willing to do so as an obedient and patriotic citizen.”

Politics

More trouble for Magu as CCB invites ex-EFCC acting chairman over assets

November 14, 2020 No Comments

Trouble seems not yet over for the embattled former Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, as the Code of Conduct Bureau is investigating him over an alleged breach of Code of Conduct for public officers.

The CCB, through a letter dated November 2, with reference number CCB/HQ/ II&M/007/2093, addressed to the former acting EFCC chairman, directed him to appear before the Bureau for an interview scheduled for Tuesday, November 17.

According to the letter, entitled, “Investigation Activities: Letter of Invitation, Breach of Code of Conduct for Public Officers”, the CCB was investigating Magu for a case of alleged breach of Code of Conduct for public officers. Magu’s invitation, the letter, signed by Gwimi S. P., the Director of Intelligence, Investigation and Monitoring of the CCB, stated was made “pursuant to the mandate and powers of the Bureau as enshrined in the 3rd Schedule, Part 1, Paragraph 3(e) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended”.

“The Bureau is investigating a case of alleged breach of Code of Conduct for public officers against Mr Ibrahim Mustapha Magu, the former Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“In view of the foregoing, you are invited for an interview scheduled as follows: Date: Tuesday, 17th November, 2020. Time: 11:00 am prompt; Venue: CCB Interview Room, 5th Floor, Annex 3, Federal Secretariat Complex, Shehu Shagari Way, Maitama, Abuja.

“You are expected to come along with the Certified True Copies (CTC) of the following documents: Acknowledgement slips of all your Assets Declaration to Code of Conduct Bureau since you joined public service; Copies of your Appointment Letter, Acceptance, records of service and payslips from January to May, 2020; All documents of your landed properties both developed and undeveloped.

“This invitation is made pursuant to the mandate and powers of the Bureau as enshrined in the 3rd Schedule, Part 1, Paragraph 3(e) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended; Section 137(a) and (b) and 138 (a) and (b) Penal Code Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 and Section 104 of Evidence Act 2011.

“Treat as urgent, please,” the letter sighted by Saturday Tribune read. When contacted yesterday, Shittu told Saturday Tribune that he could not comment on the development without Magu’s permission.

“There is no way I can comment without the express permission of my client (Magu),” he said.

Magu was on Monday, July 6 “arrested” at the Abuja Zonal office of the commission at Fomella Street at Wuse II in Abuja and taken before the Justice Ayo Salami panel set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate some alleged infractions against him.

The panel was put in place following a memo sent to the President by the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami SAN, in which he made some damning allegations against Magu.

The minister, among others, accused Magu of insubordination to the AGF; relooting of recovered loots; sales of seized assets to his (Magu’s) cronies, associates and friends; alleged favouritism towards selected EFCC investigators, who are referred to as “Magu Boys” for juicy assignments; discrepancies in the reconciliation records of the EFCC and the Ministry of Budget and declaration of N539 billion as recovered funds instead of N504 billion earlier claimed.

Magu was also alleged to have acquired some assets in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, through some proxies. While being detained at the Force Criminal Investigation Department at Garki 10 in Abuja, Magu was suspended by Buhari on July 10, while the then Director of Operations, Mohammed Umar, was made his replacement as EFCC Acting Chairman.

The presidential panel, headed by Justice Isa Ayo Salami (retd), a former President of the Court of Appeal, is yet to submit its report to the President after almost six months it has been investigating Magu’s tenure as Acting EFCC Chairman between November, 2015 and June, 2020.

However, it was rumoured then that the Department of State Service (DSS) was collaborating with the CCB to investigate Magu over some assets infraction, though this was denied then by counsel for the embattled Magu, Wahab Shittu. Reacting to the involvement of the DSS in his probe, Shittu had told Saturday Tribune that he was not aware of any investigations by the CCB, adding that all he knew about the alleged investigations by both the DSS and CCB were speculations on pages of newspapers. According to him, “Magu is not aware of investigations by the Code of Conduct (Bureau) except speculations in the papers. At any rate, my client remains unperturbed. “The only thing going for Magu is his innocence and firm conviction of having served his country selflessly,” Shittu had told Saturday Tribune.