The
Code of Conduct Bureau on Friday alleged that the President of the Senate,
Bukola Saraki, moved funds belonging to Kwara State into his personal account
while he was governor of the state.
The
allegation is contained in a counter affidavit deposed to by the bureau in
response to a fresh application Mr. Saraki filed challenging the jurisdiction
of the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
The
tribunal is trying him for alleged false asset declaration and corruption while
in office as governor between 2003 and 2011.
He was
arraigned last September on a 13-count charge but he denied them all, saying he
was being persecuted.
When
the matter came up for hearing on March 18, Kanu Agabi, SAN, the new counsel to
the senate president contested afresh the jurisdiction of the tribunal.
The
tribunal therefore adjourned the matter to March 18 and consequently fixed March
24 to rule on the application.
Peter
Danladi, who deposed to the affidavit, said the CCB, in conjunction with the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the State Security Service,
investigated various petitions on allegation of corruption, theft, money
laundering, among other offences, against the senate president in 2010.
He
said the EFCC conducted its investigation and found that Mr. Saraki not only
abused his office as governor but was also involved in acts of corruption.
He
also stated that the senate president borrowed billions of naira from
commercial banks, including the Guarantee Trust Bank.
Mr.
Danladi said the senate president used the money he got from the banks to
acquire landed property in Lagos, Abuja and London.
He
said, “As against the defendant using his own legitimate income to defray the
loan, he took public funds, running into billions from Kwara State Government
and lodged same in several tranches and in cash into his GTB account I GRA
(Government Reservation Area), Ilorin, Kwara State.
“The
defendant/applicant’s account officer in GTB confirmed that the
defendant/applicant gave him several cash in Government House to lodge into the
account and in some occasions, the defendant sent his aides from Government
House to give him the cash for lodgement into his account.”
Mr.
Danladi explained that when the EFCC submitted its report to its legal
department and the Federal Ministry of Justice, the ministry concluded that the
offences revealed from the investigation, particularly as they relate to the
property acquired by Mr. Saraki while he was governor of Kwara State, and
various monies sent into his various accounts outside Nigeria, could be better
handled through the CCB and the CCT.
“The
office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) then sends the findings
and the evidence gathered during investigation by the EFCC as a complaint to
the Code of Conduct Bureau for investigation and that the operatives of the
EFCC would collaborate with the officers of the CCB for effective investigation,”
he said.
He
said the CCB investigation on its Assets Declaration Forms for public officers
Mr. Saraki filed revealed the following:
“The
landed property listed as No: 42 Gerald Road, Ikoyi was visited by Mr. Ikechi
Iwuagwu (Deputy Director, CCB), Miss. Geraldine Longsten (DSS) and Adamu Garba
(EFCC) sometime in 2006 and discovered that the property was under
construction;
“Contrary
to the declaration by the defendant that he was earning an annual income of
N110, 000,000 from No: 42 Gerald Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, there were no tenants in
the property as same was an empty land as at the time of the declaration;
“Contrary
to the declaration by the defendant that he owned 15A and 15B Mcdonald, Ikoyi,
Lagos as at the time of the declaration in 2003 our investigation revealed that
the said property were acquaired in 2006 from the implementation committee on
Federal Government Landed properties through his companies called Tiny Tee
Limited and Vitti Oil Limited wherein he paid the sum of N396, 150,000 to the
federal Government of Nigeria;
“The
defendant made an anticipatory declaration for the said 15A and 15B, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The defendant acquired the property in the name of two companies because he
could not buy two Federal government property in his personal name;
“The defendant bided for and acquired 17, 17A and 17B Mcdonald,
Ikoyi, Lagos from the Implementation Committee on Federal government Landed
Property and paid an aggregate sum of N497, 200,000 to the Federal Government
between October 2006 and 2007;
“A
scrutiny of the defendant’s salary account with the Intercontinental Bank (now
Access Bank) of account No: 0100857813 reveals that his monthly take home
salary as at the time he acquired the property was not more than N500, 000 and
the defendant acquired property far in excess of his income; and
“While
the Federal Government was selling its property, the Centarl Bank of Nigeria,
being an agency of the Federal Government sold plot 2A, Glover Road, Ikoyi,
Lagos for N325,000,000 between 2007 and 2008 to the defendant, which the
defendant purchased through his company called Carlisle Properties when he was
the governor of Kwara State.”
Mr.
Danladi said further investigation by the CCB revealed that Mr. Saraki also
acquired a property at Plot #&A Glover Road, Ikoyi, Lagos through
Carlisle Properties Limited while he was governor and had been receiving rent
form the property.
According
to him, investigation on the asset declaration forms submitted by the senate
president between 2003 and 2011, revealed that he failed to declare his
interest in Plot 2A Golver Road, Ikoyi, Lagos (in his 2011 asset declaration
form); No: 1 Targus Street, Maitama, Abuja otherwise known as
2482Cadastral Zone A06, which he claimed he acquired in November 1996 from one
David Baba Akawu (in his assets declaration form of 2003).
Mr.
Saraki was also alleged to have failed to declare the property on No: 3
Targus Street, Maitama, Abuja otherwise known as 2481 Cadastral Zone A06,
Abuja, as his own.
He was
said to have acquired it from one Alhaji Attahiru Adamu in his asset
declaration form (of June 3, 2011.) and No 42 Remi Fani-Kayode Street, Ikeja
Lagos, which he acquired through his company, Skyview Properties Limited from
First Finance Trust Limited on December 12, 1996.
Mr.
Danladi stated further, “The defendant has a domiciliary account with GTB Plc
in Nigeria with account No:441441953210 from where he made various cash
transfers totalling 3.4million US dollar between 2009 and 2012 to American
Express Service Europe Limited with account No: 730580 maintained with the
American Express bank, New York and the various sums were transferred into the
defendant’s card account No: 374588216836009 maintained by the defendant
outside Nigeria.
No comments:
Post a Comment