Finance
Alleged N13.6bn scam: Yuguda, Bafarawa, son beg court for bail
ABUJA — Justice Peter Affen of the Abuja High Court at Maitama, yesterday, adjourned till Monday to decide whether the former Minister of Finance, Bashir Yuguda, former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa and his son, Sagir Attahiru, should be released on bail pending their trial.
The trio are answering to a 22-count criminal charge alongside the embattled erstwhile National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, retd, and the former Director of Finance in the Office of the NSA, Mr. Shuaibu Salisu.
Meanwhile, after two days at the Kuje Prison in Abuja, the Chairman emeritus of DAAR Communications Limited, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, yesterday, regained his freedom.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alleged that the accused persons connived and diverted over N13.6billion from the office of the NSA, prior to the 2015 general elections.
A company that the anti-graft agency said served as conduit pipe for the alleged illegal diversion of the funds, Dahaltu Investment Limited, was also charged before the court as the 4th accused person.
All the accused persons had on Tuesday, pleaded not guilty to the charge, even as they separately prayed the court to okay their release on bail pending hearing and determination of the criminal case against them.
They predicated their bail applications on provisions of sections 158, 162, 165, 167 and 168 (b) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, as well as section 36(5) (6) of the 1999 constitution.
The accused persons, through their lawyers, insisted that the charge slammed against them by the anti-graft agency were bailable.
Whereas Dasuki, through his counsel, Ahmed Raji, SAN, urged the court to grant him bail on self recognition, Bafarawa and his son, Sagir, prayed the court to grant them bail on health grounds.
While Barafawa told the court that his health had badly deteriorated owing to his continued detention, his son, told the court that he has Ulcer.
Both father and son addressed the court, yesterday, through two different Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Chief J.O. Olatoke and Mr. H. O. Afolabi. Likewise, the 3rd accused, Salisu, prayed the court for bail, saying he has been in detention for the past 31 days.
Meantime, the EFCC, yesterday, urged the court to refuse their bail requests and order accelerated hearing of the case against them.
Th e Commission, through its lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, told the court that the defendants have wide influence and affluence to intimidate, harass and influence the proposed prosecution witnesses if released on bail.
EFCC insisted that the defendants will escape from Nigeria once out of detention.
It told the court that the applicants are also being investigated in respect of other criminal allegations.
The prosecuting agency, via an affidavit that was deposed to by one of its lead detectives, Mr. Hassan Saidu, told the court that the accused persons acquired “a large volume of assets with the proceeds of crimes”.
Saidu said his team was currently tracing the assets, “if released on bail the applicants will interfere with the assets tracing activities”, he added.
He further told the court that investigations revealed that the accused persons transferred large sums of monies outside Nigeria, saying they used part of the funds and acquired several assets in Dubai and London.
“That the prosecution is prepared to prove its case within the shortest possible time if the application is refused and the court orders accelerated hearing”, Saidu averred.
Jacobs, yesterday, argued that it would not be in the interest of justice for the court to admit any of the accused persons to bail.
After listening to all the parties yesterday, Justice Affen adjourned his ruling till Monday.
EFCC had alleged that the accused persons diverted funds budgeted for the fight against terrorism and insurgency in Nigeria.
It told the trial court that the funds were sequentially withdrawn from an account of the office of the NSA with CBN and other financial institutions.
“The funds were diverted for political campaign and shared to third parties who have nothing to do with the NSA”.
EFCC lawyer told the court that the accused persons have made confessional statements.
“My lord we are taking about monies running into billions of Naira”, Jacobs added.
Meanwhile, after two days at the Kuje Prison in Abuja, the Chairman emeritus of DAAR Communications Limited, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, yesterday, regained his freedom.
A statement from his counsel, Chief Mike Ozehkome, SAN, said Dokpesi was released from prison custody having perfected all the conditions that were stipulated by trial Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice Kolawole had on Monday granted Dokpesi who is facing a six-count criminal charge that was entered against him by the EFCC, bail to the tune of N400milion.
The court, among other conditions, directed him to produce two sureties, as well as to surrender all his travelling documents to the Deputy Registrar of the high court.
Two of the charges against Bafarawa and the others read: “That you Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd), whilst being the National Security Adviser and Shuaibu Salisu whilst being the Director of Finance and Administration in the Office of the NSA, between 14th April, 2014, and 7th May, 2015, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this court, entrusted with dominion over certain properties to wit: an aggregate sum of N3,350,000,000 (Three Billion, Three Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) being part of the funds in the account of the office of the NSA with the Central Bank of Nigeria, committed criminal breach of trust in respect of the said properties when you transfered same to the account of Dalhatu Investment Limited with the United Bank of Africa Plc. purporting same to be payment for the supply of security equipment and you thereby committed an offence punishable under section 315 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Vol. 4, LFN 2004.
“That you Dalhatu Investment Limited, Sagir Attahiru and Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa, between 14th April, 2014 and 17th May, 2015, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this court, dishonestly received stolen property, to wit: an aggregate sum of N3,350,000,000 (Three Billion, Three Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) into your account with the United Bank of Africa Plc from the account of the office of the NSA with the CBN, which belonged to the Federal Government of Nigeria and knowing the said sum to be stolen property but purporting same to be payment for the supply of security equipment and you thereby committed an offence punishable under section 317 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Vol. 4, LFN 2004.
Vanguard-
Business
Nigeria pays US$4.9 billion on petrol subsidy in 2024- NNPCL
It was however noted by Biztellers.com.ng, that although subsidy is back in effect, the main reason for that is the increasingly weak state of the Naira and the country’s extreme dependence on products importation. Also unlike the previous subsidy era, where several oil marketers were getting free subsidy refunds for unverified product importation, this subsidy era is witnessing only one importer, the NNPCL, which in effect is the sole receiver of government subsidies.
Yemie ADEOYE
INSPITE of the official position of the Nigerian government that the controversial petrol subsidy is gone for good as announced by the President on assumption of office, the state owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL has disclosed that petrol subsidy is still fully operational in Nigeria, although, under a different identity.
Umar Ajiya, Chief Financial Officer at the NNPCL, disclosed that it cost the company a staggering N7.8 trillion (US$4.9) to cover this price gap in the first seven months of 2024.
Rather than simply referring to these claims as subsidies, he stated that the company is merely managing the price difference in petrol imports on behalf of the federation, stressing that this should not be misconstrued as a return to subsidy payments.
This revelation has reignited discussions on whether the NNPC is indirectly offering subsidies, a concept typically defined as selling a product below its cost price.
Documents reviewed by Biztellers.com.ng showed that the term “subsidy” was used extensively in official correspondence between the NNPCL and the presidency, particularly in reference to the “shortfall.”
Recall that President Bola Tinubu reportedly approved NNPC’s request to utilize the 2023 final dividends due to the federation to offset these costs.
However, during a media briefing on Monday about the company’s 2023 audited financial statements, Ajiya refuted claims that the NNPC is involved in any subsidy scheme.
Ajiya further disclosed that the Nigerian government owes the NNPC N7.8 trillion ($4.9 billion) in subsidy-related debts for the period from January to July 2024.
In furtherance of his clarification to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ajiya insisted that no subsidy payments have been made to any marketer in the last nine years, citing the NNPC’s role as the sole importer of petrol under supply contracts.
He said, “In the last eight to nine years, NNPC Ltd. has not paid anyone a dime as a subsidy; no kobo has been disbursed by NNPC Ltd. in the name of subsidy. No marketer has received any payment from us for subsidy.”
“What has been happening is that we have been importing PMS, which has been landing at a specific cost price, and the government tells us to sell it at half price. So the difference between the landing price and that half price is a shortfall.
“And the deal is between the Federation and NNPC Ltd., to reconcile, sometimes they give us money, so there is no money exchanging hands with any marketer in the name of subsidy.”
Ajiya remained silent on how much of the $4.9 billion could have been remitted to the federation account if the NNPC had not been covering the “shortfall.”
It was however noted by Biztellers.com.ng, that although subsidy is back in effect, the main reason for that is the increasingly weak state of the Naira and the country’s extreme dependence on products importation. Also unlike the previous subsidy era, where several oil marketers were getting free subsidy refunds for unverified product importation, this subsidy era is witnessing only one importer, the NNPCL, which in effect is the sole receiver of government subsidies.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has refuted claims of devaluing the.
Earlier reports suggested that the CBN had devalued the Naira, lowering its exchange rate from N631 to the dollar, compared to the previous day’s rate of N461.60 at the Importers and Exporters (I&E) window.
However, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released a statement on Thursday through its Acting Head of Corporate Communications, Dr. Isa Abdulmumin, categorizing the report as false information.
In the statement titled ‘CBN Has Not Devalued The Naira’, he said the attention of the apex bank was drawn to the news report by an Abuja based newspaper edition of June 1, 2023, titled “CB Devalues Naira To 630/51”.
However, the CBN stated categorically that the news report was replete with outright FALSEHOODS and destabilizing innuendos, ‘reflecting potentially willful ignorance of the said medium as to the workings of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.’
“For the avoidance of doubt, the exchange rate at the Investors’ & Exporters (I&E) window traded this morning (June 1, 2023) at N465/USS1 and has been stable around this rate for a while.
“The public is hereby advised to ignore the news report by Daily Trust in its entirety, as it is speculative and calculated at causing panic in the market,” the CBN spokesman added.
He, therefore, advised media practitioners to verify their facts from the Central Bank of Nigeria before publishing in order not to misinform the public.
The interest rate in Nigeria has been raised to 18.5 percent, up by 0.5 percent, from 18 percent where it was pegged in March 2023.
The Central Banks of Nigeria’s (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) resolved to this effect at its third meeting of 2023 in Abuja, on Wednesday.
Governor, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, made the disclosure in the communiqué of the MPC’s meeting, thereafter.
While engaging the media at the end of the two-day meeting, Emefiele, said the committee voted to keep the asymmetric corridor at +100 and -700 basis points around the MPR.
In the view of the MPC, rising inflation rate is traceable to the high energy cost and challenges around the supply chain, among others, which lie outside the corridors of the CBN.
Emefiele said, “The current trend in price development would continue to be monitored by the bank with greater collaboration with fiscal authority to address the drivers of inflation.”
Biztellers reports that the CBN had effected six consecutive interest rate increases, which has seen the rate move from 11.5 percent in March 2022 to 18.5 percent in May 2023.
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