Crime
FBI reveals how Chimaroke Nnamani stole $41.8m from Enugu, forfeited assets in US
Emerging facts have shown how former Enugu State governor, Chimaroke Nnamani, stole $41.8 million from the government coffers and paid millions of dollars in cash for Florida properties.
United States of America, USA court filings said the serving Nigerian senator also forfeited assets in one of several illicit schemes he pulled as governor from 1999-2007.
According to a statement submitted by the FBI in a forfeiture proceeding that was recently obtained by Peoples Gazette, Nnamani looted and laundered $41.8 million and used the ill-gotten riches to acquire luxury assets in Florida.
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The 2009 complaint said Mr Nnamani, whom the FBI described as an American citizen, connived with his sister, Chinero Nwigwe to steal public funds when he led Enugu between May 1999 and May 2007.
Peter Mbah, Sam Ejiofor and Chika Ohaa were also named in the court documents as Mr Nnamani’s co-conspirators.
The FBI said Mr Nnamani, a medical doctor, stole $41.868,877.05 in one of several illicit schemes he pulled as Enugu governor.
Authorities said the money was about N5.3 billion at the time, but it’s now worth around N31 billion today.
The FBI had argued that “Chimaroke Nnamani’s official salary as governor is the equivalent of $10,670 per year; thus, it appears unlikely that Nnamani possesses an adequate source of legitimate income to account for the purchase” of the lush real estate he amassed in Florida.
Judge William Acker of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ordered forfeitures of Mr Nnamani’s assets to the U.S. government after finding that the Nigerian politician was not earning enough as governor to justify the millions of dollars in his possession.
American authorities further stated that Mr Nnamani was “involved in a scheme to defraud the State of Enugu, Federal Republic of Nigeria, in violation of Nigerian law since at least 2003 and continuing until at least 2005.”
Mr Nnamani opened 20 bank accounts with AmSouth Bank in Orlando, Florida, where he stashed his loot even while serving as governor and was fully aware that it was illegal to maintain bank accounts abroad as an elected public official in Nigeria. Mr Nnamani had set up a firm Rock City Group, LLC, to carry out the fraud, documents said.
Parts of the stolen funds were used to lock down posh assets in Florida, with authorities stating Mr Nnamani paid $1.8 million in cash to buy his Heathrow residence.
“On February 22, 2007, Nnamani paid a total of $1,800,000 in cash” to buy a proper at 1972 Bridgewater Drive, Heathrow, Florida, filings said.
Following a lengthy trial that began in July 2007, Judge Acker granted the FBI’s request to forfeit all properties linked to Mr Nnamani’s fraud to the U.S. government on May 13, 2009.
It was not immediately clear whether or not Mr Nnamani’s successors tried to pursue repatriation of his loot to the state, which has less than N150 billion in an annual budget that is largely unfunded.
A spokesman for the state’s current administration did not return a request seeking comments.
It was also unclear whether or not the FBI filed separate criminal charges against Mr Nnamani, but the Nigerian politician had faced separate forfeiture proceedings in Nigeria and lost, especially in 2015 when a federal judge ordered forfeiture of some multibillion-naira assets linked to him in Nigeria.
In Adamawa State, police have apprehended 23-year-old Rachel Geoffrey for allegedly burning the hands of two children belonging to her co-wife.
Rachel, a resident of the Federal Housing Estate in Girei local government area, is accused of inflicting severe injuries on 7-year-old Genesis Geoffrey and 3-year-old Ijadai Geoffrey.
Reports indicate that the children’s mother has separated from their father, who is Rachel’s husband.
Rachel was reported to have cooked rice and set it aside for her husband, the father of the victims, before leaving the house.
When the hungry children ate the food meant for their father, Rachel became enraged.
In her anger, she tied the children’s hands with a handkerchief to restrain them, then set their hands on fire, causing severe injuries.
The state’s Commissioner of Police, CP Dankombo Morris, called on the public, particularly parents, to meet their responsibilities in caring for their children.
He also promised that the case would be prosecuted thoroughly.
Former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, along with his daughter and two others, have been slated for arraignment today (thursday) by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
They face charges related to an alleged N2.7 billion fraud linked to the failed Nigerian Air project.
The proceedings are set to unfold before Justice Sylvanus Oriji at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja.
The charges, based on court documents, accuse Sirika of granting undue advantage to certain entities in Abuja between April 2022 and March 2023.
The anti-graft agency has accused Sirika of misusing his authority by awarding a N1.3 billion consultancy contract for the Nigerian Air Start-up to Tianero Nigeria Limited.
This alleged action is said to contravene Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
In a separate charge, the EFCC alleges that on or around August 18, 2022, in Abuja, Sirika utilized on or about August 18, 2022 ia, Sirika “did use your position to confer unfair advantage upon Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, whose alter ego, Fatima Hadi Sirika and Jalal Sule Hamma are your daughter and son-in-law respectively, by using your position to influence the award to them, the contract for the Apron Extension at Katsina Airport for the sum of N1.498,300,750.00.”
The anti-graft agency asserted that Sirika’s actions amounted to a violation of Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, rendering him liable to punishment under the same section.
In count three, the EFCC accused Sirika of criminal breach of trust “while serving as the Minister of Aviation and in his capacity as a public officer” on or around August 18, 2022, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the court.
In late April, the former aviation minister was taken into custody by the anti-graft agency and interrogated for several days.
Zamfara State is in the grip of fear and mourning following a series of vicious attacks by bandits, resulting in the deaths of eight individuals and the abduction of a branch manager of Taj Bank in Mandir Laura.
In a daring raid, approximately fifteen armed bandits stormed the manager’s residence in Rijiyar Gabas, seizing him and vanishing into the night.
Meanwhile, Faru Town in Maradun local government area witnessed a bloodbath as bandits struck, leaving eight residents dead.
Eyewitnesses recount the terror as the attackers besieged the town, instilling fear and chaos before retreating with captives into the surrounding forests.
The incidents have prompted widespread outrage and renewed calls for urgent action to stem the tide of violence plaguing Zamfara State.
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