(Updated) Osborne Towers cash: NIA, Wike yet to file claim of ownership

.Cash may be permanently forfeited to FG on May 5

.Ex-Gov. Lamido faults Buhari over anti-graft war

Ahead of May 5 deadline for parties to file application, showing ownership of the humongous N13 billion cash recovered from an apartment in Osborne Towers in Ikoyi Lagos, no party is yet to approach a Federal High Court in Lagos over the matter.

This is even as the three-man committee set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the discovery of huge cash by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday quizzed the acting chair man of anti-graft agency, Mr. Ibrahim Magu.

The committee, headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, also interrogated the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and the Director-General of the Department of State Security (DSS), Malam Lawal Daura, over the issue.

A source close to the court confided in The Daily Times on Thursday that neither the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) nor the Rivers State Government had filed counter affidavit to back up their claims for the staggering cash.

The source said: “Though Justice Muslim Hassan has ordered interim forfeiture of the cash, following the ex-parte application from the EFCC, no application has been filed to challenge the interim forfeiture order.

“You will recall that the judge has adjourned the matter till May 5 for any interested party to come forward, the court is yet to receive any application to that effect.

“I can also inform you that some emissaries of a certain interested party have approached the court, saying that their principal has directed them to file counter affidavit against the order next week.

“But as at today (Thursday), the court is yet to receive any application against the interim forfeiture order on the seized cash.”

When reminded that the NIA and Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, are laying claims to the money, the source replied that none of the interested parties had filed counter-affidavit to challenge the court order.

The source added that the delay by the interested parties to file the necessary applications might be due to gathering of necessary papers to back up their claim as he stated that the issue is a serious matter.

He said: “The issue is not about filing application but backing it up with relevant papers. Nobody can come forward to claim the cash in view of the controversy trailing the seizure unless the party has the relevant documents and proof of ownership.

“You will agree with me that it is not a tea party affair as everybody is watching what will happen on May 5.”

When asked what would happen if there is no application against the order on May 5, the source said: “If there is no application against the interim forfeiture order on or before May 5, the judge will order final forfeiture of
the money to the Federal Government.”

The operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had stormed the Osborne Towers in Ikoyi, Lagos and recovered $43.4 million, 27,000 pounds and N23 million, following a tip off from a whistle blower.

But the suspended Director General of the NIA, Ambassador Ayo Oke, had reportedly claimed that the recovered cash belonged to the agency, saying that the private home is one of the “Safe Houses” where money is kept for covert operations.

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, is also laying claim to the money, insisting that the money was allegedly diverted by his immediate predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi.

The Daily Times recalls that 24 hours after the EFCC discovered the huge sums of money in a building at Ikoyi, Lagos, Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos ordered the temporary forfeiture of $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218,00 (about N13bn) recovered by the agency from an apartment in the Ikoyi, Lagos.

Justice Hassan further directed that anyone interested in the funds should show up before him to show cause why the money should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

The judge made the forfeiture order shortly after entertaining an ex parte application by a lawyer to the EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo.

Oyedepo also urged the judge to exercise the power conferred on him by Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and other related Offence Act to order the interim forfeiture of the money to the Federal Government.

While granting the interim forfeiture order on the cash, Justice Hassan also granted the anti-graft agency’s prayer to advertise or publish the interim forfeiture order in any national newspaper for any concerned party to see it.

Meanwhile, former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, has faulted the anti-corruption war of President Muhammadu Buhari, saying that the president’s action is a ruse.

Lamido, who stated this during an interview with the Hausa service of the BBC, alleged that Buhari could not be fighting corruption having worked under the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha.

The late military dictator had appointed Buhari as chairman of the then Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF).

Speaking on why he is faulting the ability of the president to wage a war against corruption, Lamido alleged that “He (Buhari) worked under Abacha; in fact, he was the closest to the late military ruler and when it comes to corruption, everybody knows where Abacha’s government stands.

“Buhari is just making noise; there’s no iota of truth in the so-called commitment to the improvement of security and halting graft in the country.”

Lamido, who is being prosecuted alongside his son and other by the EFCC, also faulted the commission for its failure to disclose the owners of the recovered cash in Ikoyi, Lagos.

However, this is not the best of time for the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) as the agency reportedly collected $289,202,382 in cash from the account of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) in February 2015 after the postponement of the general election, an online medium, TheCable reported on Thursday.

NAPIMS is a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which manages the investments of the national oil company.

But the online medium further reported that it was also from NNPC’s accounts that the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) withdrew the bulk of the $2.1 billion it got for “Boko Haram operations” in the months leading to the 2015 elections.

According to TheCable, funds were approved for NIA’s “covert operations” by former President Goodluck Jonathan and subsequently withdrawn in cash from NAPIMS account at CBN.

It added that the entire NIA budget for 2015 was a little over N25 billion which was about $160 million at the time — further suggesting that the payment was extra-budgetary.

The online medium further stated that the Department of State Services (DSS) also got huge sums of cash in naira and dollars for “covert operations” in the run-up to the election.

It stated that the revelations are coming in the light of the recovery of $43 million, £27,000 and N23 million in Osborne Towers by the EFCC.

According to the online medium, there is now strong suspicion that the recovered cash in Osborne Towers might have been part of the $289,202,382 released to the agency two years ago.

The suspended NIA DG has a wife named Folashade Oke, further fuelling speculation that it was a family affair.
But the NIA is said to have claimed that the money was only “in transit” at the Ikoyi apartment for onward movement to the agency’s property.

Buhari has set up a three-man panel to investigate both Oke and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir David Lawal, over various allegations.

Oke was appointed by Jonathan as the NIA DG in November 2013 and retained by Buhari while he replaced other security chiefs in August 2015. But Oke is expected to retire in November 2017..