Opinion: Ibori bribe money? Give it to Delta

Posted by admin Delta, Headlines, State News Monday, August 27th, 2012

Dan Onwukwe
(08023022170)( dan_onwukwe@yahoo.com )

There is always something about former governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori that rivets attention. Ibori is now serving a jail term in Britain after being convicted on charges of fraud, money laundering and corruption, by the Southwark Crown court 9. It’s all about his stories. Ibori’s stories have the momentum of classic drama. Almost everything about him hugs the headline.

May be he’s gifted with an aura of intensity that moves with a barrage of sleazy stories. This man is possibly his own private enemy. He is a guy whose grandiose follies were singled out, not because he was the “commander-in-thief”.

It was largely because he stepped on very powerful toes. As a matter of fact, if corruption was a disqualifying offence in Nigeria, virtually all politicians would have been in jail by now. It could also be because of Ibori’s nature. He does not do small things.

He is a man of large, arguably uncontrollable appetite. Which is why, while in office, and even out of office, every one claimed to know someone who knew someone who had one tale or the other to tell about Ibori. Such is his image and public perception of him, that nothing is considered beyond him to do. One of such is the alleged bribe money, totaling $15 million (about N2.4 billion) he purportedly offered to the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

The controversial bribe money was allegedly offered to Ribadu through an undisclosed third party. The former EFCC boss, now back in government in different capacity, reportedly handed over the money to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for safe-keeping. The huge money is now a subject of litigation before a Federal High Court in Abuja.

Hearing on the matter will resume next month(Sept). And now, the big question is: who should receive the bribe money that was “offered and rejected” by Ribadu? Should it go to the Federal government or Delta State? Expectedly, this matter has been generating intense debates. It is an issue of public interest. The “bribe” was allegedly given in 2007 in the twilight of Ibori’s last year in office as governor, presumably to cover his tracks from investigation by the EFCC,then headed by Ribadu.

The argument of the Delta state government is straight forward: that since Ibori was the Executive Governor of the state at time the bribe was allegedly offered and received, invariably, the money which belongs the citizens of the state, should be returned to the state coffers. The premise of the argument by Delta State, represented by its Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Charles Ajuyah (SAN),seems solid.

This is regardless of earlier denials that “no money was missing” from the treasury of Delta state when Ibori was in charge. May be, the state rushed into conclusion before the sun went down. The present tussle began when the Federal government, on July 24, 2012 filed an ex-parte motion before a Federal High court sitting in Abuja, seeking to grant it ownership of the money.

Government request was made, through the deposition of the office of the Attorney General and Minister for Justice,claiming that the bribe money was received by officers of the EFCC from an undisclosed agent of Chief Ibori. The money, the government added, had been cooling off in the vaults at the CBN since April 26, 2007, without interest. What’s federal government strongest point really? It’s the logic that Ibori had reportedly denied giving such wads of cash to either Ribadu or any officer of the anti-graft agency.

But, the Federal Government may have lost this claim to the fund four months ago, specifically, on April 17.That was when Judge Anthony Pitts,who presided over the case against Ibori in the United Kingdom,held that the proceeds of Ibori loot be repatriated to Delta State, in Nigeria,from where it was stolen.

By simple logic, the same reasoning should apply in the present bribe money. One useful lesson from the judgment in UK is the fact that technicalities should not be allowed to circumscribe the adjudication of a serious matter such as the one at hand. Otherwise, our judiciary will make itself a folder to sneeze at. Federal Government position may have been weakened by the fact that it has not been straight with previous loot repatriated from past corrupt leaders.

What, for instance, happened to Abacha’s loot? What happened to the $1.092bn(about N155 bn) proceeds from the sale of the disputed Malabu oil bloc,OPL 245 that was ‘dispossessed’ from its original owner, Dr Dan Etete, and sold to Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Ltd? This, of course, was handled by the current administration. Many Nigerians believe, and rightly so, that government’s anti-corruption crusade is nothing more than a trip to impressionism.

This view is informed by the zeal with which government and some of its agencies pursue little matters but put their eyes off serious matters of state. I am in agreement with the position of the Delta state government that the money in contention is the “exclusive property” of State since it was allegedly offered and received when Ibori held sway as governor of the state.I can also understand why the Federal Government is seeking the court’s endorsement to allow it utilize the money.

It may not be unconnected with the suspicion that since chief Ibori and the sitting governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan are cousins,any such money released to the state could as well mean money “saved”for Ibori to fall back on whenever he serves out his prison sentence in the United Kingdom. That, to me, is an assumption that should not take the place of law and public good. In its statement of claims, the Delta State government says the release of the money to it would facilitate the development of the state.

That the money in dispute belongs to Delta should not in contention any way, it is therefore for the state government to decide what it wants to do with the money, provided it will be in public interest . The background to this case is somewhat tricky and therefore requires a sound legal interpretation.

One is mindful of the fact that the Federal Government may be relying heavily on the denial by Ibori that he neither offered any bribe to the former EFCC boss, Ribadu nor to any of the agency’s officials. But that denial doesn’t wash any longer, and therefore inadmissible in evidence. What matters is that collective public good will take precedence over anything else in the decision that the court will make at the conclusion of the case. The public interest in this case has become much more significant because of the impact the court judgment could have at all levels of governance in the country.

It needs reiterating that the interest this case has generated is partly a reflection of the poor leadership accountability in the country, especially regarding public funds. If the Federal Government had proved itself trustworthy in accounting for the looted recovered from discredited public office holders, perhaps it would have had a chance in laying claim to the $15m.

The greater problem in fighting official corruption in our country today is that those who are fighting graft are the ones that are poisoning the waters by not coming straight to equity. Hypocrites lose their footing when they hold others to the standards they cannot keep. It makes little sense to seek a return of the bribe money reportedly given by Ibori who has been thoroughly humiliated, both at home and abroad, if after the conclusion of the legal tussle, the money ends up enriching few individuals in the disguise that it has been paid into government coffers.

That will be the highest travesty of justice if the court grants the Federal Government its prayers. For whatever it is worth, this case should be allowed to run its full course and a definite decision taken. This matter should be handled speedily, without fear or favour but with in the best public interest. The eventual outcome might help dispel the present inglorious profile of Nigeria in the top bracket of most corrupt countries in the world of which corruption by public officials and government double standard, rankle the most.

This case will either help to increase the welter of cynicisms currently trailing Federal Government’s half-hearted response to official corruption by, or confirm the deep-seated suspicion that government at the centre is after all, not better than those it is prosecuting for looting the nation’s treasury. Let this $15m “bribe money” go to where it came from, Delta.

wp_posts