In this report, HEAD POLITICS, MUMINI ABDULKAREEM writes on the travails of All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains and proponents of O to ge who are being investigated by anti-graft agencies.
For some of their opponents in Kwara, the question is who among those that claimed to be liberators in the last general election will be the next to be charged or linked with corruption cases by the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government.
At first, it was hard for some people in the state to fathom the travails of the embattled Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Ishaq Kawu Modibbo when the news about his alleged fraud of N2.5bn blew open. For Modibbo who has used his columns in some national dailies to paint a saint posture of himself, it was difficult to rationale his subsequent trial and arraignment by the Independent and Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) for graft related charges in his first pronounced national assignment.
The Director General is facing a 12-count charge bordering on abuse of office, money laundering and misleading a public officer with the intent to defraud the Federal Government, together with Lucky Omoluwa and Dipo Onifade, the Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of the same company in contravention of Section 26 (1) (c) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under Section 19 of the same law.
According to the ICPC, Modibbo allegedly misappropriated N2.5 billion seed grant released to the agency by the federal government for its Digital Switch-Over (DSO) programme. After he was quizzed by the commission, Modibbo was finally arraigned after several failed attempts because of absence in court of his counsel.
However, at one of the arraignments, his lawyer A.U Mustapher (SAN), informed the trial judge, Justice Folashade Ogunbanjo-Giwa of the Federal High Court, Abuja, of his intention to attend a burial ceremony of his late uncle on the next adjourned date. Justice Giwa however ruled against his absence and advised him to send a representative from his chamber. However at the resumed trial, the court was dismayed when Adetayo Adeyomo, the counsel sent in by Kawu’s lawyer, said he could not continue with the trial because he was not properly briefed.
Adeyomo pleaded with the court to continue with the proceedings and grant leave to Mustapher to cross-examine witnesses called by ICPC on the next adjourned date.
Justice Giwa turned down his plea saying that the court could not accommodate plans by the defense counsel to waste its time, more so that he had been properly advised on what to do. She added that the court had noted all the adjournments so far taken by Kawu’s lawyer and would not go beyond the five allowed by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015. She said; “I will continue to count and grant adjournments allowed in the ACJA. If you like, continue to waste adjournments. You cannot continue to waste the time of the court”. The case has now been adjourned to May 27, 2019.
While the ICPC was investigating the NBC, they brought in the boss of the supervising ministry of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. When quizzed by the commission, there were report that minister reportedly bullied ICPC officials who questioned him because of his position as the spokesman of the government.
Mohammed was said to have admitted that he approved the controversial fund ignorantly based on the advice of Modibbo. The ICPC subsequently hinted on the possible arraignment of the minister over the issue.
Online news medium, Premium Times, quoted the agency’s spokesperson, Rasheedat Okoduwa that if further revelations emerged during Kawu’s trial that could necessitate arraigning the minister, ICPC will not hesitate to do so. She added the minister was not initially charged because he said he was deceived into signing the payment. But legal experts back home have heightened call for his prosecution of over the issue for breaching standard practice and not doing due diligence before signing off on the controversial N2.5 billion payment to a private digital broadcast signal distributor.
While there were reports that Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) was trying to frustrate the trial and shield the minister by demanding for the corruption case file of the NBC DG, another O to go proponent entered the news again in another corruption related case back home in Kwara. The Ilorin Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), arrested a member-elect of the Kwara House of Assembly, Abdulgafar Ayinla over alleged involvement in property scam. He was also arrested for alleged forgery and obtaining money under false pretenses to the tune of N26 million.
EFCC’s spokesman, Mr Tony Orilade made this known in a statement in Abuja on Thursday. According to him, Ayinla who is expected to be sworn-in on May 29, confessed to the commission of the crime, disclosing that he used the money to finance his political campaigns.
He said his arrest was based on a petition by a Nigerian resident in United States.
“The petitioner who resides in the United States, stated that Ayinla who is a legal practitioner was introduced to her by her late aunt as capable of helping her purchase some property in Ilorin, the Kwara capital.
“She said that the lawmaker-elect sold two plots of land to her with four bedroom bungalows at window level at Agric area of Ilorin. She paid N8, 240, 000 million commission of which Ayinla informed her that the seller has received the money. But he never paid the money to the seller up till today, and never refunded the money to her.
“The suspect disclosed that he diverted the money to his personal use and promised to pay back when he received his wardrobe allowance from the Kwara House of Assembly. He will soon be charged to court,” he said.
But Ayinla (Ayilara) the lawmaker-elect for Ajikobi/Alanamu Constituency (Ilorin West) in a statement issued on Friday by his campaign organisation said he didn’t dupe or scam anybody.
”Contrary to the news going viral on different news platforms concerning the arrest and detention of Barrister AbdulGafar Ayinla Ayilara, the Kwara State House of Assembly member-elect by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Abdulgafar Ayilara Campaign Organization has offered explanation into what transpired on Thursday at anti graft office.
”Though Hon. Abdulgafar Ayilara was invited for questioning by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission office in Ilorin on issue relating to a transaction with one of his clients as lawyer and real estate consultant, he was not detained.
“Truly Barrister AbdulGafar Ayinla Ayilara is having an issue with one of his clients and the issue was just a misunderstanding between them but we want to make it clear to the whole world that he never scam or dupe anyone.
”We have been seeing different news platform publishing the news; some are even saying he was arrested and detained. But the truth of the matter is that he is at home with friends and family who trooped to his residence to confirm the story. He was only invited and as a law abiding citizen he honoured the invitation”.
“Hon Ayilara has explained what transpired between him and the client to officials handling the matter. We want the peace loving people of Kwara to disregard the news of his arrest and we see the exaggeration in the reports as handy work of by political detractors trying to dent the image of promising Kwaran ahead inauguration of new lawmakers-elect”, the statement added.
The organisation however promised to release details of the transaction in question to general public soonest for clarification, verification and clear Ayilara of any wrongdoing while EFCC continues their investigations. We are optimistic Hon Ayilara will be vindicated at the court of law by God’s grace.
