Jonathan, Alison-Madueke, ex-CSO fingered in $6.9m scandal

•Security agencies probe purchase of mobile stages
•How NNPC secret account was used

Security agencies are now probing   how the administration of  former President Goodluck Jonathan allegedly withdrew $6.9million (N1.460b) from a secret account of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC) to buy three  12 meter (40 feet)  mobile stages for use at public events.

President Jonathan

The cash was said to be part of the unremitted funds into the Federation Account by NNPC.

The purported purchase, according to investigation, did not pass through due process and was known only to Dr. Jonathan, his then Chief Security Officer, Mr. O.J. Obuah and former Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Obuah, it was gathered, raised a memo to his boss for the purchase and the release of the money to that effect.

Jonathan allegedly gave his approval and authorized the former minister to disburse the fund.

Shedding light on how the deal was struck on October 17, 2011 through a curious memo from Obuah, a source familiar with the development said preliminary investigation suggested that there was no record of purchase of the said stages.

It was learnt that the $6.9million was paid into a company’s account after NNPC directed that the money be taken from one of its accounts in New York CITIBANK with sort code CITIUS 33, and Routing number 021000089.

The affected company, J. Marine Logistics Limited, Abuja, was purportedly registered by Obuah.

The source said: “Between himself, his Chief Security Officer and the former Petroleum Minister, former President Goodluck Jonathan spent in just one shot deal a whopping $6.9 million dollars to buy three 40-feet mobile stages for use at public speaking events.”

Federal government investigators and security agencies, sources added, believe this is just one of the tons of alleged corrupt practices frequently engaged in and condoned under the last president.

“Besides the fact that the sum for the stages was incredibly inflated, according to mobile stage industry experts, government investigators say there is no evidence yet that any stage was purchased at all,” one source said, citing several documents.

One of the documents says: “At the centre of the fraudulent financial ring was the former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. O.J. Obuah who initiated a memo to the former president on October 17, 2011 asking for the purchase of three mobile stages.

“He said in that memo to the former president that this is regarding “my earlier discussion with Your Excellency on the security implication of your public appearances and your subsequent directive on the need to procure a secured presidential platform.”

“And on the same day without any financial advice or purchase order reviews, the former president minuted his approval of the request to buy the three stages to the then Minister for Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke.

“In his minute, the president said ‘we have discussed this, please deal.”

“Right after that okay from the president, on the same October 17, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administrative Matters, Matt Aikhionbere did another letter on the strength of the president’s approval requesting the Petroleum Minister to take action on the request to purchase the stages for $6.9m.

“By the next month, an NNPC payment voucher number 3840336 was already in place revealing that the money was released. NNPC directed that the money be taken from one of its accounts in New York CITIBANK with sort code CITIUS 33, and Routing number 021000089.

“It was first routed from the US bank to an NNPC account in Zenith Bank account number 5000026593, Maitama branch in Abuja, from where the money was sent to a private account. The sum of $6.9m was then credited to a Sterling Bank account of one J. Marine Logistics Limited, Abuja, a company investigators say was registered by Obuah.”

Responding to a question, the source said: “The $6.9miilion in question was promptly paid on November 29, 2011 into a private account belonging to the former CSO.

“The former president approved the procurement of the mobile platforms without due process and bye-passing the Procurement Act neither was there an appropriation in the 2011 budget for such facility.

“Neither the minister of Finance nor the Director-General of the Budget Office was aware of the deal.

“There are no records of this purchase which was carried out late 2011.”

The preliminary findings also indicated that the cost of the stages might have been inflated.

The source said:  “According to the investigators, the cost of mobile stages depends on size and designs; only outlandish rock star musicians in Europe and the US spend hundreds of thousands on their huge stages way bigger than the 40-feet stages.

“Even then, those musicians and super stars would not pay over $2m per stage, according to industry sources.

“The process of procurement of the three mobile stages was not known to extant Nigerian laws and due process regulations, nor were the offices of the Auditor-General and the Accountant-General in the know.”

It was learnt that the deal was one of the issues  for which the ex-CSO was grilled quizzed by the Department of State Security(DSS) during his recent arrest and detention.

One of the officials handling the investigation added: “ The CSO himself according to investigators has not been able to show proof of the purchase and his memo irked his bosses at the SSS that he took the initiative to request  for the stages, an action which officials say was way above his pay grade.

“It is not the duty or responsibility of the CSO to make the determination on that purchase. He was meant to have informed the service, which will then review the situation and act accordingly.

“What has happened here is that the former president and the former minister with the collusion of the CSO decided to use public funds for other purposes since no one has found the stages as we speak.”

“This is just one of the several instances where the Jonathan administration used secret NNPC accounts to fund questionable projects and for alleged personal financial aggrandizements.”

It was gathered that some of these embarrassing issues were part of the matters raised by Jonathan with the National Peace Committee headed by the former Head of State, General Abdusalami Abubakar.

The committee later facilitated a secret parley between President Muhammadu Buhari and ex-President Jonathan.

But at the session, Buhari insisted that the law must take its course with  anyone found guilty of corruption.

At the June 29th meeting of the National Economic Council at the State House, the council had raised questions over the non- remittance of the finances generated by the NNPC into the Federation Account.

Jonathan, Alison-Madueke, ex-CSO fingered in $6.9m scandal

I"m not dead; I"m well and hearty - Jonathan CSO, Gordon Obua

The former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Gordon Obua, yesterday told Nigerians and the world at large that he was hale and hearty and was being treated with dignity by officials of the Department of State Security (DSS).

Obua, a serving officer of the DSS, addressed the media inside the conference room of the service’s headquarters in Abuja.

Former CSO, Gordon Obua

The rumour mill was agog yesterday that Obua, who has been in detention since last week, had died after being tortured by DSS operatives.

But the man, who looked composed and well kept, said: “I thank Nigerians and members of my family who have expressed very serious concern about my well being in the last six days.

“I want to use this medium to tell Nigerians and members of my family that I am hale and hearty. As a serving officer of DSS and having completed my duty tour with the last president, the service felt that I should give a briefing of my stewardship.

“Nigerians should be assured that DSS is a responsible organisation and I am sure that nothing adverse will happen to me once it is ascertained that I did nothing wrong.”

When reporters attempted to question him, Obua stated: “I am a serving staff of DSS and I have limitations regarding speaking with the press. I thank the Director General of DSS for the way that I have been treated so far.”

However, a coalition of civil society groups has described as disheartening and irritable the arrest and continuous detention of Obua.

The secretary of the group, Mr. Zeb Ijewa, made the statement yesterday at a press conference in Abuja, where he faulted the way and manner in which his arrest was carried out.

According to him, “The penchant for ‘Gestapo style’ of arrest and detention in the present civil dispensation is not only irritable, disheartening and discouraging, but also very unfair and incongruous with democratic tenets.”

Ijewa added: “The continuous detention without arraignment in a competent court of Obua is totally unacceptable in this dispensation, mostly as it affects the rule on law.

“Inasmuch as we respect the desire to effect change and sanitise the system, we urge the present administration to help our democracy grow by avoiding all acts and measures which may be antithetical to the respect of human rights.”

The group recalled that it was in the same manner men of the DSS invaded the homes of the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, a few days ago.

It termed it a national disgrace and shameful for the authorities to portray revered leaders in the country with such disregard and contempt.

I"m not dead; I"m well and hearty - Jonathan CSO, Gordon Obua

Detained Jonathan"s CSO is diabetic, hypertensive but denied his drugs, lawyer cries out

Gordon Obua, the detained ex-CSO to former President Goodluck Jonathan, has been denied his medications despite being diabetic and hypertensive, his lawyer has alleged.

Former CSO, Gordon Obua

Obua was detained by the State Security Service (SSS) on Thursday in its ongoing investigation of the spending of security funds as well as oil theft under Jonathan.

But Onochie Onwuegbuna, the lead partner at Zeran Legal, has issued a press statement on behalf of Obua to complain about the conditions under which he is being detained.

He also asked for Obua’s unconditional release. Onwuegbuna, who said he was the lawyer to the former CSO, alleged that his client is being witch-hunted as part of a plan against “marked” individuals who served and held offices in the Jonathan administration of “in other to implicate them by all means for phantom crimes or offences”. Although he said Obua has been denied food and water by the SSS.

THE FULL TEXT OF THE STATEMENT

We have been briefed and our services retained by the family of Mr. Gordon Obua, the Chief Security Officer to former President Goodluck Jonathan (Our Client) in respect of his present harassment and detention by the State Security Services (SSS).

The facts as narrated to us by our Client’s family are as follows: Our Client, a serving officer of the State Security Services was ordered to report to the Headquarters to meet with the Acting Director General (A.D.G).

He consequently reported at the Headquarters at about 9am on the 8th of July 20 15 and he was kept waiting till late in the night by the Acting D.G who finally asked him to report again the next day.

The exact situation played out the next day and the day after resulting on our Client reporting to the office of the A.D.G everyday from the 8th of July 2015 till the 16th of July 2015.

On the 3rd day of reporting, our Client was orally informed by the A.D.G that there was a petition against him without telling him the contents of the alleged Petition or the identity or the Petitioner (s).

Our Client requested to be availed a copy of the Petition or its contents to enable him respond accordingly however, his request was not granted, and he was rather told not to worry that such petitions are normal considering the office he previously occupied.

On the 16th of July 2015, he reported at the office of the A.D.G by 5pm as directed, and as usual he was kept waiting till about 1am on Friday 17th July 2015 when the A.D.G informed him that he will be detained and he has been in detention since then without being informed what offence (if any) he is alleged to have committed or the reason for his detention.

Our Client is hypertensive and diabetic to the knowledge of his employers the SSS. and as a result he has been on daily medications to manage these very severe ailments and since his detention, he has completely been denied access to these medications.

Our Client has also been denied access to  members  of  his  family, his  doctor and his lawyers and even more worrisome is the information obtained by his family that he has not eaten or drank water ever since he was detained.

The actions of the SSS and our Client’s subsequent detention constitute undue harassment and gross violation of his fundamental rights to respect for the dignity of his person and personal liberty as guaranteed by Sections 31 and 35 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In view of the much publicised siege by the SSS on the residences of the Former National Security Adviser coincidentally in the evening of the 16th of July 2015, our Client’s family believe and are justifiably apprehensive that he is being harassed and detained in furtherance of what seems to be a well calculated witch hunt, unlawful harassment gross violation of his fundamental human rights of certain “marked” individuals who served and held offices in the administration of Former President Goodluck Jonathan in other to implicate them by all means for phantom crimes or offences.

This view is further strengthened by the fact that our Client was made to report everyday since the 6th of July 2015, only to be detained in the early hours of Friday 17th of July 2015 which was public holiday with the knowledge that Monday the 20th of July 2015 is also a public holiday.

The aim was clearly to ensure he is kept in detention for the period and to ensure that the earliest date available to his lawyers to approach the Courts to enforce his fundamental right is Tuesday the 21st of July 2015. Our Client is presently languishing in the custody of the SSS without access to his medication, food, water and drugs or to any member of his family, doctors or his lawyers and in the circumstance, we hereby call on the SSS to immediately release him as he has not been informed the facts and grounds of his detention in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. The general public is also invited to note that the SSS should be held responsible if anything untoward happens to our Client in their custody or subsequently as a consequence of his unlawful detention.

Detained Jonathan"s CSO is diabetic, hypertensive but denied his drugs, lawyer cries out

DSS detains Jonathan"s Chief Security Officer

The Department of State Services has detained Gordon Obua, the Chief Security Officer to former President Goodluck Jonathan.

It was learnt that Obua was arrested last Thursday and detained at the DSS headquarters in Abuja.

DSS operatives

His detention, our correspondent gathered, was part of the probe of officials under Jonathan’s administration ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The reason for Gordon’s detention could not be immediately established, but it was gathered that investigators may extract salient information on key officials in Jonathan’s government from the former CSO.

Sources stated that the detention of the former security aide to Jonathan was meant to show that no former official in the past government would be spared if found to have mismanaged or embezzled public funds.

“The arrest and detention of the former CSO is an indication that every former minister or senior official under Jonathan’s government are not exempted from probe except those that have no criminal suspicion or record of wrong doing in office,” a source explained.

The DSS had last Thursday moved against the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, seized his passport and other vital documents and prevented him from leaving the house for about 24 hours.

Findings indicated that many more former officials would be visited and arrested by the DSS which has been mandated by Buhari to recover all looted public funds by the previous government functionaries.

The DSS could not be reached for comment as it has not announced a replacement for its former spokesperson, Marilyn Ogar, who was removed from the agency’s Public Relations Department last week.

But a former Commissioner of Police, Abubakar Tsav, said Obua might have breached a security regulation hence his arrest and detention, noting that nobody is above the law.

He said, “Security is the most important thing in a nation and if he (Obua) had breached a law, he could be arrested and detained. If his former boss (Jonathan), had immunity while in office, he doesn’t have immunity. So, he must have done something wrong for them to have arrested him, I think they (DSS) are in order.”

DSS detains Jonathan"s Chief Security Officer