The Nigerian government has requested the
assistance of the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) to hunt
and arrest three defendants in the alleged withdrawal of $6.2 million from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last year through a
forged document.
The office of the Special
Investigator of the CBN, Jim Obazee, made the request on Monday after obtaining
an order of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The office, through a letter by
its head of operations, Eloho Okpoziakpo, named the defendants as Adamu
Abubakar, Imam Abubakar and Odoh Ochene.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had earlier charged Mr
Ochene, who is at large, alongside former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, before
the Federal High Court in Abuja with stealing the said sum under the pretence that it was requested by the presidency to pay international
election observers.
The anti-graft agency alleged
that on 8 February 2023, Mr Emefiele connived with Mr Ocheme to obtain $6.2
million from the CBN, claiming that the money was requested by the then
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha “vide a letter dated
26 January 2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/.”
The anti-graft agency also
alleged that Mr Emefiele, in January 2023, forged a document titled: “RE:
PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE ON FOREIGN ELECTION OBSERVER MISSIONS,” dated 26 January
2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/201.
In the letter to INTERPOL, the
office of the special Investigator of the CBN requested the international
police agency to “watchlist” and place the three alleged fugitives on its “red
notice” with a view to arrest and repatriate them.
The special investigator had
earlier obtained a warrant of arrest for the three men from the Federal High
Court through a motion ex-parte filed on 18 January.
In support of the application to
INTERPOL, the police have also filed a six-count charge required to activate
the process of hunting and arresting the wanted men.
President Bola Tinubu last year
appointed Mr Obazee to investigate alleged fraud in the CBN under Mr Emefiele.
A report submitted to the
president by the special investigator indicted Mr Emefiele of various crimes,
some of which he is now being prosecuted for by the EFCC.
The commission earlier on Monday presented a former
branch controller at the CBN, Onyeka Ogbu, as its first prosecution witness. Mr
Ogbu testified that he received in January 2023 written approvals of then
President Muhammadu Buhari and then Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, Boss Mustapha, as well as Mr Emefiele for the withdrawal of the money from the vault.
He said the approval was given
for the payment of the money in its equivalent to someone who was presented as
an official of the SGF office. He said the money was paid out in April 2023. 
But appearing as the fourth
prosecution witness in the ongoing trial on Tuesday, the former SGF, Mr
Mustapha, denied that he or Mr Buhari gave an approval for the payment.
Led in evidence by the
prosecution counsel, Oyedepo Rotimi, Mr Mustapha said the documents came
neither from the then president nor his office.
He said his signature and that
of Mr Buhari were forged on the letter purportedly giving an approval for the
payment.
Mr Mustapha said: “All through
my service year as the SGF, I never came across these documents it was claimed
that Buhari signed. From the face value of this document, having served for
five years and seven months as SGF, this document did not emanate from the
president for the following reasons.
“A correspondence that has the
seal of the Nigerian president does not carry a reference number. The seal is
the authority.
“Secondly, I have looked at it
and read, that FEC decisions are not transmitted by letters. They are
transmitted through extracts after conclusions are adopted.
“Thirdly, I am the custodian of
FEC, the president will not refer executives’ conclusions to me.
“Also, in all the five years and
seven months, I have never heard of the terms special appropriation provision
referred to. The terms known to me, my lord, are appropriation as provided by
the Appropriation Act normally
passed by the National Assembly and when the government file drafts, it brings
supplementary appropriation.
“In all the correspondences I
have received from Buhari, it has never had ‘please accept the assurance of my
highest regard’. I am his subordinate, my correspondences do not carry that.
And lastly, looking at the signature, it is a failed attempt at reproducing
Buhari’s signature. I will leave that to the experts.”
The Nigerian government’s letter
to INTERPOL and the charges filed against Mr Emefiele’s alleged co-conspirators
are reproduced below:
REQUEST TO WATCHLIST AND PLACING
ON INTERPOL RED NOTICE THREE (3) DEFENDANTS
INVOLVED IN A CASE OF CONSPIRACY AND FRAUD
RE: (I) ADAMU ABUBAKAR
(II) IMAM ABUBAKAR
(III) ODOH ERIC OCHEME
Reference is made to the above
subject.
2. The Special Investigator,
appointed by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria to investigate the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Related Entities and
other Key Government Business Entities (KGBEs) kindly requests you to place the
above-named individuals on INTERPOL RED NOTICE.
3. In the course of the Special
Investigator’s assignment, Mr. Odoh Eric Ocheme, (a staff of the CBN) now at
large and the other two accomplices, also now at large, were discovered to have
conspired and forged documents in the name of the President, Federal Republic
of Nigeria with which they stole about US $6,230,000 (Six Million, Two Hundred
and Thirty Thousand Dollars, in cash, from the coffers of the CBN.
4. Consequent upon the above, a
charge was filed and warrants of arrest have been issued by the Federal High
Court of Nigeria, Abuja Division presided over by Hon. Justice I.E. Ekwo in
Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/19/2024 B/w: Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Adamu
Abubakar & 2 Ors for the arrest and production of the Defendants named
above for their arraignment. The data page of Odoh Eric Ocheme’s Nigerian
International Passport No. B50082800, duly certified true copies of the
warrants and the Order of the Court to that effect are hereby attached.
5. The Special Investigator
therefore pray you to use your good offices to request that the Defendants be
placed on INTERPOL RED NOTICE with a view to apprehending and repatriating them
from any of the INTERPOL member states to which they may have flown.”
RELATED NEWS
· Japa Things: Nigerian nurses,
NMCN biker over new verification policy
· Wigwe: Crash report ready March,
Kinsmen declare eight-day mourning
· Nigeria’s High cost of Living: People resort to eating
rice that’s normally “thrown away”.
Charges
COUNT 1
That Adamu Abubakar (now at
large), Imam Abubakar (now at large), Odoh Eric Ocheme (now at large),
Bashirudeen Maishanu and others also now at large, on or about the 23rd day of
January, 2023, at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, within the jurisdiction
of the Federal High Court, conspired among themselves to commit offence to wit;
Forgery and thereby committed an offence contrary to paragraph 3(6) and
punishable under Section 1(2)[c] of the Miscellaneous offences Act, Cap. M17
Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010.
COUNT II
That Adamu Abubakar (now at
large), Imam Abubakar (now at large), Odoh Eric Ocheme (now at large),
Bashirudeen Maishanu and others also now at large, on or about the 23rd day of
January, 2023, at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, within the jurisdiction
of the Federal High Court, conspired among themselves to commit offence to wit;
Uttering forged documents and thereby committed an offence contrary to
paragraph 3(6) and punishable under Section 1(2)[c] of the Miscellaneous
offences Act, Cap. M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010.
COUNT III
That Adamu Abubakar (now at
large), Imam Abubakar (now at large), Odoh Eric Ocheme (now at large),
Bashirudeen Maishanu and others also now at large, on or about the 23rd day of
January, 2023, at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, within the jurisdiction
of the Federal High Court, forged the following documents:
(i) The Presidency, Office of
the Secretary to the Government of
the Federation Identity Card in the name of Jibril Abubakar;
(ii) Letter dated 23rd January,
2023 purportedly written by Muhammad Buhari to Mr. Boss Mustapha;
(iii) Letter dated 26th January,
2023 purportedly written by Boss Mustapha to Mr. Godwin Emefiele;
(iv) Central Bank of Nigeria
Internal Memo dated 31st January, 2023 purportedly written by the Director,
Banking Services Department to the Governor; and (v) Central Bank of Nigeria
Internal Memo dated 7th February, 2023 purportedly written by the Director,
Banking Services Department to the Branch Controller, Abuja Branch, with the
intent that the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja Branch may in the believe that
the documents are genuine be induced to pay you the sum of six million, two
hundred and thirty thousand United States Dollars ($6,230,000.00) and thereby
committed an offence punishable under Section 1(2)[c] of the Miscellaneous
offences Act, Cap. M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010.
COUNT IV
That Adamu Abubakar (now at
large), Imam Abubakar (now at large), Odoh Eric Ocheme (now at large),
Bashirudeen Maishanu and others also now at large, on or about the 23rd day of
January, 2023, at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja Branch Office Garki 2, Abuja,
within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, uttered the following forged
documents:
(i) The Presidency, Office of
the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Identity Card in the name of
Jibril Abubakar;
(ii) Letter dated 23rd January,
2023 purportedly written by Muhammad Buhari to the Mr. Boss Mustapha;
(iii) Letter dated 26th January,
2023 purportedly written by Boss Mustapha to Mr. Godwin Emefiele;
(iv) Central Bank of Nigeria
Internal Memo dated 31st January, 2023 purportedly written by the Director,
Banking Services Department to the Governor; and (v) Central Bank of Nigeria
Internal Memo dated 7th February, 2023 purportedly written by the Director,
Banking Services Department to the Branch Controller, Abuja, Branch, with the
intent that the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja Branch may in the believe that
the documents are genuine be induced to pay you the sum of six million, two
hundred and thirty thousand United States Dollars ($ 6,230,000.00) and thereby
committed an offence punishable under Section 1(2)[c] of the Miscellaneous
offences Act, Cap. M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010.
COUNT V
That Adamu Abubakar (now at
large), Imam Abubakar (now at large), Odoh Eric Ocheme (now at large),
Bashirudeen Maishanu and others also now at large, on or about the 23rd day of
January, 2023, at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja within the jurisdiction
of the Federal High Court, conspired
among themselves
to commit an offence to wit; Obtaining Property by false pretence and thereby
committed an offence contrary to Section 8 and punishable under Section 1(3)
& Section 10 of the Advanced fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences
Act, Cap. A6 laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2010.
COUNT VI
That Adamu Abubakar (now at
large), Imam Abubakar (now at large), Odoh Eric Ocheme (now at large),
Bashirudeen Maishanu and others also now at large, on or about the 23rd day of
January, 2023, at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja Branch, within the jurisdiction
of the Federal High Court, by false pretence that one man who held out himself
as Jibril Abubakar is a Staff from the Office of the Secretary to the
Government of the Federation and had approval of the President of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria to source money from the Central Bank of Nigeria for
foreign Election Observers, and with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of six
million, two hundred and thirty thousand United States Dollars ($6,230,000.00)
from the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja Branch and thereby committed an offence
contrary to Section 1(1)[a] and punishable under Section 1(3) & Section 10
of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Othe0r Related Offences Act, Cap. A6 laws of the
Federation of Nigeria 2010.
Send your articles for publication to our email,
estheroyeyemiassociates@gmail.com
