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N3.6bn Fraud: EFCC Re-Arraigns Ex-NDDC Director

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday, re-arraigned a former Executive Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC), Mr Tuoyo Omatsuli and three others, for alleged N3.6billion fraud.
Omatsuli is standing trial alongside second to fourth defendants Don Parker Properties Ltd, Francis Momoh and Building Associates Ltd before the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The defendants were first arraigned before Justice Saliu Saidu in November, 2018.
Monday, the EFCC re-arraigned them before the same judge on an amended 52-count charge.
The commission alleged that they conspired to disguise the illegal origin of the N3.6billion “being proceeds of unlawful activity; to wit: corruption and gratification.”
In another count, it alleged that the N3.6billion was a bribe received by Omatsuli from Starline Consultancy Services Ltd, a firm engaged by the NDDC to help it recover its statutory three per cent annual budgets of oil and gas producing companies in the Niger Delta.
The defendants pleaded not guilty.
Justice Saidu admitted them to bail on the existing terms.
He granted the EFCC’s application for trial to continue, following which prosecution Counsel Ekene Iheanacho called his 13th prosecution witness Usman Adamu.
Adamu, a senior EFCC detective, said Omatsuli used his position to convert the sum and acquired properties through Building Associates Ltd.
Yusuf said: “Sometimes in 2016, the commission received an intelligence alleging that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) made fraudulent transfers of funds to some companies.
“One of the companies mentioned is Starline Consultancy Services. The intelligence was accepted and assigned to my team”.
Yusuf further disclosed that about N12billion was received by Starline Consultancy Services from the NDDC out of which the firm also paid out N3.6billion to a company known as Building Associates Ltd in tranches.
He said investigations later revealed that Building Associates was owned by Francis Momoh (2nd defendant).
“From the money received by Building Associates, the 2nd defendant (Francis Momoh) made some fund transfers to various beneficiaries. One of them is Princely Estate. Jide Tinubu is also a beneficiary and many others.
“We also sent invitations to these beneficiaries to report to our office. They volunteered statements and also submitted documents to us as evidence of why they received the money.
“We later sent letter of investigation to the NDDC requesting for details of payments made to Starline Consultancy Services.
“NDDC responded and from the document submitted by the NDDC, we discovered that the then management of NDDC employed the services of Starline to recover three percent statutory allocation from oil and gas companies operating in the Niger Delta. Starline was paid ten percent of the money recovered as its commission”, the witness said.
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
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Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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