Attorney-General: Halliburton Report Ready in 2 Weeks
By Funke Aboyade and Tobi Soniyi, 08.08.2010

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, (SAN) said the on-going investigations on who played what role in the Halliburton bribery scandal believed to involve prominent Nigerians would be concluded in the next two weeks.
He told THISDAY in an interview at the weekend that “in the next two weeks,” he would address the media and unveil the next steps to be taken by the federal government on the matter.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, in an answer to a question, said: “There is an interim report. But again, I was also told that there are various versions of that report. As a responsible Attorney-General of the Federation, it would be hasty on my part to begin to act on such reports dealing with a sensitive matter.


“I have not come to a conclusion on the matter. This is because the international aspect of the issue had not been concluded. At the end of the day, I don't want to charge the wrong person to court. In the next two weeks, investigations would have been concluded on the matter, and I will address the press on the steps to be taken,” he said.
Adoke, who spoke on a wide range of issues, including the refusal of the National Assembly to send the amended 1999 Constitution to President Goodluck Jonathan for his assent, the overlapping functions of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Matters Commission (ICPC), the return of the Vaswani brothers, among others, assured Nigerians that as AGF, he would protect the interest of the rule of law, the interest of every Nigerian irrespective of their political persuasion. He also said he believes that there was a need to segregate his office to insulate it from politics.


Giving his opinion on the raging controversy that arose from the insistence of the National Assembly that the amended Constitution does not require presidential assent before it becomes operational, he said he shares the views of Professor Ben Nwabueze that there was need for presidential assent for the process to be complete.
“The reason given by the National Assembly for not submitting to the President for his assent does not hold water because they seem not to have averted their minds to the clear provisions of the Constitution in S.58(1)-(5). The only time presidential assent is not required is when the President vetoes the amendment and they in the exercise of their overriding power pass it into law using the two-thirds majority,” he said.


Adoke, however, advised Nigerians to remain calm as the issue would be resolved by all parties involved to the benefit of the country. “The President has not refused to assent to the Constitution and they (National Assembly members) have not sent it to him. The issue of dispute has not arisen,” he assured.
Asked if he has advised the lawmakers on how to handle the matter, he said: “I have not had cause to advise the National Assembly because they have not formally informed me that they have amended the Constitution.
“The law requires that they would send it to me for gazetting. Nobody has formally informed me that the Constitution has been amended; until that is done, I will not want to take anticipatory steps.”


He said the President is not disturbed by the development as: “I have also averted the mind of the President to it. I have advised that there might be need to call the National Assembly for a dialogue.”
Adoke also said he chose to recommend the option of dialogue to Jonathan because: “One of the reasons advanced by them (lawmakers) is that they are the true representatives of the people.
He said: “To me, with all due respect to my colleagues at the National Assembly, I think that is not correct because there is no one that is more representative of the Nigerian people than the President who was elected by the whole country as opposed to them who were elected on proportional basis. But then, when we get to the bridge, we will cross it.”
“Should a dispute arise that will affect the forthcoming election, we may have to approach the Supreme Court directly. Where there is a dispute between the Executive and the National Assembly, the Supreme Court can exercise original jurisdiction.”


On why he brought back the Vaswani brothers to the country after their deportation by the administration of late President Umaru Yar’Adua, he said: “Knowing the sensitive nature of the Vaswani brothers' case, I decided to write a memo to the President drawing his attention to the facts of the matter and the judgements. They have three judgements.
“Unknown to me, they had also written directly to the President through their lawyer. The President asked me for my advice and after reviewing the cases, without prejudice to any ill-feeling I may have against them, I found that the basis upon which the EFCC was prosecuting them had been annulled by the court and we will not prosecute any person just because we want to impress. ‘The court also said that their deportation was illegal and did not follow due process. This is a government that respects the law. We have no choice but to comply with the law.

Anyway, what is wrong if a person does business in your country and is alleged to have committed a crime, why don't you prosecute him? Why will you deport them?” he asked.
The minister said he would strive to restore the confidence of Nigerians in the ministry of justice, which he said was already a challenge to him to ensure that the “culture of impunity becomes a thing of the past.”

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=180215

kenifeh:


The Attorney-General of the Federation, in an answer to a question, said: “There is an interim report. But again, I was also told that there are various versions of that report. As a responsible Attorney-General of the Federation, it would be hasty on my part to begin to act on such reports dealing with a sensitive matter.


“I have not come to a conclusion on the matter. This is because the international aspect of the issue had not been concluded. At the end of the day, I don't want to charge the wrong person to court. In the next two weeks, investigations would have been concluded on the matter, and I will address the press on the steps to be taken,” he said.

We are aware Obasanjo was indicted in the Halliburtton scandale, Am i the only one thinking this man could be worse than Michael Aondoakaa?