alj harem:

Mr Bankole secured a 10bn naira ($65m; £40m) loan, which was then shared out among senior figures in parliament.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13664911

Yep. the report you quoted references Nigeria's local newspapers and refers to the fraud as 'alleged'. The so-called N10bn loan has been fully paid back by the House of Reps. The money was meant for 'House Running Costs' and was already captured in the 2010 budget before it was borrowed. No crime was ever committed. What they did was to increase their budget between 2009 and 2010 which is what every government agency does anyways. EFCC and Bankole's enemies were looking for ways to punish him without proper investigation and they have failed so far. The 2nd case is still in court and we shall soon see its outcome. Good luck.

typical of nigeria. the worst they do to looters is make some noise, then allow them enjoy their loot

If you are surprise, please say 'hi'. mtcheeeewwwwwwwww. smh

The present govt had already poised for failure. Failure is its benchmark. Expect positive change at your own peril

Only in Nigeria.

bioye:

Yep. the report you quoted references Nigeria's local newspapers and refers to the fraud as 'alleged'. The so-called N10bn loan has been fully paid back by the House of Reps. The money was meant for 'House Running Costs' and was already captured in the 2010 budget before it was borrowed. No crime was ever committed. What they did was to increase their budget between 2009 and 2010 which is what every government agency does anyways. EFCC and Bankole's enemies were looking for ways to punish him without proper investigation and they have failed so far. The 2nd case is still in court and we shall soon see its outcome. Good luck.

how much did bankole paid you.hmmm i am sorry oo coming into your privacy ooo. please go and attend the victorious party organized by your master bankole for walking free after eating alone what belongs to me and him.Nigeria will never stop surprising me

dayokanu:

Dende is a senseless f00l as usual

Bode george was from SE? or tafa Balogun was from East-South?

Simply put the govt of Retardeen Jonathan condones corruption

daokuta the olodo,

You are an indelible mooncalf. I guess it will take you a century to differentiate political position from a professional one. Is it not true Tafa Balogun was a police officer and Bode George a political tug?

If something is not done very quickly about your mental demise, there is no doubt you would become an inconsequential mortuary statistic.

Nigeria's judiciary remains an interesting study. Yesterday, Nigerians celebrated Justice Mojisola Dada for holding Abacha's chief enforcer, Hamza Al-Mustapha, responsible for the wicked assassination of Kudirat Abiola. Today, another judge, Suleiman Belgore, ruled that the EFCC's case against former speaker of the House of Reps, Dimeji Bankole, and his deputy, Bayero Nafada, had no legs to stand on. Did the EFCC file a frivolous case, or was the judge out to set two high-class criminals free? Is it another case of Nigeria's thieving class perverting the cause--and course--of justice?

Mark my words! GEJ's 2012 National Honours list is gradually shaping up: Dimeji Bankole, M.D. Abubabakar, Zakari Biu, Hamza Al-Mustapha. The subsidy vampires will also make the cut: Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Diezani Allison Madueke, Labaran Maku, Reuben Abati, etc etc.

ojimbo IV:

hang on a minute.
all the while bankole was in efcc's custody are they telling us that they couldn't build a credible case??

FESTUS KEYAMO pls save us your lame responses. we are tired of your silly cat and mouse games.

i'm not surprised by the judge's decision at all. NO FACT + NO EVIDENCE =  NO CASE. . . simples

oh by the way, the efcc case workers assigned to the investigation should refund their salaries for the period and xmas bonuses too.
they should also be fired for gross incompetence.

Kiyamo is one of then roaches by always seeking relevance given the slightest opportunity, look where he has brought us again. I cant believe the so called EFCC can be that dumb with their avowed mission to secure a conviction with the team of legal luminaries available to it both as staff and consultants, not having had to prepare a good case with evidences in its trialling of financial misconduct.what a waste of taxpayer's money on salaries.

Judiciary, the last hope for looters in naija.

The Judiciary is the most corrupt institution in Nigeria. 

bioye:

Yep. the report you quoted references Nigeria's local newspapers and refers to the fraud as 'alleged'. The so-called N10bn loan has been fully paid back by the House of Reps. The money was meant for 'House Running Costs' and was already captured in the 2010 budget before it was borrowed. No crime was ever committed. What they did was to increase their budget between 2009 and 2010 which is what every government agency does anyways. EFCC and Bankole's enemies were looking for ways to punish him without proper investigation and they have failed so far. The 2nd case is still in court and we shall soon see its outcome. Good luck.

unfortunately u may just be preaching to thin air as far as the crowd here is concerned, i have sadly noticed that the join the bandwagon mentality reigns supreme with nigerians, maybe i wouldnt have had issues with it, it just that i naturally expect more from enlightened people, but i probably could be expecting too much,
Several times you see people just jump into a matter and start to critisize without attempting to adequately inform themselves,
but the one that saddens me the most is that we burn all our energies fighting the symptoms instead of the root cause,
The question is how do we allow senators pay themselves? How can we get more value for money? Who should pay them? Fg or areas they represent? Who r they accountable to? And many others, unfortunately, these are not sensational topics and are not likely to invoke partionate insults and jibes , so we continue chasing shadows like a dog going after it own tail, in endless circles,

DaLover:

unfortunately u may just be preaching to thin air as far as the crowd here is concerned, i have sadly noticed that the join the bandwagon mentality reigns supreme with nigerians, maybe i wouldnt have had issues with it, it just that i naturally expect more from enlightened people, but i probably could be expecting too much,
Several times you see people just jump into a matter and start to critisize without attempting to adequately inform themselves,
but the one that saddens me the most is that we burn all our energies fighting the symptoms instead of the root cause,
The question is how do we allow senators pay themselves? How can we get more value for money? Who should pay them? Fg or areas they represent? Who r they accountable to? And many others, unfortunately, these are not sensational topics and are not likely to invoke partionate insults and jibes , so we continue chasing shadows like a dog going after it own tail, in endless circles,

my friend stop making noise. . .

bioye:

Yep. the report you quoted references Nigeria's local newspapers and refers to the fraud as 'alleged'. The so-called N10bn loan has been fully paid back by the House of Reps. The money was meant for 'House Running Costs' and was already captured in the 2010 budget before it was borrowed. No crime was ever committed. What they did was to increase their budget between 2009 and 2010 which is what every government agency does anyways. EFCC and Bankole's enemies were looking for ways to punish him without proper investigation and they have failed so far. The 2nd case is still in court and we shall soon see its outcome. Good luck.

U r replying a post in which d op gave u a can u also put up a link of this story u typed here 2 refute his?or r u bankole's right hand man giving us eye witness account?or u r just blinded by tribalism?

Dede1:

daokuta the olodo,

You are an indelible mooncalf. I guess it will take you a century to differentiate political position from a professional one. Is it not true Tafa Balogun was a police officer and Bode George a political tug?

[size=16pt]If something is not done very quickly about your mental demise, there is no doubt you would become an inconsequential mortuary statistic. [/size]

This was actually expected. As long as PDP is in power, such things are bound to happen. They ÄŁĻ have Ǟ case to answer in Heaven ǡŋ₫ ain't nobody gonna be bribing God. Thieves!

philip0906:

my friend stop making noise. . .U r replying a post in which d op gave u a can u also put up a link of this story u typed here 2 refute his?or r u bankole's right hand man giving us eye witness account?or u r just blinded by tribalism? 

BusinessDay: http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/76-hot-topic/32499-alleged-n40bn-fraud-court-acquits-discharges-bankole-nafada
Vanguard:http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/how-court-dismisses-n40bn-case-against-bankole-nafada/

Excerpts from the articles

BusinessDay

The judge also described as improper, the charge of criminal conspiracy, as the evidence and testimonies of prosecution witness did not supply sufficient proof.

He said: “The EFCC failed woefully through the evidence and witnesses to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt; rather, some witnesses whom the EFCC brought to court have confirmed that the two accused persons did not benefit from the money in question.”

He held that the clerk of the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa, had confirmed that the House of Representatives took the said loan from the banks, to pay running costs for members.

“Maikasuwa’s testimony that the loan was taken because members of the Sixth House of Representatives had all agreed to increase their running costs from N27 million to N42 million, shows that the two accused did not unilaterally take the loan for personal use.

“The same Maikasuwa’s testimony, admitting that no financial transactions can take place without him appending his approval, was strong to prove that the accused persons were not signatories to the loan taken.

“The clerk, deputy clerk and director of finance and accounts, also all testified that the two accused did not benefit from the sharing of the said amount.

“The three mentioned people were signatories to the House of Representatives account and responsible for the disbursement of the money.”

The judge also held that the testimony of Abdullahi Imam, a manager of UBA, National Assembly branch, also revealed that the loan, which “was actually N25 billion and not N40 billion, had been repaid.”

Vanguard

Judge dismisses case

Before he dismissed the case, Justice Belgore maintained that having gone through the totality of proof of evidence before the court as well as the oral testimonies of all the witnesses that were called by the EFCC, he was convinced that the two accused persons did not commit any offence known to the Nigerian law.

He said what the accused persons did while in office was not salary or allowance increase but enhancement of the running cost of members in tune with the approved budgetary allocation for the lower chamber, adding that there was no nexus linking the accused with any case of conspiracy or theft as was alleged by the EFCC.

He said: “Under all the relevant statutes and the constitution, obtaining loan by any department is not a crime and there is no penal provision for it. It is therefore my considered view that the proof of evidence did not connect the accused persons with committal of any offence or such acts that should warrant their continued trial before this court.”

Besides, the court also noted that going by the allegations raised by the anti-graft commission, the Clerk of the House and other management staff of the National Assembly, being the accounting officers, ought to have been prosecuted by the EFCC over the alleged illicit loan saga, stressing that the commission rather resorted to “chasing shadows.”

Nevertheless, the court observed that, “though it is morally wrong, morally indefensible and morally insensitive for the members of the House of Representatives led by Bankole and Nafada to have increased their “running costs” from N27million per quarter, per member, to N42million, it did not amount to a criminal offence but a moral wrong.”

The court reasoned that the legislature, being a different arm of government, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) could not fix the “running costs” for members of the House of Representatives. They are at liberty to increase their “running costs” to whatever amount they so collectively wish, adding that RMAFC can only fix “wages” and “allowances” and not “running costs” and that “running costs” do not qualify as “allowances”.

@talknafree
ur words could not be better put about this big joke of a country called Nigeria, so on point like the tip of a pin.

philip0906:

my friend stop making noise. . .U r replying a post in which d op gave u a can u also put up a link of this story u typed here 2 refute his?or r u bankole's right hand man giving us eye witness account?or u r just blinded by tribalism?

here the link www.nairaland.com politics section, that were you find shallow minded people like urself.

You insist on pursueing individuals all over the place for corruption, when, time and time again we find out that the people they are replaced with dod the exact same thing we complained about previously, y must u keep knocking ur head against a rock, r u a goat?
Lets implement a system that works, ur dumbass complaints wont get us anywhere. Mugu like you