[[/b][b][color=#990000][/color]b]Obasanjo, Family Members Got 1m Sq. Metres Land in Abuja’[/b]
•Iyabo Files Objection Against EFCC Charges •Grange, Aduku Denied Bail
From Sufuyan Ojeifo and Funso Muraina in Abuja, 04.12.2008

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The Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT) probing the sale of Federal Government houses and other related matters is in possession of a memorandum linking former President Olusegun Obasanjo and members of his family to the ownership of plots of land measuring over 1 million square metres in different locations in the FCT.
This allegation is coming on the heels of the objection filed by Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, the former president’s daughter, against the corruption charges preferred against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) at an Abuja High Court.
Also yesterday, an Abuja High Court rejected the bail application of the former Health Minister, Mrs. Adenike Grange and other accused persons in the health ministry scam.
The bulk of the plots to Obasanjo, as contained in the document obtained by THISDAY, were allocated to the former president’s farm and family members between 2005 and 2007 by the former FCT Minister, Malam Nasir el-Rufai.
It was gathered that the committee would question the propriety of the allocation when el-Rufai appears before it next week.
The document listed Obasanjo Farms Nigeria Limited as beneficiary of 1,001,330 square metres of land in Gaube via an offer letter dated June 27, 2005; Central Area (8, 554 Square metres) dated May 28, 2007 and Gwarimpa 1 (15, 839 square metres) dated May 24, 2007.
Other claims contained in the document which the committee will check out with el-Rufai for confirmation and justification include offers to the following family members of the former President: Olumiyiwa Obasanjo (1,213 square metres in Wuye) dated May 10, 2007; Oluwafunke Obasanjo (877 Square metres in Garki 11) dated March 25, 2006; Olusegun Obasanjo (3,100 Square metres in Maitama) dated January 1, 2006 and Oluremi Obasanjo (4,246 square metres in Utako) dated June 27, 2005.
Adeboye Obasanjo (1,127 square metres in Maitama) dated June 27, 2006; Olu Obasanjo (1,343 square metres in Jabi) dated January 26, 2005; Iyabo Obasanjo (2,226 square metres in Asokoro) dated January 26, 2005; Olugbenga Obasanjo (1, 508 in Guzape) dated August 12, 2002 and Olugbenga Obasanjo (3,446 square metres in Maitama) dated April 26, 2000.
Similarly, the two plots of land owned by the late first lady, Chief (Mrs.) Stella Obasanjo in Maitama (3,445 square metres) dated April 26, 2000 and Katamkpe Extension (1,964 square metres) dated April 14, 2002 were allocated by el-Rufai’s predecessors. The document did not indicate the size of the plot allocated to one Olugbemi Obasanjo at Guzape on December 31, 2002.
There were indications yesterday that the Committee is also in possession of documents linking other top functionaries in the Obasanjo administration to a number of plots which they got in their names and in the names of their family members and companies.
Nineteen different land offers were also listed against the names of former Minister of the FCT, el-Rufai and members of his family.
Maryman Bashir el-Rufai (479 sq. metres in Kubwa) dated May 19, 2007; Hauwa Aliyu el-Rufai (479 sq. metres in Nyanya) dated May 10, 2007; el-Rufai & Partners (1,639 sq. metres in Jahi) dated May 10, 2007; Zainab el-Rufai (3, 469 sq. metres in Katamkpe Extension) dated May 10, 2007; Bashir el-Rufai (1,896 sq. metres in Asokoro) dated May 10, 2007; Musa Ahmed Rufai (488 sq. metres in Dobi West) dated March 28, 2007.
Others are Aisha Ahmed Rufai (486 sq. metres in Dobi West) dated March 28, 2007; Abubakar Ahmed Rufai (531 sq. metres in Kuje SW) dated December 15, 2006; Bello Rufai (448 sq. metres in Kuje SW) dated December 15, 2006; Aliyu Ahmed Rufai (1,497 sq. metres in Maitama) dated November 9, 2006; Ali Rufai (2,410 sq. metres in Asokoro) dated November 7, 2006; Binta Ahmed el-Rufai (1,562 sq. metres in Jabi) dated March 25, 2006; Hadiza Isma el-Rufai (629 sq. metres in Kubwa) dated February 28, 2006.
Ibrahim Ahmad el-Rufai (2,006 sq. metres in Maitama) dated June 27, 2005; Asia Ahmed el-Rufai (2,218 sq. metres in Asokoro) dated January 26, 2005; Bashir el-Rufai (1,381 sq metres in Wuse 11) dated January 26, 2005; Hadiza Isma el-Rufai (2,411 sq. metres in Asokoo) dated Janaury 26, 2005, Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai (2,711 sq. metres in Gudu) dated April 9, 2002 (apparently allocated to him by one of his predecessors in office) and another plot in Asokoro (1,599 sq. metres) dated November 18, 1998 (also allocated to him under the military regime.)
Also listed in the document was former Finance Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who was allegedly allocated plots in Mabushi (1912 sq. metres) dated August 12, 2004; Mabushi (1280 sq. metres) dated December 8, 2004 and Asokoro (1944 sq. metres) dated February 2, 2005.
However, according to a source close to the former minister, she was given only one plot of land in Asokoro, while her husband also got one in Maitama in his personal capacity. “As a serving minister, she was given only one plot. The committee should extend its investigation to cover wild and spurious claims. If people were going around collecting land with her name, the commitee should also investigate such,” the source said.
Details of the allocations, revocations and re-allocations of plots of land which have become one of the subjects of investigation by the senate committee would be provided by el-Rufai when he has his day before the committee next week.
There were indications yesterday that the committee is also in possession of documents linking other top functionaries in the administration of former President Obasanjo to a number of plots which they got in their names and in the names of their family members and companies.
The committee raised alarm yesterday that its members were already receiving death threats.
A member of the committee, Senator Smart Adeyemi announced that he had been getting strange calls and text messages threatening him over his involvement in the probe of the past FCT administrations.
But he assured that the committee members would not be cowed or intimidated from pursuing the national assignment to its logical conclusion.
Meanwhile, petitioners continued yesterday to narrate their tales of woe in the hands of the el- Rufai administration.
A former Director of the FCT Department of Development Control, Mr. Olu Ogunmola in his own testimony said that more than 90 per cent of the houses demolished in alleged green and reserved areas were reallocated to cronies of the former Minister.
He narrated how el-Rufai disobeyed court injunctions to evict his eighty-six year old mother from his official residence while he was hospitalised abroad.
According to him, “the official of the FCT who came to carry out the ejection shot my dog who stood in his way,” adding that “a day after the death of my wife who worked as a Deputy Director in el-Rufai’s office, the minister orchestrated the revocation of her plot of land in Abuja.”
He said that he worked as Director of Development Control between 2002 and 2004 and was sacked because he fell out with el-Rufai on account of irreconcilable differences.
The Chairman of Bullet Construction, Malam Samaila Isa said that his duly owned plot was revoked and given to a private developer.
He said: “We bought that property for over N100 million and somebody cannot come and take it and give it to his friend. Nasir was Minister of FCT and, no doubt, he did some good things and he did some bad things, but there are a lot of excesses, which somebody with conscience will not contemplate. Why should you deny me approval of development control and give the same piece of land to somebody else?”
But in a reaction yesterday to these depositions before the Committee, former Chief of Staff to el- Rufai as Minister, Balarabe Abass Lawal said that it was becoming a pattern that not much of the truth was on parade at the public hearing.
According to Lawal, “Mr. Ogunmola, along with other FCTA staff were retrenched in line with the restructuring and rightsizing exercise as approved by the then President and FEC.
“The restructuring itself was to achieve efficiency in the public service. It is not true that Mr. Ogunmola was retrenched to victimise him.
“We are aware he had gone to court and lost. It is also not true that Nasir el – Rufai personally supervised his eviction from a property. Even on this score, he is currently seeking justice at the court of law.”
Reacting to Mallam Isa’s presentation, he said: “The plot of land from which the FCTA under Mallam Nasir el – Rufai evicted his company, Bullet International Nigeria Ltd, is located within the Ministerial Zone and a designated plot of land for the FCTA Secretariat.
In Iyabo’s preliminary objection filed by the chambers of Chief Afe Babalola and Co. yesterday, she asked the court to strike out counts 55 and 56 in their entirety for want of jurisdiction.
Iyabo was, however, not listed among the accused but had count 56 against her name.
She therefore prayed for an order of the court striking out her name from the same counts on the ground that the basis upon which the counts were found was the official acts of the National Assembly and which the chamber had claimed responsibility.
She said that the EFCC report did not establish any sort of conspiracy between her and anyone and that the charges were brought in bad faith.
“There is no factual basis for counts 55 and 56 of this charge, neither is there any element of criminality in the decision of Senator Iyabo Obasanjo Bello to participate in the official trip of the Senate Health Committee to Ghana in March, 2008. Count 55 and 56 are gross abuse of court process.”
In an affidavit she deposed to, Iyabo said that she was at EFCC twice and had explained to the committee that the N10million was not given to her directly but to the Assembly, stressing that the money was disbursed by the secretary of the committee for health.
She said that facts and documents supplied to the EFCC were suppressed just to blackmail her.
Meanwhile, Justice Salisu Garba of the Abuja High Court after listening to oral applications for the bail of former Ministers of Health, Professor Adenike Grange and Gabriel Aduku refused the bail application and went further to order for formal applications.