The Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Tribunal has commenced a clampdown on very wealthy civil servants.
Already, the agency has seized 24 property
and several cars from three civil servants with one of them having 18 property.
A document obtained from the Office of the
Chairman of the ICPC, Mr. Ekpo Nta, with the title ‘Notice of Seizure of Movable and Immovable Properties Pursuant to Section 45 (4) a – (b) of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Ac 2000, revealed that the commission seized the property from three officials of the Ministry of Niger Delta.
It stated that the property was seized because
they were “excessive of the emoluments of the
affected officers.”
Although the document, dated August 11,
2015, is silent on the status of the officials, it
was gathered that the three officials are all
principal account officers of the ministry,
which has been one of the focuses of
investigations by the ICPC in recent times.
The Niger Delta ministry officers listed in the
document are Poloma Kabiru Nuhu, Mangset
Longyl Dickson and Daniel Obah.
The ICPC boss said the decision to seize the
property would be served on the appropriate
Land Registries and Departments in all the
states where the property are situated.
He stated, “The commission is investigating a
matter involving some staff (members) of the
Niger Delta Ministry, with certain movable and
immovable property owned by the said staff.
“The commission is of the opinion based on
the aforementioned investigation that these
movable and immovable property owned by
these people who are staff of the Ministry of
Niger Delta Affairs are excessive, having
regards to their present emoluments and all
other relevant circumstances. The commission
hereby notifies the entire public that all
movable and immovable properties owned by
these staff (members) and listed hereunder
are seized.”
According to the ICPC boss, one of the
officers, Nuhu, has 10 hectares of land,
covered by Right of Occupancy at Kuje valued
at N50m.
It was stated that the same officer has an
uncompleted duplex at Diamond Estate, Apo,
Abuja, that is worth N90m.
Nta also said Nuhu has 16 plots of land which
are all covered by Certificate of Occupancy in
different parts of Gwagwalada, Abuja.
Another civil servant on the ICPC list, Dickson,
is said to have a plot of land at Kubwa
District, Cadastral Zone, Abuja. The property is
valued at N7m.
The third official, Obah, is said to own
different plots of land in Abuja and Port
Harcourt, Rivers State.
Nta said Obah has a four-bedroom duplex at
Karsana South District, Abuja, valued at
N60m.
He is also said to have a plot of land at
Ozuoba, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Other plots of land said to belong to Obah are
located in Umuodili Odubo Community in
Rivers that is worth N16.5m; Olipobo
Rumuekini Layout, Obio Akpor Local
Government Area valued at N18m and another
plot at Livingstone Estate Umuogodo, Igbo
Etche in Obio Akpor Local Government of the
Rivers State.
The PUNCH had exclusively reported on July
30 that the Federal Government’s anti-
corruption operatives had been sent after
‘super rich’ public officers who had multiple
property and other assets suspected to have
been the rewards of graft.
According to the report, the searchlight of the
anti-corruption agents was on civil servants
that possess questionable property in the
Federal Capital Territory.
It was also reported that operatives in the Assets Tracing, Recovery and Management Unit of the ICPC had been asked to haul in suspects for interrogation and recovery of ill-gotten assets in their possession.
The ICPC was reported to have strengthened
the ATRMU by posting more personnel to the
unit to ensure the success of its campaign.
On Wednesday, the Auditor-General of the
Federation, Mr. Samuel Ukura, had
recommended the recovery of about N183bn
being funds meant for the development of
Niger Delta but which was allegedly diverted
for other purposes.
Ukura, who stated this in three special audit
reports to the Clerk of the National Assembly,
Mr. Salisu Maikasuwa, explained that the
amount was discovered in the periodic checks
carried out by his office on the activities and
programmes of the Niger Delta Development
Commission between 2008 and 2012.
According to him, N70.4bn was paid as
mobilisation to various contractors who never
reported to site, while N90.4bn was the extra-
budgetary expenditure for heads and sub-
heads without approval by the legal
authorities.
He also said N10bn was tax deductions
without evidence of remittance to the Federal
Inland Revenue Service; N5.8bn was payment
to contractors for projects not executed,
stalled or abandoned, while N1.2bn was
undeducted taxes from contractors.
Ukura added that N3.1bn was transfer made
to unauthorised accounts; N1.7bn was staff
outstanding staff advances which were never
accounted for and N785m out of N1.1bn
meant for the supply of furniture to various
schools in Delta State was diverted.
He explained that the funds for the furniture
supply was certified paid whereas inspection
carried out by the Auditor-General’s office
revealed that no single chair was distributed
during the period under review.

Source: http://www.punchng.com/news/anti-corruption-war-begins-•-icpc-seizes-24-property-from-three-civil-servants/