Ribadu behind problems of Ibori, others
… Says they would not be released for trial in UK
From MURPHY GANAGANA, Abuja
Friday, September 11, 2009


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Justice Minister and Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Michael Aondoakaa (SAN) has faulted the warrant of arrest issued against the Principal Private Secretary (PPS) to President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua, Mr. David Edevbie and Chief James Ibori, former Delta State governor by the London Metropolitan Police over alleged money laundering and corrupt offences emanating from the $38 million Virgin Mobile shares acquisition.

Besides, the Federal Attorney General said he would not release any Nigerian for prosecution in any foreign country on offences whose ingredients are domiciled in Nigeria.
“As the Attorney General of Federation, I will not release any Nigerian to a foreign government for prosecution on offences whose ingredients are domicile in the country.

“There is no where in the world that if I do a transaction in Nigeria, let’s says I sold my shares in Nigeria, that the issue will now become a matter of adjudication in another country. We must try to protect the country from people who are trying to get international recognition for nothing by telling blatant lies,” he declared. 
Three former state governors, Chief James Ibori of Delta, Alhaji Ahmed Bola Tinubu and Chief Victor Ubong Attah of Akwa Ibom states respectively were accused of money laundering in the Vmobile shares transaction.

The justice minister who was responding to the issue on Thursday faulted the warrant of arrest issued against Edevbie  on the grounds that he did not sign the African Development Funds Incorporated (ADFI) agreement, which has become the fulcrum of the criminal charges against them.
The action of the Metropolitan Police followed a deposition made by former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu before a London court.

But Aondoakaa said Ribadu’s deposition was targeted at rubbishing the administration of President Yar’Adua and to portray the Federal Government as not serious in the fight against corruption.
In the said affidavit deposed to by him, Ribadu informed the London court that it was the Principal Private Secretary to the President, Mr. Edevbie David,   who signed the ADFI agreement, conniving with former governors Victor Attah, Ibori and Tinubu to commit money laundering offences in the Vmobile shares.
The Attorney General, while debunking the claim, presented the letters contained in the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), which he received from London to the newsmen to confirm that the PPS was not a signatory to the document.

In the relevant documents, two persons and not Edevbie signed the said agreement. They are Dr. S. O. Okpokpor, Permanent Secretary, Delta State Ministry of Finance and Reginald Bayoko, a civil servant.
The chief law officer of the country disclosed  that he received request for Mutual Legal Assistance from the British Government  on the  ex-governors James Ibori, Victor Attah and Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the 38 million dollars  Virgin Mobile  shares acquisition in the Vmobile, later Celtel  now Zain  telecommunication company on June 22, 2009. The request prompted him to ask EFCC for details of the matter.

“I wrote to Access Bank to tell me the position of things directly and I got a reply from Access Bank. The reply is that yes, there was a letter from EFCC ,  at the first instance, asking them to stay action on this  account but later on, the same EFCC wrote them  in January 2009 asking them to resume normal banking transactions,” the AGF said.

The EFCC letter with reference number CR: 3000/EFCC /ABJ/ASO /EG/VOL.8/146 which Access Bank said it acted on reads : “In view of the above, you are kindly requested to remove the caution that was placed on the account and allow normal transactions on the account.”

He said when the EFCC and Access Bank sent him the letters he forwarded them to the British Governme nt and it appeared that when Ribadu left the office, he did not know that investigations into the matter was on-going and later concluded. He said Victor Attah took the Federal Government to court for maligning his name and the matter was settled out of court with the payment of N25 million damage.

Aondoaaka said he had not entered nolle prosequi since he assumed office except that of Henry Okah which, he said, was meant to facilitate the amnesty granted the militants. “I challenged anybody to show one single case where I stopped prosecution of any of the accused persons standing trial,” he stated.
On Halliburton case, the minister said the money approved for the Inspector General of Police-led investigation committee had been given to the committee contrary to publication that it was being withheld by his office.

He said the committee’s work was being delayed by France and New Zealand’s request to translate Nigeria’s request in English into French Language. The minister maintained that Nigeria’s request on same issue before the United States of America was receiving attention.

“The U.S said they are carrying on their own investigation.”   




http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2009/sept/11/national-11-09-2009-001.htm

Pls I'm tired of this Nigerian AGF[color=#990000][/color]!!!!!!!!!!!!!