Security agents on Saturday night reportedly stopped a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Michael Aondoakaa (SAN) from traveling abroad.The operatives, believed to be from the State Security Service, were said to have accosted Aondoakaa at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja where he was waiting to board a flight to Europe. It was gathered that the operatives stopped the trip on the grounds that the former minister wanted to violate a Presidency’s directive that all members of the recently dissolved cabinet should not travel out of the country without permission.

A source told our correspondents that Aondoakaa whose international passport was allegedly seized by the SSS men, was aware of the directive but chose to flout it.

The purpose for which he wanted to travel abroad could not be ascertained as at 9.40pm on Sunday.

Another source also told one of our correspondents on Sunday that Aondoakaa insisted when he was accosted by the operatives that he had a constitutional right to travel.

The source added that the former minister, who could not believe "that he could be stopped" from travelling out of the country, was likely to apply for permission to travel.

Attempts by our correspondents to confirm the development from the SSS Director-General, Mr Afarkiya Gadzama, were not successful. Calls put to his mobile telephone line rang out.

Aondoakaa could also not be reached on the telephone on Sunday night but one his aides, who asked not be named confirmed the development.

The former minister was one of the ex-FEC members who openly opposed the move to make Dr. Goodluck Jonathan an Acting President. He had stoutly defended his actions, saying that "any Attorney-General worth his salt" would do the same.

Before Jonathan became Acting President in February, Aondoaaka had applied for the release of N50m to enable him travel abroad to launder Nigeria’s image in the wake of Farouk Abdulmuttallab’s alleged attempt to bomb a United States airline in December.

The request was a subject of controversy at the Ministry of Finance, which was supposed to release the funds.

The former minister had claimed late January that he obtained a presidential approval to undertake the trip to four countries.

The Abdulmutallab saga and the sectarian crisis in Jos, Plateau State had then provoked undue negative foreign focus on Nigeria .

However, what was not clear was when ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua made the approval as no public official had seen him after November 24, 2009 when he jetted out to Saudi Arabia.

It was gathered that the N50m request was addressed to the then Minister of Finance, Dr. Mansur Muktar, and the Minister of State of Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola.

The Director-General, Budget Office, Dr. Bright Okogu, had confirmed on the telephone then that Aondoaaka made the request.

Okogu had said, "Well, I don’t specifically remember if it was approved because so many requests were made during that period and many of them were turned down.

"However, I will find out from my staff and get back to you."

But Okogu didn’t get back to our correspondent.

Some of the 28 former ministers that were not re-appointed by Jonathan are currently being probed for their activities during the period that Yar’Adua was out of the country for medical treatment.

However, the names of the affected ex-ministers and offences they might have committed are not yet public knowledge.

Besides, the spending of security votes within the period under review is being investigated.
Some of the funds were reportedly traced to bank accounts in Mauritius, South-Africa and the Isle of Man.


http://saharareporters.com/news/5781-sss-stops-aondoakaa-from-travelling-abroad.html

ole andoaka wan comot

No Jailterm will be long enough for that man

aisha2:

No Jailterm will be long enough for that man

u r ryt.cant wait for him to be sent to dat jail in Jos

N50million for what? this man is a born thief, i pity his children

I don't like the man, but the order preventing him from travel
seems a bit draconian.

He's doomed for death this tym

Where is he going to and what is he looking for? Good for him as he was stoped infact this man need to be in jail.

i guessed beaf was among the operatives that arrested him

this kind of thing happens when u play by the rules and Jonathan is showing that he knows how to play by the rules.

Take note that when asked to release 50m for his trip d approval was turned down that shows the technical move Jonathan adopted when Yaradua was sick by insisting that Yaradua confirms all approvals, and I guess dats y dat approval did not fly, and if u were just sacked and u are bein investigated it is a priviledge for you to be able to move freely and not bein detained. He can travel out but all that was asked his that he gets permission from the Ag president now he wants to go abt arguing abt his rights, suspected armed robbers and murderers have their rights too but those rights cannot hamper investigations.

~Bluetooth what beef man? dont you watch news and read papers?

Rich Dad:

N50million for what? this man is a born thief, i pity his children

Which children are you talking about, the ones who are already established for life (provided they don't waste it)

Andokaa is just a true definition of a criminal, failure and shameless individual. And to think of the fact that he is a SAN gets my head spining. Can a learned fellow in the house pls list out the criteria for selection of SANs? Maybe from there I will get to know why a criminal like Andokaa is a one and Falana, Agbakoba, etc are not.

Before Jonathan became Acting President in February, Aondoaaka had applied for the release of N50m to enable him travel abroad to launder Nigeria’s image in the wake of Farouk Abdulmuttallab’s alleged attempt to bomb a United States airline in December



I suppose its Andookaa's questionable role, staled comments, and insensitivity to the image of Nigeria that should be laundered than the Farouk of a boy. They should not only stop him from travelling but should humilate him to a stop. Odo-uka like him.

he sure is good pic of an average politician in Nig. Concidering he was Minister of Justice & AG of Nig @ same time u can imagine wat dirts went under de carpet in his junta. God hlp de Nig child not dias cos i kw non r in Nig.

I wönder y d NBA has not withdrawn his certificate of operation and strip him of his title! He has brought shame to d body.

he need to stay and be investigated

I'm not a fan of Aondoakaa, far from it that i be associated with him, however, i believe its a little out of place that he be denied his freedom of movement, especially if he hasn't be charged for breaking the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The dude has been sacked, the government has no right to restrict his movement, it is against everything democracy stands for.

On what basis or jurisdiction is the Acting President Jonathan restricting the movement of a fellow citizen?

[size=13pt]THE LAW SAYS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY[/size]

from all indications, folks here are merely talking based on sentiments and personal opinions on who is good and who is not.

If he has charges to answer, let the Police arrest and charge him to court which in turn has the jurisdiction to restrict his movement, Jonathan is not a court

Shock:

I'm not a fan of Aondoakaa, far from it that i be associated with him, however, i believe its a little out of place that he be denied his freedom of movement, especially if he hasn't be charged for breaking the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The dude has been sacked, the government has no right to restrict his movement, it is against everything democracy stands for.

On what basis or jurisdiction is the Acting President Jonathan restricting the movement of a fellow citizen?

[size=13pt]THE LAW SAYS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY[/size]

from all indications, folks here are merely talking based on sentiments and personal opinions on who is good and who is not.

If he has charges to answer, let the Police arrest and charge him to court which in turn has the jurisdiction to restrict his movement, Jonathan is not a court

Sadly enough, i agree with you!

Now e don sabi constitution/constitutional right . When few months back He was busy spewing nonsense. No other CJN has shown such disdain for the constitution as that guy. His face mirrors the ugliness within. Dumb ass!!!

50 million dat alotta cash 2 expend on travel is d source actually sure this amount is correct?

@Shock
I think you're the most objective contributor on this thread so far. The loud-mouthed Aondokaa should be given his full constitutional rights (which also includes freedom of movement).
If Ag, President feels he has a case to answer,he (aondokaa) should be properly charged to and tried in a court of competent jurisdiction.

Lets not allow our emotions to act without the benefit of our objective mindz.

ur name denotes ur personality.u're still in shock from the human right abuse we have suffered since the days of IBB.we re yet to have democracy wat we ve is "demonstration of craze" so human right do not operate in this system. or can u xplain the rational of a sitting minster applying for 50mill.? to do wat? he was trying to escape the long arm of the law like he did for IBORI & CO.

Shock:

I'm not a fan of Aondoakaa, far from it that i be associated with him, however, i believe its a little out of place that he be denied his freedom of movement, especially if he hasn't be charged for breaking the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The dude has been sacked, the government has no right to restrict his movement, it is against everything democracy stands for.

On what basis or jurisdiction is the Acting President Jonathan restricting the movement of a fellow citizen?

[size=13pt]THE LAW SAYS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY[/size]

from all indications, folks here are merely talking based on sentiments and personal opinions on who is good and who is not.

If he has charges to answer, let the Police arrest and charge him to court which in turn has the jurisdiction to restrict his movement, Jonathan is not a court

violent:

Sadly enough, i agree with you!

Don't misinterpret the law please, he is still innocent otherwise, he'll be in jail and not only been stopped from traveling aboard. He is not under house arrest nor has he been stopped from traveling within the country. Next you people will argue that a criminal has the right to commit/cover-up his crimes.

d guy no sabi, lol na seme border him for pass

Shock:

I'm not a fan of Aondoakaa, far from it that i be associated with him, however, i believe its a little out of place that he be denied his freedom of movement, especially if he hasn't be charged for breaking the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The dude has been sacked, the government has no right to restrict his movement, it is against everything democracy stands for.

On what basis or jurisdiction is the Acting President Jonathan restricting the movement of a fellow citizen?

[size=13pt]THE LAW SAYS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY[/size]

from all indications, folks here are merely talking based on sentiments and personal opinions on who is good and who is not.

If he has charges to answer, let the Police arrest and charge him to court which in turn has the jurisdiction to restrict his movement, Jonathan is not a court

It is not uncommon for the movement of people under investigation to be restricted, in fact, it is almost standard practise especially when there is significant flight risk. No need for all of us to blow uneccessary grammar here, if a man under investigation is restricted from leaving the country and such is seen as draconian, what about those in the US who are not even allowed to leave a city due to pending investigations?

Ribadu should come back soon and help us put this man in a cage

Aondoakaa should be tried and jailed for corrupt practices

He was aware of the order and yet wanna get out . . . . Na wa oh

Sky Blue:

It is not uncommon for the movement of people under investigation to be restricted, in fact, it is almost standard practise especially when there is significant flight risk. No need for all of us to blow uneccessary grammar here, if a man under investigation is restricted from leaving the country and such is seen as draconian, what about those in the US who are not even allowed to leave a city due to pending investigations?

Am i missing something here?  The fact that it is not uncommon does not even make it right to begin with, such folks are entitled to fight for their human rights!

And in most cases, there is always a court approval backing such things up, in this case it might be interpreted as an abuse of power.

The acting President tells a private citizen "don't travel unless you get permission from me"!. . . for what? the Acting President isn't his daddy!

If you will agree with me, most post here is being subjective based on people's personal judgement that the dude is corrupt, and yet not even a single charge has been filed against him.

Don't get me wrong, i also share such opinions about him being corrupt, but we cannot neglect the fact that such restriction of movement can be categorically described as an abuse of his personal rights.


If you want to restrict someone's movement, then do so using appropriate legal channels, what if its not Aondoakaa, let's say it is someone like Wole Soyinka or even you, would you still hold on to this theory?

We are not in a military regime, this is democratic government!