http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=80293



Former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, agreed to accept a bribe in the form of a percentage in order to assist United States Congressman, William Jefferson, secure a business deal in Nigeria, according to the US Grand Jury report which indicted Jefferson for racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money-laundering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Giving a blow-by-blow account of Jefferson’s dealings, the 94-page indictment entitled "United States of America V William J Jefferson" which referred to Atiku as a “Nigerian Official A… a high-ranking official in the executive branch of the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria” who "acted in an official capacity for and on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria" revealed that the Congressman received the sum of $100,000 from his cohorts meant as bribe money for the former vice-president.
Atiku has, however, consistently denied asking for or receiving bribe in the deal which had sparked off an investigation of the US congressman.
The Nigerian aspect of the investigation led to the indictment of Atiku by the Economic and Financial Crimes Com-mission (EFCC), an Admin-strative Panel of Inquiry headed by Chief Bayo Ojo as well as two panels set up by the last Senate over the management of the finances of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF).
The grand jury indictment said: “On or about July 18, 2005, following the meeting with Nigerian Official A, Defendant Jefferson and CW traveled from Potomac, Maryland, to Mclean, Virginia, where Defendant Jefferson informed CW (co-operating witness) that, during his private meeting with Nigerian Official A, Defendant Jeff-erson had offered, and Nig-erian Official A had agreed to accept, a bribe in the form of a percentage of the profits generated by the Nigerian Joint Venture in exchange for Nigerian Official A’s official assistance in securing necessary approvals from NITEL.
“On or about July 30, 2005, in Arlington, Virginia, Defendant Jefferson received $100,000 in cash from CW for delivery by Defendant Jefferson to Nigerian Official A… On or about July 30, 2005, following the meeting with CW, Defendant Jefferson drove his car with the $100,000 in cash from Arlington, Virginia, to his residence in Washington D.C.”
Although the report did not indict Atiku personally, it gave further details of what transpired between him, his wife and the US Congressman. In one instance, page 26 of the indictment stated that Jefferson suggested ways in which the bribe money could be received by Atiku’s wife who the report says “lived in Potomac, Maryland.”
“On or about June 8, 2005, in Washington D.C, Defendant Jefferson explained to CW potentials ways in which Nigerian Official A could receive the bribe payments, such as through making payments to a charitable foundation run by Nigerian Official A’s spouse and giving Nigerian Official A a share of the profits from the Nigerian Joint Venture.”
It also said Jefferson had a meeting with Nigerian Official A’s spouse where he discussed with her the threat posed to the Nigerian Joint Venture by a Chinese company and therefore requested a meeting with "Official A", promising to “provide things of value” to the official.
According to the report, investigations began when "CW", who is also a businessman, reported a suspected fraud involving iGate, Vernon Jackson (then CEO and Chairman of the Board of iGate, a Louisville, Kentucky telecommunications firm) and Jefferson to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in or about March 2005. "CW" thereafter acted as cooperating witness for the government.
Earlier in August 2004, Jefferson, "CW", "Nigerian Businessperson B" and others negotiated "a joint venture agreement between different companies to pursue a telecommunications business in Nigeria using iGate technology and equipment. The joint venture required a high-ranking Nigeria official to direct NITEL to provide it with access to telephone lines in the country."
"CW", according to the report, said there was no need to bribe "Nigerian Official A" because "Nigerian Businessperson B" had reached an agreement with NITEL. But it would appear Jefferson did not want to take chances. As a result, he allegedly discussed the possibility of paying bribes with "CW".
“On or about May 31, 2005, in Washington D.C., Defendant Jefferson discussed with CW the possibility of paying bribes to Nigerian government officials to advance the Nigerian Joint Venture, stating “I would rather take care of it, rather than have [Nigerian Businessperson B] take care of it….I’m talking about with elected people and big shots, okay?”
Thereafter, Jefferson composed a letter on congressional letterhead addressed to "Nigerian Official A" which among other things: “(a) requested that Nigerian Official A intervene with NITEL to secure the Nigerian Joint Venture’s right to co-locate its equipment at NITEL facilities and use NITEL’s telephone lines; (b) sought a meeting with Nigerian Official A during that official’s trip to the United States in July 2005.”
Or about June 21, 2005, Jefferson had the letter delivered to Nigerian Official A’s Spouse. The letter allegedly gave details of financial projections of revenue to be generated by the Joint Venture and profits to be made.
The first meeting between Jefferson and "Nigerian Official A" took place on or about July 18, 2005 at the residence of "Nigerian Official A" in Potomac, Maryland. There, Jefferson “offered to pay a bribe to induce him to use his position to assist in obtaining commitments from NITEL for the benefit of the Nigerian Joint Venture,” said the report.
It was after this meeting that Jefferson, according to the report, said "Nigerian Official A" had agreed to accept the bribe money. He assured his cohorts that they had secured a business deal, having spoken with Nigerian Official A.
“On or about July 21, 2005, in Washington D.C., Defendant Jefferson assured CW that they had “a deal with [Nigerian Official A],” explaining that the bribe to Nigerian Official A would consist of: (a) front-end payment of $500,000 to Nigerian Official A that would ensure that the “little hook is in there”; and (b) a “back-end” payment of at least half of Nigerian Company B’s shares of the Nigerian Joint Venture’s profits.”
On or about July 30, 2006, Jefferson received the $100,000 meant for Nigerian Official A. On August 3, 2005, the report says Jefferson wrapped $90,000 of the $100,000 bribe money in aluminum foil and hid it in the freezer of his Washington D.C. apartment, inside various frozen food containers.
It also revealed that Jefferson had corruptly agreed to receive things of value from Companies D and E to be paid through a family member, in the form of percentage share of the contract price for Companies D and E to perform a feasibility study and possible future construction of a sugar plant in Jigawa State, bribe from Companies D and E for assistance to advance their effort to obtain contracts to develop various food processing facilities in Kaduna State and bribes from Company F in return for assistance to advance Company F’s efforts to obtain rights to develop marginal oil fields in Akwa-Ibom State.
At the end of the report, Jefferson was indicted on 16 charges but "Nigerian Official A" was not. This may be due to the fact that Jefferson was treated as a “domestic concern” while Nigerian Official A was a “foreign official.”
But when THISDAY contacted the US Ministry of Justice, a spokesperson noted that investigations were still “on-going and that there’s a possibility that others could be indicted in the future.”