₦airaland Forum

PREMIUM TIMES has uncovered one of the most
fraudulent crude oil deals executed by the Goodluck
Jonathan administration, which saw a campaign
official and some other suspected cronies of the ex-
president smiling to the banks with up to 50 per cent
commission from the proceeds of a foreign crude oil
lifting contract, turning them into instant billionaires.
In the middle of the shady deal is a Nigerian oil and
gas company, Sarb Energy, which acted as a dodgy
middleman in a non-transparent government-to-
government crude oil sale between the Nigerian and
the Zambian governments.
Sarb Energy, incorporated on September 19, 2008, was
specifically established for the controversial deal.
This newspaper has established that Sarb Energy has
link with at least one political associate of former
President Jonathan, whose five-year reign as leader of
Africa’s largest oil producer was characterized by
allegations of massive corruption, especially in the oil
and gas sector.
The company’s directors at inception, according to
records at the Corporate Affairs Commission, were
Nimi Barigha-Amange, a former Peoples Democratic
Party’s senator from Bayelsa (2007-2011), who also
served as director of planning, research and strategy
for Mr. Jonathan’s re-election campaign in 2014; Sylva
Ogbogu, a retired Brigadier General; Akpan Ekpene, the
managing director of the company, who executed the
deal; and Ogba Properties and Investment Company
Limited, a company whose real ownership remained
unclear.
For months, PREMIUM TIMES was unable to obtain its
records at the CAC.
Sarb Energy corporate ownership structure Mr. Barigha-Amange was a director in Deltoil Nigeria
and Pixy Energy, two other companies with stakes in
Sarb Energy.
The crude oil deal
In a testimony he gave at a Zambian court, Mr. Ekpene
said he sold the idea of the government-to-government
crude oil deal to the Zambian government in 2008,
which then gave his company, Sarb, a power of
attorney to execute the contract on its behalf.
Under the deal signed with the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation, the Zambian government was
to lift eight million barrels of crude oil worth N155.4
billion ($969.6million).
After the deal was sealed on April 20, 2011, Sarb made
an initial deposit of $2.5million to the NNPC in the
name of the Zambian government.
Rather than Sarb importing the crude for use of the
Zambian government at home, it was agreed that the
company would sell the commodity to other traders,
split profit 50-50 with the government and then remit
the Zambian government’s share to official
administration accounts.
But that didn’t happen. What indeed happened was
that the Nigerians sold the crude and failed to make
payments into Zambian government accounts.

Instead, according to Mr. Ekpene, parts of the proceeds were diverted into an account held by Iexoria, a Singapore-based company allegedly controlled by Henry Banda, the Zambian president’s son. No evidence has emerged till date indicating that Zambia received any revenue from the deal. The deal sparked controversy in Zambia, with former President Rupiah Banda charged with multiple violations of that country’s anti-corruption laws. In his testimony during the trial, Mr. Ekpene claimed the proceeds of the deal were passed directly to Mr. Banda and his family. The Sarb managing director told the court that his company made two wire transfers worth $550,000 from its Access Bank account in Nigeria to a Barclays Bank account in Singapore owned by Iexoria. Henry Banda, the Zambian president’s son, controlled Iexoria. Both transfers were made before that country’s September 2011 general elections, when Mr. Banda was still president. A fake consultancy contract was then drawn up between Sarb and Iexoria to support the payments, stating that Iexoria was supposed to carry out a feasibility study for a power plant. Mr. Ekpene admitted in court the contract was a ruse as no such feasibility study was done. He said that approach was adopted to deceive Access Bank into authorizing the transfers. He claimed that he also gave Mr. Banda $500,000 through his son Henry, to boost his election campaign. He said that was after Mr. Banda requested $1 million advance payment from the government-to-government oil deal. Mr. Ekpene also told the court that he helped Banda with campaign materials, which he transported from Nigeria to Zambia, during a trip in which he admitted concealing $260, 000 cash in his luggage. He said he handed over the cash to Banda at the Government House for his use in the 2008 campaigns. He said he made the donation to President Banda because the intermediary in the crude lifting deal, Major Richard Kachingwe, allegedly insisted that they needed to support him to win reelection. Mr. Ekpene may have, however, lied under oath in court during the Banda trial when he said only 5.7 million barrels of crude were shipped out of Nigeria in the deal, with the last cargo loading in December 2012. PREMIUM TIMES found, from NNPC and Finance Ministry records, that 11 cargoes, carrying more than eight million barrels, were lifted in respect of the deal. Insiders say Sarb Energy continued to lift from the NNPC even when the Zambian authorities believed the deal had ended. The Magistrate’s Court in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, however acquitted Mr. Banda in June 2015, saying the prosecution failed to prove its case that the former leader violated Section 99(1) of the Zambian Penal Code. No progress with investigation in Nigeria Even though Sarb and its official, Mr. Ekpene, made startling confessions in court in Zambia, including admitting laundering funds out of the country, it does not appear investigation is making progress in Nigeria. Mr. Ekpene claimed in court that Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission looked into the contract in May 2013. But no enforcement action has so far been taken. The spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, said he was not aware that any such investigation was ongoing. He promised to crosscheck with the agency’s investigators and then revert to PREMIUM TIMES. The spokesperson for the NNPC, Ohi Alegbe, could not be reached Monday. When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Barigha- Amange, the PDP politician, directed all enquiries on the matter to Mr. Ekpene, the managing director of the company. “I don’t know much about this matter,” the former senator said. “Only the MD can talk about it.” Mr. Ekpene however declined to comment. He did not answer or return calls. He also did not respond to an email sent to him more than a month ago. Below is a record of the crude oil liftings in the deal, as shown by market intelligence data.

Same old story after six month in power, nothing is moving forward.

APC has lost focus. Buhary should resign honourably as it is evident he cannot rule in the 21st century.

Enough of story of diversion, Nigerians are suffering, many are been killed daily by terrorist.

APC, party of professional liars and career looters.

Abo.ki........ Where is sauce
Put it salt and pepper

A student who knows the answers to an examination questions will never complain about his lecturer in the examination hall


Buhari does not know what to do that is why he is still complaining about Jonathan


Ibnsultan tell Buhari that corruption is just a symptom


The solution is true federalism


If he fails to restructure Nigeria, and oil price drops further, Nigerians will regard him as the worst President to have ever rule




Tell that outdated President what I told you now.

Dat so called jonathan is the most useless man I've ever seen...he and his thief gang member....na sango go kill all of dem

Meanwhile....EFCC....all dis money wey una dey recover....whr dem dey tym for EFCC to arrest EFCC is here

lalasticlala

SEE THE EXTENT THESE MEN GO JUST TO STEAL. THEY'RE EVEN SO DESPERATE IN THE ACT AS TO FLOAT A NEW COMPANY (JUST LIKE ALLISON). AND THIS COULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF BOTH THE PRESIDENT AND PETROLEUM MINISTER. JONATHAN DON KILL US

I SORRY FOR NIGERIA

in femi kuti's voice

lalasticlala..

IbnSultaan:
lalasticlala..

U dey call Oga you never put sauce!

@op I don't know what is your obsession with gej self. I read whole the crime was committed between the Zambian government and the middleman serb company. If you understand the way Nigeria sell it crude you will know that at the off opec market their are a lot of middle man company that trade on behalf of nnpc at a discount, now nnpc does not care about whether the product gets to the final destination all they care about their own side of the deal that is getting paid.
Now if serb paid to nnpc then there is nothing wrong on this end.
If the money didn't get to Zambian government account then, their present government has the right to investigate not our problem.
Serb is coy who wants to sell, any good offer from the Zambian government might be too juicy for them to resist.
That been said, if serb is found to be involved in shady deal outside the shores of this country they should be persecution.

Firefire:
Same old story after six month in power, nothing is moving forward.

APC has lost focus. Buhary should resign honourably as it is evident he cannot rule in the 21st century.

Enough of story of diversion, Nigerians are suffering, many are been killed daily by terrorist.

APC, party of professional liars and career looters.

but the corrupt drunk you call your hero did not resign after dragging Nigeria into this cesspit we are in today! that you have mouth to ask for good governance today is because jonathan lost...if not you for still be zombie till tomorrow. Agbero wailer!!!

Ask premium times and sahara reporters to go to court. dts how dey made dasuki looked black today its almost a no issue. smh for d mb am wasting

are we still on this apc lies?

Still playing Opposition politics!

RichDad1:
Jonathan was a curse to this nation.

And Buhari, a blessing?

jusRadical:
And Buhari, a blessing?

Obviously.

speculations! species ilations and distraction for PMB. someone is working hard to distract PMB with paparazzi tales!