₦airaland Forum

Credible intelligence at the disposal of the Lagos State Police Command reveals that some hoodlums and cultists have perfected plans to celebrate what they call "7/7 of Africa aka Day" on Thursday, July 7, 2022.

In view of this, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Abiodun Alabi in very strong terms warns these groups with intent to scuttle the peace being enjoyed in the State to shelve their plans.

Consequently, the Command's tactical teams,

Area Commanders and DPOs in collaboration with other sister agencies are fully prepared to clamp down heavily on organisers, leaders and progenitors of such sinister groups whose aim is to cause wanton violence in the State.

The Command is therefore using this medium to appeal

to parents and guardians to warn their children/wards to steer clear of any unlawful gathering or society before, during and after the said date. Also, hoteliers are by this release warned not to allow their facilities be used for any cult related gathering as owners of such facilities will be liable to prosecutions.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Abiodun Alabi, fdc while urging all residents of Lagos State to be law abiding and vigilant enjoins them to go about lawful duties without fear of harassment or intimidation.

SP BENJAMIN HUNDEYIN, anipr, mipra,
Police Public Relations Officer,
Lagos State Command,
Ikeja-Lagos.

July 06, 2022.

Chairman of Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, ECTDA, Denge. Josef-Ken Onoh, on Wednesday, purchased the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship nomination form, pledging loyalty to his boss, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

Speaking shortly after procuring the nomination form, Onoh said that even though he has expressed interest to become Governor of the state after Governor Ugwuanyi, his boss decision on who succeeds him remains final and to which he will succumb to.

He said, “His (Governor Ugwuanyi) decision is ineliminable, final, and will be acceptable by me.”

Onoh had worked with Governor Ugwuanyi in the Governor’s first tenure as a Senior Special Assistant on Special Projects and was chairman joint task force Enugu capital territory development authority and Ministry of environment and from were he was subsequently made the Chairman of ECTDA in 2019.

He is believed to be one of the Governor’s aides who has been specially mentored with the capacity of succeeding Ugwuanyi, particularly as he hails from Enugu East Senatorial district, a zone that is conclusively believed will produce the next governor of Enugu State.

Son of the former Governor of Old Anambra state, Onoh was a member of the Enugu state House of Assembly between 2003 and 2007, where he was the Chairman of the House committee on Finance and Appropriation.

He is a foundation member of the PDP since 1998, when he contested for councilorship of new haven ward in Enugu North local government council and later contested for Enugu state house of Assembly in 2003, and Chairmanship of the Enugu north local government council but lost his cousin, Herbert Orji in 2007.

Onoh, as Chairman of ECTDA has been responsible for bringing to sanity the distorted Enugu Town planning regulation, a job that has earned him both accolades and dislike by a cross section of the city residents.

The Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers, on Tuesday, declared that there is an existing rotational agreement on the governorship position in the State.

This was an outcome of a meeting of the General Assembly of the traditional rulers in Enugu.

DAILY POST reports that this is coming amidst controversies in the State on which zone should produce Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s successor.

Whereas several politicians in the State are of the opinion that it is the turn of Enugu East Senatorial Zone, former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who is in the race, has come out to say there is no power rotation agreement in the State.

But addressing journalists after their meeting, the Chairman of the Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers, His Majesty, Igwe Amb. Lawrence Agubuzu, who read a communique, said there is power rotation agreement in the State.

The communique was signed by Agubuzu, as well as HRH Igwe Barr. R.S.N. Ezeh, 1st Deputy Chairman, HRH Igwe Barr. Julius Nnaji, 2nd Deputy Chairman, HRH Igwe Godwin Ndubueze, Ag. 3rd Deputy Chairman, HRH Igwe Simeon Osisi Itodo, Grand Patron, HRH Igwe Apostle Kingsley Chime, Patron and HRH Igwe Abel Nwobodo Patron.

They avowed that “the founding fathers of Enugu State, in their wisdom, mutually agreed that the prized office of the Governor of the State should be rotational among its three Senatorial Districts.

“In the light of the foregoing, the traditional rulers unequivocally affirmed, re-affirmed and declared that the governorship elections in Enugu State are based on rotation, through which, in 1999, Enugu East Senatorial District took the first slot, followed by Enugu West in 2007 and Enugu North in 2015, respectively.

“It is now the turn of Enugu East Senatorial zone again.”

The royal fathers declared that, “all the political parties that wish to participate in the 2023 gubernatorial election in Enugu State should pick their candidates from Enugu East Senatorial District, comprising Isi-Uzo, Enugu East, Enugu North, Enugu South, Nkanu East and Nkanu West LGAs.

“This will enhance security, peace and harmony that prevail in our dear Enugu State.”

“The traditional rulers enjoin all political gladiators and political partiers in Enugu State to embrace this positive attitude for the sustenance of the unity, peace, security and development of the State,” the communique further stated.

The Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria (AMEN), Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, on Tuesday, said that Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State remains the most peaceful governor in the country.

Rev. Fr. Mbaka added that Ugwuanyi is a father to all and a very friendly governor who cannot do without making peace, stressing that “his name should be peace”.

The Spiritual Director, who spoke when he led delegations of Red Star Belgrade Football Club, Serbia and Antalyaspor Football Club, Turkey, to the Government House, Enugu, on a courtesy visit to Gov. Ugwuanyi, maintained that peace is in the governor’s nature and “peace is in his integrity”.

The cleric informed the governor that the delegations from Serbia and Turkey were “football Scouts who decided the use Enugu State for their scouting activity”, adding that they came to Enugu on behalf of Adoration Football Club.

Rev. Fr. Mbaka disclosed that the youth of the Adoration Ministry who can play football are engaged in the sporting activity and stand the chance of being picked to play international football in their clubs in Serbia and Turkey.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UDE Sports Management Limited, Uche Dominic Egbukwu who was appointed as the Sporting Director of Adoration Football Club, Enugu State (South East), commended Gov. Ugwuanyi for his peaceful disposition and uncommon leadership qualities.

According to him, “Among all the eastern governors, you (Ugwuanyi) are number one who don’t have any controversy. We respect you and respect Enugu State government. Here is a peaceful place, there is no problem of security here and the people of Enugu State love you”.

In his speech, the Sporting Director and Chief Scouts, Red Star Belgrade Football Club, Serbia, Mr. Milos, thanked Gov. Ugwuanyi for the hospitality and for welcoming them, and expressed optimism that they will find many players in Enugu after the scouting activity.

Responding, Gov. Ugwuanyi welcomed the delegations to Enugu State and described their choice of Enugu for the international sporting programme as a worthy decision.

The governor assured them of his administration’s support, stressing that Enugu State is a peaceful state and has a lot of talents who can add value to football worldwide.

“If our people are discovered, we will benefit a lot”, he said.

Gov. Ugwuanyi therefore appreciated Rev. Fr. Mbaka and his team for the initiative of promoting sports development in the state and beyond.

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State inspects the 600-seater Banquet Hall (nearing completion) with basement offices for meetings and other official engagements, and other multiple projects within the premises of the newly remodeled Old Government Lodge, GRA, Enugu.

The ongoing projects inspected by the governor, aimed at saving cost of governance and enhancing Enugu’s leading status as the historic capital of the South East geo-political zone of Nigeria, include the remodeled Old Government Lodge with a newly constructed Annex (completed); 10 units of Executive Guest Houses and 24 units of Guest Flats with a Dining Hall, for routine guests of the state government; a standard Lawn Tennis Court for physical exercise, fitted with a pavilion for spectators and lighting facilities; and landscaping works at the site, among others.

Ahead of the 2023 Presidential election, young Nigerians have demanded that each candidate that would be vying to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari must reserve specifically the Vice Presidential seat for the youths, in order to channel a new focus for the country as well as ensure the nation become better for everyone.

They also asked that the State governorship candidates across the country should also tow the same line and zone the Deputy Governorship seats to the youths to inculcate the need for nation-building in the next generation of leaders.

The young Nigerians said that the move was to prevent a leadership vacuum that may arise when the crops of leaders across the country retire from active politics and the need to proffer solutions to the country’s challenges emanates.

According to them, reserving these seats for the youths remain the best system to teach the youths how to get involved, and start learning the ropes from the leaders that have garnered experience over the years.

The Young Nigerians under the aegis of Youth Engagement and Inclusion Agenda, made the demands on Monday after several minutes of deliberations on the state of the nation and the fate of the youths after the next general elections across the country.

Addressing pressmen after their inaugural meeting in Ikeja, the Convener of the group, Idris Aregbe, described their requests as not too difficult to be approved by any of the presidential candidates.

Aregbe noted that they were not particular about any party but what they were after was basically to ensure that a young Nigerian occupy the seat as well as become the country’s number two citizen.

The convener stressed that the youths were very influential and that their number could swing the vote in the right direction that would favour all.

“We believe so much in ourselves as youths and the number that we have which is also our strength and that is why we have decided to come together as well as speak with one voice.

“This is a group of people that understand what politics is all about and we will definitely work to ensure that we get it right. This is a youth agenda that will ensure inclusion for the youth. We are ready to ensure that the youths get their desired position in government come 2023.

“We are one Nigeria and the only thing that separates Nigerians is either you are youth or the elderly. We are willing to ensure that the youths become part of governance in 2023”, he added.

Other members of the group, Japheth Odesanya, said that their desire was to ensure that beginning from 2023, the country is governed by anyone that is ready to build the youth and make key stakeholders in the government.

“We will use all our energy, as youths, to galvanise and mobilise young Nigerians to see this through because the time has come for the youths to start manning key leadership positions across the country”, Odesanya added

A commercial tricycle rider, Mr Emmanuel Akachukwu, on Sunday apologized to the Enugu State Ministry of Transport over his beating of the traffic and misconduct on Presidential Road within Enugu metropolis.

Akachukwu tendered the apology when Chairman of Association of Tricycle Riders Transport Union in Enugu State, Mr Benjamin Ikah and ministry officials held a meeting to understand what lead to his collapsing and being rushed to a hospital on Friday, Dec. 10.

The tricycle rider, while kneeing to apologise, said: “I can see from the video recording that I beat the traffic by passing when the traffic light is already red. I sincerely apologise for my negative conduct.

“I am assuring the ministry and the state government that I will not constitute nuisances and social disruption on the road any more. I was not extorted as a version of the incident story ongoing in the social media allegedly said.

“Rather I will quietly come to the ministry’s headquarters and lay my complaint to superior officers that will definitely listen to me”.

Earlier, Ikah thanked the ministry for taking care of all Akachukwu medical bills notwithstanding that he caused the complication leading to his hospitalisation after he alleged collapsed when he was stubborn while moving his impounded tricycle to the ministry.

The chairman, however, appealed to the ministry to rescind its decision in taking the matter to court, adding that the tricycle association and the ministry had continued to have an harmonious relationship over the years.

According to him, I have seen the video clip of the incident and how it initially started. My member is at fault and should have followed the ministry traffic officers to their office or call me to resolve this issue immediately.

“The association has enjoyed robust relationship with Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and we see him as the best friendly governor to commercial tricycle operators in the history of the state.

“We are apologizing and same time appealing to the ministry to find a way to forgive Akachukwu and close this negative incident in the interest of moving the state forward and continuing our relationship,” Ikah said.

Responding, the Permanent Secretary of the state’s Ministry of Transport, Mr Ogbonna Idike, noted that the ministry officials did their job professionally and showed him video recording of him beating the traffic politely.

According to him, what was represented by an online publication by coalition of right group in a newspaper over the incident was a complete misinformation as the ministry officials did their job professionally and with politeness.

“There was no issue of extortion as clarified in Akachukwu’s testimony; no one beat him and just that he was being gradually held for his tricycle to be towed and he allegedly fainted,” he said.


Idike said that the ministry had heard plea of Akachukwu and Ikah, adding: “I have directed that Akachukwu’s tricycle should be released free-of-charge and every tricycle rider in this meeting will have a free booklet of the state road rules and code”.

Meanwhile, Idike said that the state will launch its “Operation Free Flow of Traffic in Yuletide” on Dec. 15, 2021 and it would run to Jan. 5, 2022.

He noted that the ministry would carry out the operation in collaboration with Federal Road Safety Corps, police and NSCDC as well as some council areas providing Neighbourhood Watch and Forest Guard officials to join to ensure hitch-free traffic.

“We have already trained 200 officials from Neighbourhood Watch and Forest Guard officials in some council areas to join our 314 ministry traffic control officers for the special operation meant to keep traffic flowing in all routes in the state.

“The ministry is providing the 200 officials with a marked out reflective jacket for them to be easily identified as traffic officials during this yuletide,” he said.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo has vowed to expose those plotting to destabilise the peace in Enugu State.

The warning came on the heels of a group led by one Obozoba, who claimed he was coming to lead a one million-man march in Enugu to demand Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s scorecard.

In a statement, President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council, Okwu Nnabuike, said he had cautioned about the activities of fifth columnists that were uncomfortable with Ugwuanyi’s good rating ahead of the 2023 elections.

Okwu said it was baseless for any right thinking and honest person to say there was lack of good governance in Enugu State when all indicators and statistics showed otherwise.

He said hiding under a non-existing alias, ‘Ohanaeze Ndigbo General Assembly’ was part of the game plan by politicians who feel so threatened by Ugwuanyi’s rising profile.

“We read with consternation the report in a section of the media credited to one faceless person, who goes by the name Obizoba and who claims to be the director general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo General Assembly Worldwide.

“Our first thought was to ignore the faceless report, but we had to respond so as not to allow it to have credence in the minds of some gullible and uninformed members of the public.

“Apart from the fact that there is no such group in Igbo land, all the claims made in the said statement are false narratives. Contrary to the baseless claims, Enugu State has remained one of the safest states in the country, even in the face of the current unrest in the South East and this is as a result of the quality leadership being provided by Governor Ugwuanyi.

“It is also not in doubt that no governor, since the history of Enugu State, has put up the number of quality infrastructure at the rural communities compared to what Ugwuanyi has done.

“Good governance is not measured by bogus projects but accountability, transparency, human-oriented infrastructure projects, welfarism, among others, and the governor has since scored above average on all these areas as has been attested by credible organisations and agencies.

“It, therefore, beats our imagination that some faceless groups would come up with claims against the governor. As we said earlier, this is all part of the 2023 game. But we warn that those behind this game should tread with caution. We know them already and we are going to expose them soon, together with their pay masters.

“The Enugu people are treasuring a peaceful state and we will not fold our hands to allow some selfish people to truncate the peace in the name of selfish politics. It is only God that gives power, it is only God that knows who will live till 2023; for that reason, people should stop playing God just to demonise their perceived political opponents.”

Eleven years ago, Abubakar Bagudu, the current governor of Kebbi State, but then a senator, dispatched a delegation to Singapore in search of a new haven to shelter his controversial wealth, which is a target of ongoing forfeiture proceedings by the United States Department of Justice.

Investigators say the huge funds, warehoused offshore, is part of billions of dollars Mr Bagudu helped the Sani Abacha family to steal from Nigeria in the 1990s.

Referred by Farrer and Co., a prestigious centuries-old London law firm that has represented the British royal family, Mr Bagudu’s choice of secrecy provider in Singapore was Asiaciti Trust, an entity notorious for helping clients hide behind opaque offshore trusts to launder dirty money across borders.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore, MAS, imposed a fine of one million and a hundred thousand dollars on Asiaciti in July 2020 for “serious breaches” of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations between 2007 and 2018.

When on February 23, 2010, Mr Bagudu’s delegation – comprising his brother, Ibrahim Bagudu, and London lawyer, Ben Davies, from Byrne and Partners, now a part of PCB Byrne – met with Asiaciti’s officials, they registered his preference for a new structure of secrecy to oil the flow of his dirty wealth for the benefits of himself and his family.

In 1997, some 13 years earlier, Mr Bagudu had structured offshore holdings Ridley Trust and Ridley Group in notorious tax and secrecy havens, Guernsey and the British Virgin Islands, positioning himself as the unseen but ultimate beneficiary. But in 2010, he wanted to terminate the Ridley structure and transfer his assets into another structure, hence the need for Asiaciti’s service in Singapore.

The reason, according to a 2010 Asiaciti memo, was control. As noted in the memo, Ibrahim told the February 2010 meeting that his brother, Mr Bagudu – “the client” – had become “disillusioned” with institutional and independent trustees (of the Ridley Trust) as they (he and his brother) had no control over their action or inaction and suggested they feared they could lose the hidden assets.

He then insisted that any new trustee arrangements to be erected in Singapore “must ensure that the family cannot lose ‘control’ of the assets.”

In the months that followed, 99 million euros in cash and securities was then transferred from Ridley to a new structure enabled by Asiaciti, which brushed aside red flags about Mr Bagudu’s controversial background and source of his wealth. Asiaciti acted with advice from Farrer and Co. and Byrne and Partners, now a part of PCB Byrne, documents showed.

Mr Bagudu is long known to have played an instrumental role in the Abacha conspiracy to steal and launder billions of dollars belonging to Nigeria. But how he set up complicated structures of secrecy to hide stolen money as well as the role of his enablers, including prestigious British law firms and Serious Organised Crimes Agency (SOCA) the predecessor of the National Crimes Agency (NCA), has never been crystal clear.

Pandora Papers investigation – led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, including more than 600 journalists, including some from PREMIUM TIMES, and about 150 news organisations around the world – uncovered financial secrets, including those of politicians, former and serving public officials, including known and suspected kleptocrats such as Mr Bagudu. Involving 11.9 million leaked records, which journalists sifted through for two years, the Pandora Papers project is the biggest collaborative transnational investigation in the history of journalism.

The leaked records came from 14 offshore services firms from around the world who help clients set up shell companies and design opaque structures to conceal their financial dealings.

The Bagudu Blue structure
As documents showed, Asiaciti helped Mr Bagudu to set up a multi-layered structure with footprints in at least three countries, namely Singapore, Cook Islands, and the United Kingdom. At the head of the structure is Blue Holdings Trust, registered in Cooks Island as a “purpose trust” to “wholly” own a Singapore-incorporated private trust company, Blue PTC Pte Ltd., with Mr Bagudu’s brother, Ibrahim, and an Asiaciti nominee as directors.

The Blue PTC Pte Ltd is in turn the trustee of two family trusts – Blue Family Trust (1) and Blue Family Trust (2). Under each trust, then, is a Singapore family-owned investment holding company, FHIC, Blue Holdings (1) Pte Limited, and Blue Holdings (2) Pte Limited, respectively.

Each of the FHIC has an investment account with Waverton Investment Management, formerly JO Hambro Investment Management, and James Hambro and Partners, both London-based firms. Assets kept with the two firms are now frozen, according to U.S. court documents. America has been at the forefront of helping Nigeria recover the Abacha loot, saying that hundreds of millions of dollars stolen were laundered through banks under its jurisdiction.

The beneficiaries of each of the family trusts and the corresponding investments domiciled in London were Mr Bagudu, his wife, seven children, and his brother, Ibrahim.

In September 2010, according to minutes of some meetings we reviewed, a sum of 99 million euros was moved from Ridley through the Blue PTC in Singapore to the investment accounts in London and distributed as follows:

Blue Holdings (1) (17,007,016 euros): Waverton – seven million euros; James Hambro – 10,007,016 euros.

Blue Holdings (2) (81,841,163 euros): Waverton – 23 million euros; James Hambro – 58,841,163 euros.

Source Of Funds: Bagudu and the Abacha plunder machine
The systematic plunder of Nigeria by the Abacha family as well as the worldwide hunt for the stolen funds, worth billions of dollars, is reckoned to be one of the worst cases of kleptocracy and offshore shenanigans in the world.

Between 1998, when Mr Abacha suddenly died, and 2020, 3.6 billion U.S. dollars have been recovered from the Abacha family and their most prolific bagman, Mr Bagudu, now a governor in Nigeria’s impoverished Kebbi State.

The 163 million U.S. dollars recovery from Jersey in 2003 directly involved Mr Bagudu, who then negotiated a deal with the U.S. and Jersey to return the funds to Nigeria in exchange for Jersey’s withdrawal of an extradition request and his free return to Nigeria. He spent six months in American federal prison in Houston while awaiting extradition to Jersey. The deal to return the $163 million was to avoid that extradition.

Also, the latest recovery – 308 million U.S. dollars from Jersey in 2020 – was laundered by Mr Bagudu.

Mr Bagudu was involved with all the offshore front companies and bank accounts – from the British Virgin Islands to Ireland, Switzerland, England, Guernsey, and Jersey – used to steal and launder billions of dollars belonging to Nigeria under the Abacha regime as a director, signatory on accounts or prime beneficiary, according to U.S. court documents and incorporation filings from the Pandora Papers leaks.

In stealing the funds, Mr Abacha set up what Africa Confidential described as a “Plunder Machine,” involving his family, officials, and associates such as Mr Bagudu, complemented by established western and local banks and offshore enablers.

In pushing for the forfeiture of stolen funds laundered through the U.S., American investigators said the criminal network used fraudulent schemes to make dirty money, according to court documents.

One was “security vote fraud,” whereby Mr Abacha and his National Security Adviser Ismaila Gwarzo and others were said to have stolen more than two billion U.S. dollars by “fraudulently and falsely representing that the funds were to be used for national security purposes.” Between 1994 and 1998, they were said to have made over 60 false claims of “security emergencies” to withdraw huge funds from the Central Bank of Nigeria, then headed by Paul Ogumah.

“Rather than use the funds for national security purposes, the stolen money was transported out of Nigeria and deposited into accounts controlled by General Abacha’s associates, including Mohammed Abacha and Mr Bagudu,” the court in Washington, D.C. was told.

Other schemes were bribery and a dramatic conspiracy by Mr Abacha’s son, Mohammed, and Mr Bagudu to lend money stolen from Nigeria back to Nigeria “with zero risks and at an enormous profit” by using proceeds of the security vote fraud to purchase hundreds of millions of dollars of U.S. dollar-denominated Nigerian bonds, called Nigerian Par Bonds, NPBs.

As part of the Brady Bond programme of the 1980s, the NPBs were U.S. dollar-denominated securities whose interest payments were guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury. The Brady Bond programme was created to help developing countries – like Nigeria – holding substantial debt to restructure their debt into bonds. Nigeria first offered the NPBs in 1992.

In another scheme, the conspirators were also said to have defrauded Nigeria of more than 282 million U.S. dollars by causing the government to repurchase Nigeria’s own debt from one of their companies for more than double what Nigeria would have paid to repurchase the debt in the open market.

According to American investigators, the initial funding of Mr Bagudu’s Ridley’s account at Credit Agricole Indosuez, London, to the tune of 90 million U.S. dollars in 1998 was from the Par bonds and the debt-buy-back fraud.

The Ridley assets were later transferred to the Blue structure facilitated by Asiaciti and are the outstanding defendant assets being targeted for forfeiture by the United States, court documents showed.

The U.S. filed its forfeiture litigation in 2014. It said, then, the assets held by the Blue holdings, traceable to the old Ridley structure, and domiciled in London investment portfolios held with Waverton and James Hambro, were last valued at a total of 96 million euros.

Barely a week after Mr Bagudu’s delegation’s initial visit to Singapore in February 2010, Asiaciti determined that he “has a somewhat controversial background,” making references to his association with the Abacha family and his involvement in “extensive litigation between 2000 and 2006, both criminal investigations and civil claims,” Asiaciti’s internal memo showed.

Despite this determination, as well as the awareness that Mr Bagudu’s had since 2003 admitted to financial irregularities as he agreed to return about 163 million US dollars to Nigeria to avoid extradition to Jersey from the U.S., Asiaciti accepted Mr Bagudu as a client in 2010.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore, MAS, slammed Asiaciti with a fine of one million and a hundred thousand dollars in 2020 for the company’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing failures between 2007 and 2018, covering the period the company helped Mr Bagudu set up the Blue structure to shelter assets said to have been made from the plunder of Nigeria.

“We maintain a strong compliance programme and each of our offices have passed third-party audits for Anti-Money Laundering & Counter-Financing of Terrorism practices in recent years,” Asiaciti said in a written reply to ICIJ over the Pandora Papers. “However, no compliance programme is infallible – and when an issue is identified, we take necessary steps with regard to the client engagement and make the appropriate notifications to regulatory agencies.”

Mr Bagudu’s brother, Ibrahim, continues to claim the assets, seeking to prevent their forfeiture to Nigeria, court documents showed.

In a reply to written questions by The Guardian of UK in conjunction with PREMIUM TIMES and ABC of Australia, Nicola Boulton of PCB Byrne, Mr Bagudu’s lawyers said “all monies held by the Blue Trusts are lawfully held,” citing a 2003 settlement between Mr Bagudu and the Nigerian government under then-President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Mr Bagudu is yet to respond to further inquiries PREMIUM TIMES sent to him three weeks ago as part of the reporting for this story.

In defending its role, when questioned by authorities following the unsealing of the indictment against Mr Bagudu by the U.S. in 2014, Asiaciti said, “Farrer & Co, a prestigious London law firm, who acts for the Royal Family had accepted the explanations provided and was prepared to act for him, having strict UK CDD requirements.” This was contained in a defence Asiaciti wrote to the regulator.

Indeed, as documents showed, between Byrne and Farrer and Co., Asiaciti was advised that Mr Bagudu would not be a problematic client and that the funds he sought to shelter were not derived from criminal sources. That turned out to be false.

In an April 2010 memo to press for the acceptance of Mr Bagudu as a client, Bernard O’Sullivan of Byrne said there were no outstanding claims to Mr Bagudu’s assets and that, in 2003, Nigeria, then led by President Olusegun Obasanjo, reached a “global settlement” with Mr Bagudu.

The settlement Mr O’Sullivan referred to was that which was executed when Mr Bagudu agreed to return about 163 million U.S. dollars to Nigeria in 2003. Mr O’Sullivan attached a copy of an August 8, 2003, confidential statement by Mr Obasanjo to withdraw all claims from criminal and civil proceedings against Mr Bagudu.

This defence was restated in Byrne’s reply following Pandora Papers reporting. “Mr Bagudu reached a compromise with the FRN (Nigeria) in 2003 by which all claims against him and his family were ended and the FRN received cash and certain rights,” Byrne’s Mr Boulton said.

Mr Obasanjo, who entered the settlement agreement with Mr Bagudu, could not be reached to comment for this story as he was said to be travelling in Ethiopia. But sources close to him said it was a “pragmatic step” by the administration that was then desperate to recover stolen funds and that believed Mr Bagudu could help disclose where the funds were stashed. In return, Mr Obasanjo then signed the settlement ending all claims, globally, against Mr Bagudu.

Keeping the Bagudu Dirty Money Flowing – The Enablers

Mr Boulton said Mr Bagudu helped Nigeria recover at least one billion dollars following Mr Abacha’s death.

As documents suggest, between the time the Blue structure was created in 2010 and when its assets were frozen in 2014, 4.6 million dollars or $6.8 million euros was disbursed for Mr Bagudu’s children’s education and the “generous” lifestyle his family “was accustomed to”.

The transferred sum included one hundred thousand dollars annuity to his brother Ibrahim and another three million U.S. dollars moved into Ibrahim’s bank account for “investment in real estate and property development in Abuja.”

In one case in 2013, Farrer and Co helped Bagudu ensure funds were distributed to his family and resisted Asiaciti’s “level of scrutiny”, an attempt at enhanced due diligence.

In an email, Diana Davidson of Farrer and Co. wrote that Mr Bagudu’s brother Ibrahim was “not entirely happy at the level of scrutiny being sought at the sole discretion of Asiaciti”.

In response, an Asiaciti’s client services official said they were “in no way inferring that the distribution requests are suspicious in any way,” and reminded Ms Davidson that Mr Bagudu was a politically exposed person, PEP, thus the transfers he sought required enhanced due diligence.

A breakdown of disbursements showed that 100 thousand U.S. dollars were advised to be paid out for Mr Bagudu’s “son’s school fees” days after Farrer and Co’s Ms Davidson helped him pressure Asiaciti.

But beyond the role played by British firms in the Bagudu shenanigans, the British public service institution was also involved, documents suggested.

In a witness statement in 2015, Asiaciti said Farrer and Co and Byrne & Partners received consent from the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency, SOCA, now the National Crimes Agency (NCA), to facilitate the restructuring of Mr Bagudu’s offshore holdings in 2010.

“A protective disclosure was made to SOCA in the UK and their consent was obtained to the resettlement of the Ridley Trust into the Blue Family Trusts before funds were transferred from Ridley Group Limited to Blue Holdings 1 Pte. Ltd and Blue Holdings 2 Pte. Ltd,” Asiaciti’s Karen Hanlong submitted.

Years later, NCA started working with the U.S. to hunt the assets held by Mr Bagudu from the Abacha plunder of Nigeria.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has made known its determination to rescue Ogun State from what it called the “inept claws” of Governor Dapo Abiodun’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The party said it is also ready to reposition the state for an all encompassing socio-economic prosperity.

This, a leader of the party, Hon. Ladi Adebutu, described as historical tasks that must be achieved through reactivating compassionate partnership with the people of Ogun.

DAILY POST reports that Adebutu had spoken at the party’s State Executive Meeting held in Abeokuta, the state capital.

PDP spokesperson in Ogun, Akinloye Bankole, told DAILY POST on Saturday that the party, at the meeting presided over by the State Chairman, Sikirulai Ogundele, appreciated the sterling leadership qualities of Adebutu and his relentless support for all party activities and programs, both in Ogun State and in Nigeria.

Bankole said the former lawmaker was at the meeting announced officially as a member of the State Exco of the party in an Ex-Officio capacity.

Speaking, Adebutu had assured of his relentless support for the party in scaling all hurdles that could affect the electoral fortunes of the party in the future.

He was said to have also urged members to co-habit as an indivisible entity, operating in harmony under the leadership of Ogundele.

“Hon. Ladi Adebutu also charged members that the tasks of rescuing Ogun state from the inept claws of the ruling APC government and repositioning of the state for all encompassing socio-economic prosperity are historical tasks that must be achieved by reactivating compassionate partnership with the people of Ogun State,” it was said.

Adebutu had earlier accused the Abiodun government of diverting about N64billion belonging to the 20 local governments in 21 months.

He suggested that local government elections in Nigeria should be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission, instead of the states.

SmartPolician:
Ogun State is a constant reminder that having a huge IGR is nonsense. What every state needs is accountable and prudent management of resources. Roads in densely populated places such as Agbara, Alagbole and Akute are in a total mess.

Undoubtedly, the metropolitan city of Sango-Ota and neighbouring communities have never had it so bad in recent past in terms of good road network.

To say that the residents, motorists and other road users are currently in a state of dilemma is to say the least, as they are already pissed off, worried and angry that the horrible roads are turning from bad to worst on daily basis.
Despite its strategic location, linking Nigeria to other West Africa countries and the host to large fraction of industries in the state, coupled with its proximity to Lagos State, the situation of the roads is bad, except the recently commissioned Osi Ota road connecting Lagos.

From Joju road on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway through Sango-Idiroko road, Oju-ore, Lafenwa, Itele, Sango-Ijoko, Bible College road, Temidire, Dalemo to Sango Park, among others, the roads are in horrible state of disrepair.
On Wednesday, angry residents of the area forcefully stopped the convoy of the state Governor while on the campaign tour of the area ahead of Saturday’s council poll, demanding explanation for his failure to fix the Abeokuta-Ota-Lagos Expressway.

The governor, while pleading with the residents, blamed the Federal Government for frustrating his administration’s efforts at reconstructing the road.

The residents trooped to the Sango-Idiroko highway to express their displeasure over the state of roads. Another round of protest by angry residents of the area led to the governor’s stopover at the Joju junction on the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta Expressway after the initial protest at the Sango-Idiroko highway, an indication of the level of frustration in the area.

Though the state government has always claimed that the stretch from Conoil through Joju to tollgate on the Lagos-Abeokuta road, which is currently under construction is a Federal Government road, but the inner roads, which should have served as alternative routes to lessen the agony of road users, are like dungeons.

For motorists and other road users, it is another tortuous long wait as the construction work on that long stretch of the expressway has worsened traffic flow.

Currently, the most terrible spots along the expressway are Joju Junction; the stretch towards Conoil Junction; the bridge edge, Sango Park and the Bible college side, which stretch to the tollgate.

Traffic in and around these bad spots is always at a standstill. Once this happens, policemen and traffic control officers are always helpless. Once there is a downpour, the state of the road is worsened, and areas like Joju Junction and Sango Park become waterlogged. Consequently, passengers are often stranded in those areas for hours, especially at peak periods.
On one of such occasions recently, vehicular traffic stretched from Sango Motor Park, went over the bridge up to Joju, thereby forcing impatient motorists to drive against traffic, a decision that worsened the situation.

Some inner roads like the Plaza and Animashaun on the other side of Sango, constructed in 2008 were virtually washed off by the rains within four months. Joju road, which should have lessened the burden on the Sango-Oju Ore road, is laden with several potholes and craters. The same goes for Maltina road, Temidire and Tarmac road that extended to the night market.

The experience of the residents on daily basis is disheartening, considering the magnitude of their catastrophe is endless, as they have been forced to cope with a situation beyond their power. It was learnt that some of the residents working in Lagos have abandoned the area for now, while others only come home during the weekends.

A commuter driver, who gave his name simply as Seedorf said the few of them who ply the roads on a daily basis are taking serious risks, because of incidents of tragic vehicular somersaults that have become the order of the day on the roads.

For now, some commuter buses have also abandoned the route, as the state of the road has constantly damage their vehicles. It was learnt that the development has forced them to jerk up transport fare to the discomfort of commuters. Abule-Egba to Ifo, which previously was between N200 to N250, is now between N400 and N500. Sango to Ifo has increased to N200 from N100.

The Ijoko road too has not feared better as it has been dotted with potholes and craters. Since the 32km Sango-Ijoko-Agbado-Ojodu Abiodun road was abandoned by the immediate past administration, it is also fast deteriorating

The project, which started on October 22, 2013, has practically been abandoned. After years, what many thought to be a blessing, has come to haunt them, as the road, which is the artery into the border communities and Berger on the Lagos/Ibadan expressway, is now a burden. The over 20 border communities on the axis, majority of which fall under Agbado area of Ifo Local Council are currently reeling in pains.
Residents of the communities, which include: Alagbole, Olambe, Akeredolu, Peters, Adiyan, Opeilu, Akute, Itoki, Giwa, Ajuwon, Gideon, Abule-Ekun, Ibaragun, Sabo, Alagbole, Idi-Orogbo, Fabolude, Matogun, Adiyan Alausa, Otun, Oke-Aro, Egon, Arinfanla, Osere, Ojodu-Abiodun, Denro, Agbado, Ijoko and Sango Ota, who spoke with The Guardian, claimed that the uncompleted road project had brought them untold hardships. Sadly, some of whose properties were demolished claimed they are still waiting to be compensated.

The Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi Abdulkabir Obalanlege told The Guardian that the terrible state of the road is driving investors away from the ancient town. “I feel really bad because this is not good enough for our survival. The fact that we are the business hub of the state makes it very important for the Governor to do everything possible to ensure that roads within Ota axis come first because we generate lots of revenue into the coffers of the state and the Federal Governments.

“Though it is a federal road but unfortunately we have been abandoned by the Federal Government. I spoke with the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola twice on the plight of the people; he told me there is no fund to execute the project. Though with the Sukuk loan, the contractors are working, but the pace of the work is too slow, making things hard for the motorists.”

He appealed to the state government to try and make the inner roads passable. “If it’s difficult for people to access the federal roads, back roads should be given some facelift so that people can smile. Even if the state is blaming the Federal Government, they should play their own part and repair the inner roads. Once this is done, people will have alternatives. Even the Itele-Lafenwa road that links with Ayobo in Lagos will make things easy for our people if it is rehabilitated.”

A resident of the town, Barrister Ayo Abraham, described the current state of Sango roads as a big shame to the current and the immediate past administration in the state.

“I remember clearly that Gbenga Daniel constructed some inner roads like the Plaza road and Animashaun on the other side in April, 2008 but by August they had been virtually washed off by the rains. Those roads did not last two years.

“The years of Ibikunle Amosun saw the inauguration of the most ambitious network of an international road that should connect Lagos at Berger to Idiroko by the border of Ogun State, but the project has been abandoned. The inner roads he did in Ota are is state of disrepair, while the short distance of the Ijoko road which was hurriedly done to mark 40 years of Ogun State is now full of several portions that constitute a nightmare to car and truck owners.”

He said the short distance road from the flyover bridge to Joju roundabout by Access College is the worst portion of the road “that I know in the whole of Southwest in Nigeria. Granted that Julius Berger is now working on portions of Lagos Abeokuta road, which we pray will not be abandoned again; the neglect of feeder roads in presents Ogun State as a state without a government.

“Meanwhile, for the past three years palliative works which never lasted had been carried out on some portions of the road even from Itori to Papalanto and from the flyover bridge to Cannaan land but the government would heap loads of heavy or crushed stones on the roads and within a short time they turn to dust so the roads would return to the original state of disrepair.”

He said countless former car owners have either lost their cars due to bad roads or pack them at home for lack of access roads while very heavy vehicle carrying either raw materials to or finished products from the many factories in the environ easily tumble on those roads leading to losses of goods and injuries to pedestrians and Okada riders.

“There is endless standstill in the city everyday and late into the night now and people are really suffering. Ogun State Governor must arise to fix these roads in a manner that will make them to last in view of heavy international and inter state routes in this area without delay.”

Another resident, Matthew Adeleye, said nobody gets to Ota at the moment and not ask if government or its agencies are in place at all. “The situation keeps putting into question the essence of electing leaders into various positions. Those of us who ply the roads on a daily basis recite Psalms 91 and 23 with continuous fervent prayers not to be victims of tragic vehicular somersaults that have become the order of the day in Ota.

“Despite its strategic location, linking Nigeria to other West Africa countries and the host to large fraction of industries in the state, coupled with its proximity to Lagos State, the situation of the roads is bad, except the recently commissioned Osi Ota that links with Lagos.

“The influx of people from the squeezed Lagos into Ota of course makes it densely populated. Any attempt to pay less attention to Ota or not to give it the prominence it deserves because of political reasons will certainly amount to punishing innocent Nigerians of all tribes, young and old. The situation is so bad that one is not even talking of a particular road but all roads in Ota.

“You can fool some people sometimes but can’t fool all people all the times. In view of the aforementioned, something has to be done fast and urgently too. Any attempt to defer kangaroo palliative till when election is approaching will certainly be catastrophic and in fact constitute a bitter pill to swallow for Ota community.”

During the protest, the Governor apologised for the deplorable conditions of the roads, pleading with the residents to exercise patience pending when his administration would find a solution to the problem. The governor said he made several efforts to speak with the Federal Government over possible takeover of the roads for reconstruction, adding that he did not get approval.

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