Bankole granted bail, but re-arrested and charged afresh with ex-deputy Nafada

Hon OLADIMEJI BANKOLE, former Speaker of the House of Representatives...Embattled

On 13 June, a Federal High Court in Abuja presided over by Justice Donatus Okorowo granted bail to the embattled former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Oladimeji Bankole, in an initial corruption case brought against him last week.

But just moments later, as Bankole was still trying to meet the conditions for his bail, he was re-arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and slammed with fresh charges.

The bail granted to Bankole followed an application to the court, by his counsel last Friday (10 June). In that application, Bankole had urged the court to grant him bail on self recognition as the immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives and a holder of the national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR).

He had also argued that he had never been tried or convicted for any offence in Nigeria or any other jurisdiction and that his reputation and past record attest to the fact that he would not jump bail if granted one. He had also claimed to be solely responsible for the emotional and material support of his aged parents and other dependants who would suffer if he was denied bail.

After listening to those arguments and also to the objections of the prosecution, the court slated a ruling for 13 June and remanded Bankole in EFCC’s custody pending the ruling.

In deciding to grant bail to Bankole, the court observed that certain paragraphs of the counter affidavits filed by EFCC breached the Evidence Act, in that they failed to disclose the source of their information that Bankole was planning to flee the country to United Kingdom. The court therefore expunged the offending paragraphs from the EFCC’s counter affidavit. It said the anti-graft agency had failed to show cause why Bankole should not be granted bail and therefore granted him bail.

In granting Bankole’s prayer, the judge ruled that the bail is in the sum of five million Naira, with one surety who must own a landed property worth the bail sum within the jurisdiction of the court. He also ruled that the surety is to deposit the title document to the property with the court Registrar for verification as to its authenticity, as well as recent passport size photographs of himself/herself and that of Bankole. The court however stated that Bankole was to be remanded in EFCC custody until he meets the terms of bail.

However, Bankole’s relief at that ruling was short-lived.  For soon after that, EFCC operatives again grabbed him for another arraignment on fresh fraud charges.

On the 17 fresh counts filed against Bankole, along with his former deputy, Usman Bayero Nafada, the two men are charged with using the House of Representatives’ accounts with the United Bank for Africa Plc and First Bank of Nigeria Plc to obtain 38 billion naira in loans.

They further accuse Bankole and Nafada of sharing the funds with members of the House of Representatives under dubious expenses and staggering allowances. The charges say over 32 billion naira of the funds were used to “indiscriminately increase the allowances of members of the House of Representatives”, in violation of the Remuneration Package approved for Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission and the Financial Regulations of the Federal Government of Nigeria, 2009.

The last of the charges, Count 17, reads: “That you Dimeji Sabur Bankole and Usman Bayero Nafada, being Principal Officers of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, sometime around May 2011, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, did commit a felony, to wit: theft of the sum of Twelve Billion Naira(N12,000,000,000.00) from House of Representatives’ Overhead Account with the First Bank of Nigeria, Plc, property of the Federal Government of Nigeria, by dishonesestly disbursing the said amount to various accounts of Members of the House of Reps”.

The two men pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The trial judge, Justice Suleiman Belgore, ordered that they be remanded in EFCC custody till Thursday (16 June) when he will hear their applications for bail.

Conflicting reports over ex-Deputy Speaker Nafada: EFCC says “We have him”, Nafada says “You don’t”

Alhaji USMAN BAYERO NAFADA, former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives

On 12 June, there were conflicting reports over the whereabouts and status of the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Usman Bayero Nafada.

First, at about 4pm, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) reported that it had arrested the former deputy speaker. In a statement, the Commission’s head of media and publicity, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said Nafada reported to the commission’s office in Abuja following his invitation and that, after interrogation, he was remanded in its custody. The statement also said he would be arraigned alongside former Speaker Oladimeji Bankole, over alleged N40 billion fraud, on Monday 13 June.

A short while later, however, the EFCC sent out another message saying Nafada had an accident on his way to honour the commission’s invitation. The EFCC’s spokesman, Babafemi, said Nafada was in a hospital under the watch of the commission’s operatives, but would still be arraigned in court on 13 June.

Babafemi’s message to newsmen read: “Information reaching me now indicates that ex-Deputy Speaker Usman Nafada was involved in an accident on his way to honour our invitation. He is said to be receiving treatment in a hospital where EFCC operatives also keep surveillance around him. Please reflect accordingly in your report”.

However, the Abuja-based newspaper, Leadership, reports that it spoke exclusively with Nafada later in the evening, and that the former deputy speaker denied the reports of his arrest and accident. The newspaper quoted him as saying: “No, it is not true; I was never involved in an auto crash or arrested by the EFCC. I am in my house right now”.

Another newspaper, Next234, based in Lagos, reports that it contacted one of Nafada’s former media aides, Hammed Bello, who said he was not aware of the former deputy speaker’s arrest. A third newspaper, The Nation, which also contacted Bello, quotes him as saying: “It’s true that my boss was at the EFCC today. He has since returned home”. The EFCC, therefore, yet has to clarify whether Nafada has actually been arrested or not.

Whatever is the case, the former deputy speaker seems to be heading into troubled waters. According to EFCC sources, he apparently has two major cases to answer.

First, he might be arraigned before a court in Abuja, alongside former Speaker Bankole, on charges of illegal procurement of about N40 billion loan and misappropriation of same. Bankole, who was arrested on 5 June, had earlier been slammed with a 16-count charge. He was denied bail last Friday (10 June) and was remanded in the EFCC’s custody.

Secondly, Nafada will be quizzed over another loan of N12billion allegedly obtained from First Bank of Nigeria Plc, just three days before he and Bankole ended their tenure on 3 June 2011.

Former Speaker Oladimeji Bankole arrested by anti-graft agency in Abuja

Former Speaker OLADIMEJI BANKOLE...Embattled

On 5 May, the immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives (Lower Parliament), Hon Oladimeji Bankole, was arrested by officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja.

Mr Bankole, the fourth highest ranking official of the Federal Government, was apprehended at his residence in the high-brow Asokoro district of Abuja, at about 8pm. He was subsequently taken into EFCC custody.

According to the EFCC, Bankole whose tenure as presiding officer of the House ended on Friday 3 June, had been wanted over several alleged financial misdeeds. Among these are his taking a 10 billion naira (66.7 million USD) personal bank loan, using the House of Representatives’ account as collateral; misappropriation of 9 billion naira (about 60 million USD); and creaming off a handsome take from a 2.3 billion naira (about 15.3 million USD) scheme by which 380 units of Peugeot 407 cars were purchased for House members in 2008.

Local sources said the EFCC operatives had laid siege on Bankole’s house for four hours, but could not arrest him as he still had his security details. However, the standoff is said to have ended after the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS) and the Inspector General of Police, Mr Hafiz Ringim, finally withdrew the security personnel that had been assigned to him by their agencies.

Although Bankole had said he would submit himself to the EFCC on Monday 6 June, the Commission decided to close in on him a day earlier, as it learnt he had concluded plans to flee the country later that night.

A statement signed by the Commission’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said that: “An intelligence report … showed that the former speaker was planning to leave Abuja for Lagos on Sunday evening and thereafter flee the country through an illegal route”.

As to how soon Bankole may be arraigned in court, Babafemi reportedly said the former speaker has a lot of issues to clarify with the Commission ”so the issue of his being arraigned before a law court may have to wait for now, until all the investigations are completed by EFCC, which means he may be with us for some time to shed some light on allegations contained in petitions written against him”.

Bankole, 42, whose education included courses at Oxford University, U.K. and Harvard University in the U. S., was elected to the House of Representatives on the ticket of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2003.

His election as Speaker of the House, on 1 November 2007, followed a ruthless power struggle sparked by allegations that his predecessor, Patricia Etteh, had unilaterally authorized a contract of N628m (about 4.8 million USD) for renovation of her official residence, in breach of laid-down regulations. At the peak of that struggle, a Representative, Hon Shuaibu Safana, was floored during a free-for-all fight in the House, and eventually died in hospital on 19 October 2007. The embattled Etteh resigned on 30 October.

However, at its valedictory session last week, Bankole’s House exonerated Etteh of any wrong doing in the 2007 scandal. A triumphant Etteh herself declared: “Let it be put on record that no record or proceeding of this House ever indicted Right Honourable Patricia Etteh”. And then she added in a tone of condescension: “We have the right to educate Nigerians”.

On 21 June 2010, the Chairperson of the EFCC, Mrs Farida Waziri, had described the House of Representatives as “a house of scandals upon scandals”.  In the days ahead, many Nigerians will insist on their right to also be educated about all the scandalous allegations over which Hon Bankole has now been caged.