REA scam: How Elumelu, two legislatures regained freedom
Ugbane, an erstwhile lawmaker and Elumelu, were previously chairmen of Senate and House Committees on Power in 2008 while Jibo, was a former House committee member. They were first arraigned on October 31, 2009 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 130 counts charges of conspiracy, breach of due process, criminal conspiracy, diversion […]
Ugbane, an erstwhile lawmaker and Elumelu, were previously chairmen of Senate and House Committees on Power in 2008 while Jibo, was a former House committee member.
They were first arraigned on October 31, 2009 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 130 counts charges of conspiracy, breach of due process, criminal conspiracy, diversion and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of N5.2 billion.
They were specifically linked to alleged malpractices in the 2008 amended budget of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) grid extension and solar electricity projects. The anti-graft agency also alleged that they influenced the siting of the projects in some constituencies and companies that executed the projects.
Many observers believe the lawmakers’ travail is connected to the findings in the investigation on the ineffectiveness of the power sector despite the enormous financial resources channeled to it between 1999 and 2007. Their reports were believed to have indicted some powerful interests in the country.
In a dramatic twist to the trial, Justice Adebukola Banjoko, who was presiding over the case in October 2011 withdrew from conducting the case of the three parliamentarians after counsel to Elumelu, Patrick Ikwueto (SAN) tendered fresh documents to prove the innocence of the accused persons.
The fresh pieces of evidence being a letter signed by former EFCC chairman Farida Waziri dated August 18, 2009 advising the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to verify the projects executed on the rural electricity projects for payment of contractors.
Ikwueto also tendered similar letters from the Ministry of Power dated April 18, 2011 also directing the banks to comply with an order of a High Court to defreeze the accounts for the rural electricity projects for disbursement of funds to contractors who concluded their jobs.
He explained to the judge that the contractors, who had become restive that their monies were frozen in the banks when EFCC commenced investigation of alleged fraud, applied to vacate the order and get their monies for completing the jobs, which they say were certified.
Armed with this, Ikwueto urged the judge to take judicial notice that no money was missing and no fraud was committed in the course of the oversight duties of the arraigned legislatures.
“We urge my lord to take judicial notice of these documents. EFCC cannot be on one hand be approving the contracts in issue and on the other hand be prosecuting my client”, Ikwueto said.
But in January, 2013 the EFCC sought and obtained another leave from Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi to re-arraign the lawmakers on an amended 62 count charges.
Before the new judge, the counsels to the accused persons including Ikwueto, S. I. Ameh (SAN) and A.O. Abubakar for Elumelu, Ugbane and Jibo respectively argued that the leave was faulty because the proof of evidence supplied by the EFCC did not disclose the commission of any offence on the part of the legislatures.