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CONTROVERSY OVER NIGERIAN VEE PEE'S NAME IN WILLBROS $6M SCANDAL BY EMPOWERED NEWSWIRE
US lawyers on both sides of the $6m Willbros scandal said to involve Nigerian officials cannot agree on the release of the names of such Nigerians officials involved, Empowered Newswire reports.
Equally US Justice Department officials also refused to identify the said Nigerians insisting that it is not the practice of the US government to publicly identify the names of suspects that are not being indicted and charged to court.
Investigations conducted by Empowered Newswire, a US-based Nigerian news agency has found that while the Counsel to the Willbros General Manager, Jason Edward Steph, Matt Hennessy filed a motion seeking a release of the details of the names and identities of "each Nigerian official by name," the US government Trial Attorney Tom Stevens opposed the motion on grounds that it is up to the prosecutor-the US Justice Department-to make such a release if it chooses to. Steph on Monday, November 5 pleaded guilty in the $6m bribery scandal.
In deciding the matter, the US District Court Judge in Houston Judge Sim Lake sided with the Trial Attorney and denied the motion to compel the US government from revealing the names properly and publicly.
However in what seems a curious twist, according to Hennessy's written motion which the Judge denied, and titled Motion for Bill of Particulars Identifying the Nigerian Officials, he made an interesting claim.
Dated August 27, 2007, Hennessy stated in the motion that the US "government has informally identified the senior official of the executive branch of the Nigerian government as the Vice President of Nigeria and the Political Party as the Peoples Democratic Party."
Going further Hennessy disclosed that the US "government has also provided defendant (his client) with a color-coded list of names which purportedly identifies the Nigerian officials." That list was marked Exhibit A.
Former Vice President Abubakar is however fighting hard already on this matter, which he is seeing as a continuation of the political persecution he suffered under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Atiku in a clearly furious reaction said "it is impotant to immediately find out who met with the Willbros officials purportedly claiming to be the Vice President of Nigeria, where did such a meeting take place, how did the $6Million change hands, which account was the money paid, what was the money used for, and did the money reflect in any of the PDP accounts?
But the concern of the lawyer of the Willbros General Manager Steph was that the "list does not provide enough information to identify each person named, nor does it provide enough information to determine how each person qualifies as a foreign official as defined by the FCPA." The FCPA is the US law called Foreign Corrupt Practices Act under which Steph eventually pleaded guilty on Monday.
As stated in the indictment in this case, the alleged bribery was carried through the use of sham consultants, who were those directly involved in the collection of the bribes totaling $6m between 2003 and 2005. It is believed that some of the consultants including Nigerians and United States citizens are now cooperating with the US State government, and may have provided evidence that establish the bribery allegation and provided names of officials of the Nigerian federal government involved including NNPC, NAPIMS, Shell and the PDP officials and members.
Empowered Newswire has obtained both the coded list -which the US government made available to the defendant-and the motion of the defendant, but as the defendant's lawyer stated in the motion dated August 27, 2007, truly indeed the list does not provide enough information to identify each person named, a clear concern for the defendants including Steph and Willbros Managing Director Jim Brown who is still on trial in the same scandal, but has not pleaded guilty like Steph.
Going through the list, even the reporter can only guess who and who may possibly be involved. Apart from the reference to the Vice President-which is an assumed reference to former Vice President Abubakar Atiku, who was Vice President of Nigeria in the dates this alleged offences were committed-2003-2005-the list was hardly helpful. On the color-coded list there was no mention of the Vice President as was on the motion, but only a reference to "No. 2"
For instance, the list from the US government identified include Funso, without a last name, who allegedly collected $150,000, Dankouro, also without a last name, who collected $30,000 and Phil, without last name, who was said to have collected $250,000. Other names included Gibson Okeke, the only name on the list with a surname, who was accused of collecting $150,000.
On that same list, "Number 2" was alleged was to have received $150,000, with a balance of $250,000 pending.
Efforts to speak with the Trial Attorney Stevens, the Trial Attorney was diverted to the Public Affairs Office of the US Justice Department. Empowered Newswire asked officials of the US Justice Department why the US Trial Attorney did not publicly release the names of the Nigerians involved in the case.
Speaking on the matter Jaclyn Leasch explained the Justice Department would not reveal the names of suspects except those indicted and are being charged, an indication that even though there are names of Nigerians involved in the case known to the Americans, none of them have been indicted as yet.
Leasch was also asked specifically if the statement of the Defendant's lawyer Matt Hennessy is accurate that the US government has informally identified the senior official of the Nigerian executive branch as the Vice President at the time of the offense. But she declined answering the question, adding however that the senior official in the executive branch of the Nigerian government "is an individual we wont publicly identify."
But sources in the US Justice Department confirmed that indeed the US government have identified the said senior official only to the defendants.
Leasch explained that the US government has not identified the "Vice President" in the US government lawyers' fillings in court and that the "Vice President" has not been charged.
In his plea agreement, Steph agreed to being part of the scandal and conceded that indeed those bribes were paid out by Willbros. Another Willbros official Jim Brown, who was the MD is still standing trial and is named in the indictment as a co-conspirator by the US government. The names of the consultants who are believed to be the conduit have also not been named by the US government.
On whether the US government would share information on this investigation with the Nigerian govt, where there is an intense public interest Leasch simply said "I hesitate to answer that question." According to her only the US State Department comments on the relationships of the govt with other countries.
In his reaction through a statement made available to Empowered Newswire, former Vice President Abubakar Atiku challenged the US "to speak out and reveal the names of the three consultants who purportedly acted as the conduit to the alleged beneficiaries."
He also invited "the Federal Government to set up a Judicial Panel of Enquiry, comprising the most respected of Nigerian Judges and anti-corruption activists to uncover the brains behind this national scam. I volunteer to co-operate fully with any such panel.”
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