ICPC begins probe as N2.5bn fraud rocks Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation

Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) has been enmeshed in a corruption scandal of N2.5 billion.

The money is questions was a seed grant the Federal Government released to the agency for its digital switch-over programme.

This was disclosed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in a statement signed and released by its spokesperson, Rasheedat Okoduwa on Thursday.

The anti-graft agency said it was currently investigating the misapplication of the fund and has so far interrogated the NBC Director General, Ishaq Kawu, and other top management staff of the agency over their supposed involvements in the alleged fraud.

Recall that the presidency had in 2016, released N10 billion to the Ministry of Information and Culture for the digital switch-over programme. The programme has to do with migration of telephone lines from analogue to digital platforms.

A White Paper was then issued which instructed that the process be specifically handled by government-affiliated companies and based on the guidelines provided by the White Paper, two companies were nominated to handle the process.

One of the companies was ITS, an affiliate of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and about N1.7 billion was released to it as seed grant for the commencement of the switch-over.

But in its statement on Thursday, ICPC said that it discovered upon investigation that the process was fraught with alleged corrupt practices.

The statement read, “It was alleged that Mr Kawu fraudulently recommended a private company called Pinnacle Communications Limited, to the Minister of Information and Culture, for the release of N2.5 billion against the guidelines contained in the White Paper.

“The N2.5 billion was paid into the Zenith Bank account of Pinnacle Communications Limited in May/June, 2017 for the programme.

“The DG NBC during interactions with the Commission could not justify why the government White Paper was flouted leading to the release of money to an unqualified company.”

The statement further revealed that the Managing Director of Pinnacle, Dipo Onifade, during interrogation confirmed the release of the funds to the company but failed to justify that the money was used for the purpose of digital switch-over.

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The ICPC also said it discovered during its probe, several suspicious transfers of large sums of funds from the account of the company into the bank accounts of several organisations and individuals.

It added that it discovered that N100 million of the fund was paid into the personal bank account of Onifade in Zenith Bank which he claimed was for legal services that he had rendered to the same Pinnacle Communications where he is employed.

ICPC said another N450 million was transferred into the account of Sabdat Investment Limited, a Bureau de Change, which then converted the money into dollars and handed it over to the Chairman of Pinnacle Communications Limited, Lucky Omoluwa, in his Kaduna residence as he usually did with other funds.

Adding that Omoluwa had consistently ignored summons by the commission, ICPC added, “He had also sought the leave of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to stop the investigation as well as unfreeze the Zenith Bank account of the company that was frozen by ICPC, but was however ordered by the same court to appear before ICPC for interrogation before the next adjourned date of 3rd December, 2018 before his case would be heard.

“In compliance with the court order, Mr. Omoluwa has appeared before the Commission where he made useful statements to investigators.”

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