Presidential investigative panel seeks forfeiture of PEF director’s assets

The Chief Okoi Obono-Obla led Special Presidential Investigative Panel on Recovery of Public Property has applied to the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja for the temporal forfeiture of assets belonging to the Director of Operations at the the Petroleum Equalization Fund, PEF, Mrs Aisha Usman.

The panel, in a July 31, 2019 letter, the same day it filed the ex-parte application, also informed the PEF of an alleged suspicious purchase of shares worth N65 million by Mrs Usman.

The panel’s letter titled, ‘Purchase of shares by Aisha Fanya Usman, Director Operations, Petroleum Equalisation Fund’, was addressed to the Chairman, PEF Management Board, Musa Talle, stating that Usman bought the N65m worth of shares in many blue-chip companies on January 31, 2018.

The letter partly read: “The Special Presidential Investigation Panel has been investigating some staff of the Petroleum Fund, including Aisha Fanya Usman, Director of Operations, for corrupt practices, corrupt enrichment and contribution towards the economic adversity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“In the course of investigation, the panel has stumbled on evidence showing that Aisha Fanya Usman purchased shares from several blue-chip companies in Nigeria on January 31, 2018 amounting to N65, 000, 000.

“See attached letter dated July 22, 2019 from Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers to that effect.”

The panel had listed the N65m worth of shares among other assets including 24 bank accounts linked to Usman in the application for interim forfeiture.

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Other assets linked to her are a property at Plot 46, Damaturu Crescent, Garki, Area 11, Abuja and another one at No. 9, Prince Obi Emmanuel Street, Brains & Hammers Estate, Apo Abuja.

The panel also said that in the course of a search on her residence, it recovered items such as cash sums of N800,000; €500; 15,505 Dinah; 18 carat white gold; and 21 carat yellow gold.

Describing her as a wealthy civil servant, the panel said she has N65m worth of shares of Seplat Petroleum Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Oando Plc, GTB, Dangote Cement Plc and UBA.

The schedule attached to the application showing all the assets allegedly linked to her, also revealed that the sum of N40m was in her account with Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited and N2,001, 260.77 in her stock-broking account with Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Ltd.

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