WHISTLE-BLOWING: 3 persons drag Nigerian Government to court over 5% of N13bn Ikoyi loot

The Federal Government has been dragged to the Federal High Court in Abuja by three persons over the payment of five per cent of the about N13 billion recovered from Flat 7 Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos State.

The plaintiffs, Abdulmumin Musa, Mr. Stephen Sunday and Mr. Bala Usman, who are claiming to be the authentic whistleblowers that gave information that led to recovery of the money, asked the court not to allow the Federal Government pay five per cent of the recovered loot to persons other than themselves.

The suit dated November 22 and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1158/2017 also has the Attorney General of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Finance, as well as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as defendants.

The plaintiffs in their suit contended that they were the ones that had sometime in December 2016, informed the Lagos office of the EFCC about the loot, which the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) later claimed it kept in the Ikoyi apartment for “covert operations”.

The discovery of the loot led to the suspension and final sack of the former Director General of NIA, Ambassador Ayodele Oke.

According to the applicants, it was strange to hear the EFCC say that it was about paying five per cent commission on the recovered money to another whistle-blower.

It was sequel to this that the trio through their counsel, Hammart and Co. (Tafida Chambers), wrote separate letters to both the AGF and the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, alleging that the EFCC plans to shortchange them by bringing people that were not original whistleblowers on the Ikoyi loot.

The petition they wrote to the AGF and dated August 24, was received by office of AGF on September 8.

They maintained that the people EFCC claimed it was communicating with over the five per cent commission were not the arrowhead of the whistleblowing.

“Our clients informed us sometime in December 2016 that three (3) of them voluntarily walked into the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at 15A Awolowo Road Ikoyi, Lagosand gave vital information that led to the recovery of over N13 billion at the Ikoyi Towers, Lagos.

“That upon subsequent visit to give a detailed information as required by the commission to raid the tower, they were told if the operation was successful, 5% of the amount recovered will be their take home within 72 hours of recovery, they were also cautioned that if the information happened to be false, then they will definitely be in trouble which the three mentioned above accepted because they were sure of their facts.

“That when the operation was carried out, it was successful but since then they have not received any commendation by the commission, let alone give any reward as stated even though the EFCC have their names and phone numbers,” read part of the petition they submitted to the AGF through their solicitors.

Also in another letter dated November 15, the plaintiffs drew attention of the Minister of Finance to their petition pending before the AGF.

“It is therefore the brief of our clients that we request you to hold on payment of the whistleblowers’ fee/entitlement until our clients’ complaints is sorted out. That considering the vital role our client played in exposing the whereabouts of the recovered money, our client cannot be sidelined or denied his entitlement, doing so will amount to injustice to our client”, their lawyer stated.

This is coming as a different person who earlier claimed that he was the authentic whistleblower had protested EFCC’s delay in paying the five per cent commission.

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The said whistleblower whose name was not mentioned, but was represented by his lawyer, Mr. Yakubu Galadima, was said to have been sent to a psychiatric facility after his protest.

The FG had after Galadima’s protest, hinted through the Minister of Finance that it was perfecting the process of paying the five per cent commission.

But the trio in their suit, are praying among other things that the court should declare that the Federal Government represented by the AGF and the Federal Ministry of Finance, as well as the EFCC, “are bound to comply with the whistleblowers Executive Policy or whistleblowers Executive Order to pay 2.5%-5% of whistle blowing fees or percentage as issued by the Federal Government of Nigeria”.

They also prayed the court to declare that “they actively participated and are instrumental to the whistleblowing or disclosure of information to the 1st defendant staff or officers which resulted to the 1st defendant’s recovery of the sums $43.4 million, N23.3 million and 27,800 Euros at Flat 7 Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos state”.

Date for the hearing of the suit is yet to be fixed and it has not been assigned to any judge.

 

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