Anti-corruption war begins • ICPC seizes 24 property from three civil servants

AUGUST 16, 2015 : NIYI ODEBODE AND FIDELIS SORIWEI
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Seized Properties
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences
Tribunal has commenced a clampdown on very wealthy civil
servants.
Already, the agency has seized 24 property and several cars
from three civil servants with one of them having 18 property.
A document obtained from the Office of the Chairman of the
ICPC, Mr. Ekpo Nta, with the title ‘Notice of Seizure of Movable
and Immovable Properties Pursuant to Section 45 (4) a – (b) of
the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Ac 2000,
revealed that the commission seized the property from three
officials of the Ministry of Niger Delta.
It stated that the property was seized because they were
“excessive of the emoluments of the affected officers.”
Although the document, dated August 11, 2015, is silent on the
status of the officials, it was gathered that the three officials are
all principal account officers of the ministry, which has been one
of the focuses of investigations by the ICPC in recent times.
The Niger Delta ministry officers listed in the document are
Poloma Kabiru Nuhu, Mangset Longyl Dickson and Daniel Obah.
The ICPC boss said the decision to seize the property would be
served on the appropriate Land Registries and Departments in
all the states where the property are situated.
He stated, “The commission is investigating a matter involving
some staff (members) of the Niger Delta Ministry, with certain
movable and immovable property owned by the said staff.
“The commission is of the opinion based on the aforementioned
investigation that these movable and immovable property
owned by these people who are staff of the Ministry of Niger
Delta Affairs are excessive, having regards to their present
emoluments and all other relevant circumstances. The
commission hereby notifies the entire public that all movable
and immovable properties owned by these staff (members) and
listed hereunder are seized.”
According to the ICPC boss, one of the officers, Nuhu, has 10
hectares of land, covered by Right of Occupancy at Kuje valued
at N50m.
It was stated that the same officer has an uncompleted duplex
at Diamond Estate, Apo, Abuja, that is worth N90m.
Nta also said Nuhu has 16 plots of land which are all covered
by Certificate of Occupancy in different parts of Gwagwalada,
Abuja.
Another civil servant on the ICPC list, Dickson, is said to have a
plot of land at Kubwa District, Cadastral Zone, Abuja. The
property is valued at N7m.
The third official, Obah, is said to own different plots of land in
Abuja and Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Nta said Obah has a four-bedroom duplex at Karsana South
District, Abuja, valued at N60m.
He is also said to have a plot of land at Ozuoba, Port Harcourt,
Rivers State.
Other plots of land said to belong to Obah are located in
Umuodili Odubo Community in Rivers that is worth N16.5m;
Olipobo Rumuekini Layout, Obio Akpor Local Government Area
valued at N18m and another plot at Livingstone Estate
Umuogodo, Igbo Etche in Obio Akpor Local Government of the
Rivers State.
The PUNCH had exclusively reported on July 30 that the Federal
Government’s anti-corruption operatives had been sent after
‘super rich’ public officers who had multiple property and other
assets suspected to have been the rewards of graft.
According to the report, the searchlight of the anti-corruption
agents was on civil servants that possess questionable property
in the Federal Capital Territory.
It was
also
reported
that
operatives in the Assets Tracing, Recovery and Management
Unit of the ICPC had been asked to haul in suspects for
interrogation and recovery of ill-gotten assets in their
possession.
The ICPC was reported to have strengthened the ATRMU by
posting more personnel to the unit to ensure the success of its
campaign.
On Wednesday, the Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr.
Samuel Ukura, had recommended the recovery of about N183bn
being funds meant for the development of Niger Delta but which
was allegedly diverted for other purposes.
Ukura, who stated this in three special audit reports to the Clerk
of the National Assembly, Mr. Salisu Maikasuwa, explained that
the amount was discovered in the periodic checks carried out by
his office on the activities and programmes of the Niger Delta
Development Commission between 2008 and 2012.
According to him, N70.4bn was paid as mobilisation to various
contractors who never reported to site, while N90.4bn was the
extra-budgetary expenditure for heads and sub-heads without
approval by the legal authorities.
He also said N10bn was tax deductions without evidence of
remittance to the Federal Inland Revenue Service; N5.8bn was
payment to contractors for projects not executed, stalled or
abandoned, while N1.2bn was undeducted taxes from
contractors.
Ukura added that N3.1bn was transfer made to unauthorised
accounts; N1.7bn was staff outstanding staff advances which
were never accounted for and N785m out of N1.1bn meant for
the supply of furniture to various schools in Delta State was
diverted.
He explained that the funds for the furniture supply was certified
paid whereas inspection carried out by the Auditor-General’s
office revealed that no single chair was distributed during the
period under review.
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