Politicians With Pending Corruption Cases Still At Plea Stages After Five Years

Gormer governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu

The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) strongly calls on the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde and the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, to review all the pending corruption cases since 2006 and intensify effort at prosecuting them.

Recalling the activities of EFCC under its pioneer Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who during his tenure before the present lukewarm attitude of the commission towards corruption crusade, did his best, and for first time in the annals of Nigeria history successfully aided and abetted the prosecution and eventual impeachment of two former governors, Dieprieye Alamieyeseigha and Joshua Dariye of Bayelsa and Plateau States respectively. Equally, in like manner, the former EFFC Chairman prosecuted and secured the conviction of former Inspector General of Police Mr. Tafa Balogun, who pleaded guilty to eight counts of money laundering charges to the tune of N16bn in 2005 and was sentenced to six months imprisonment by Justice Binta Nyako.

After Tafa’s conviction, Ribadu told the National Assembly at a plenary session of the Senate in 2006 that former governor of Abia State Orji Uzor Kalu was number one on EFCC list with one of the biggest established cases of stealing, money laundering, diversion of funds but due to the immunity clause that shields serving governors from prosecution, Uzor Kalu was one of the governors swooped on by the EFCC immediately after he left office in 2007.

Specifically on 27 July 2007, Kalu was arraigned before an Abuja High Court on a 107-count charge of money laundering, official corruption and criminal diversion of public funds in excess of N5billion. The agency accused Kalu of transferring billions of naira belonging to the Abia State government to Slok Airlines, laundered funds over a period of time from the defunct Manny bank (now part of Fidelity bank) to Sloks account in Inland bank and in between 1999-2007, Uzor Kalu moved various sums of government money into Slok investment, Slok Nigerian Limited, Slok incorporated and other companies by him.

However, after Uzor Kalu pleaded not guilty to the charges and his counsel asked the court for bail, the court presided over by Justice Binta Muritala Nyako ordered Kalu detention at Kuje prison in Abuja even as she fixed the date for the argument for bail and he had three of his former colleagues for company and they are: Reverend Jolly Nyame, Joshua Chibi Dariye and Saminu Turaki, former governors of Taraba, Plateau and Jigawa States respectively but Kalu regained his freedom four days later.

During his trial, the EFCC obtained a court order to freeze Kalu’s key assets which would be handed over to Abia State government if he was unable to prove that the funds used to establish his companies were not proceeds of graft but five years after, with the charges still hanging around his neck while the former governor is touting himself as a possible candidate in the reset presidential election in 2015 and more ironically Kalu in an interview sometimes last year announced his plan to establish a – non-governmental organization devoted to the fight against corruption.

Another pending case of a former governor is that of Joshua Chibi Dariye of Plateau State who was arraigned before an Abuja High Court on a 23-count charge involving the sum of N700million but pleaded not guilty to all the charges preferred against him and was subsequent granted bail but later challenged the jurisdiction of the court to try him, contented that the alleged offence committed by him took place on Plateau State and the funds involved belonged to the state thereby argued that his trial ought to take place in the state, not in Abuja while the presiding judge dismissed objections which prompted the former governor to approach the Court of Appeal with the same application but the appellate court threw it out and ordered him to go and face his trial while the case is still pending before the court and has suffered series of adjournments, mostly at the former governor’s instance and despite all the allegations brought against him, Dariye won a senatorial seat in the 2011 polls and now part of the body making laws for the Nigerian masses.

When former Governor of Taraba State, Reverend Jolly Nyame was docked on a 41-court charge in July 2007, he was alleged to have embezzled the sum of N1.3billion and at his trial, a graphic illustration was given by one Mr. Dennis Orkama Nev, a permanent security at the Taraba State government house of how the former governor pillaged the state. The witness told the court how Nyame directed him to raise the sum of N100million being an amount proposed for the preparations of the visit of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to the state in 2006 and narrating all the events and transactions, Orkuma told the court how he used discretion and raised three different memos for the former governor in which he requested for N323million, N27million and N42milllion respectively listing vehicle maintenance, overhaul of power generating sets, security arrangements, general facelift of the capital city (Jalingo), sanitation, civil works, souvenirs and honorarium as the purposes for which the money was to be used. Nev also told the court that upon the receipt of the three memos, Nyame approved release of the funds and ordered him to bring the monies to him in his office, an order he complied with and added that the funds were never used for the purposes for which they were approved. More so, part of the allegations against Nyame was that he collected N180million from USAB International Nigeria Limited, a kick back money from a N250million contract awarded to the company for the supply of stationeries to the state government between January and February 2005, while Nyame in response to the allegation of bribe via his statement said he approved the said contract and promised to refund whatever bribe given to him which in itself was an admission that the allegation against him were not entirely false and should normally have led to a faster trial of the case.


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