Over one year after he was sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari, following public outcry, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed a 10-count charge bordering on alleged conspiracy and fraudulent acquisition of property against former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal. He will be arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja. The EFCC states that while Lawal was SGF, he fraudulently acquired property and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 26 (1) (c) of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences (ICPC) Act, 2000 and punishable under section 12. In a double move, the EFCC also charged the former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayodele Oke, and his wife, Folashade Oke before the Federal High Court in Lagos. Both Lawal and Oke were sacked in October 2017 by President Buhari following a report of investigations by a panel headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo into allegations of fraud levelled against them in 2017.
In Abuja, Lawal was charged along with his companies, Rholavision Engineering Limited and Josmon Technologies Limited with 10 counts over contracts executed by the companies, including a N272million contract for the removal of invasive plant species at an IDP camp in Maiduguri. In Lagos, Ambassador Ayo Oke and his wife are facing fraud charges over the sums of $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218,000 recovered by the EFCC from Flat 7B, No. 16, Osborne Road, Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos SW Nigeria.
According to court filings obtained by Huhuonline.com, Lawal and five others, including his company, Rholavision Engineering Ltd are faced with 10 counts, while the Okes are faced with four counts. The Okes are expected to be arraigned before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke on Friday 1 February, 2019. Lawal and Rholavision Engineering Limited and Jasmin Technologies Limited will be arraigned next week.
An Engineer by training, Lawal is facing charges over an alleged multi-million contract scams awarded at some IDP camps in Yobe State. Lawal’s travails began on December 14, 2016, when the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on humanitarian crisis in the North East’ indicted him of fraud.
The former SGF was accused of using his company Rholavision Engineering Ltd to corner a N230 million contract for the clearing of “evasive plant species” in Yobe. The contracts were awarded through the Presidential Initiative on Northeast (PINE). In total, Lawal’s crime, according to the ad-hoc committee, was that he spent N570 million to cut grass, part of which he awarded to himself.
President Muhammadu Buhari later set up a panel headed by Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, to probe the allegations, along with reports that the former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency kept some $43m in an apartment in Ikoyi Lagos. The Osinbajo report did not exculpate Lawal. President Buhari terminated his appointment and appointed Mr. Boss Mustapha as the new SGF.
Babachir Lawal
Ambassador Ayo Oke
