$1.1bn Malabu oil deal: 48 days after, Jonathan ignores Reps’ invitation

John Ameh, Abuja
Forty-eight days after he was invited to testifyin the investigations into the controversial sale of Oil Prospecting Licence 245, former President Goodluck Jonathan has yet to reply the House of Representatives, The PUNCHlearnt on Wednesday.
Better known as $1.1bn Malabu Oil deal, an ad hoc committee of the House has been investigating the alleged “diversion” of the money, which was the Federal Government’s share of the deal.
The committee is chaired by a member of the All Progressives Congress from Kwara State, Mr. Razak Atunwa.
Malabu: Some people are threatened by my international profile, says Jonathan
The panel had invited Jonathan on July 5 after it said evidence in the line of the investigations indicated that the former President had issues to clarify.
But, as of Wednesday (yesterday), checks at the committee showed that Jonathan had not responded to any enquiries by the committee.
Findings revealed that though the committee had written him to either appear or respond to questions by submitting documents, Jonathan had yet to reply the panel.
Atunwa confirmed the development when The PUNCH sought his comments on Wednesday.
He said, “Yes, we invited the former President already. The committee wrote him a letter, but he has not responded. He has not sent in any replies. We are still waiting for him.”
When asked what the committee would do next since Jonathan had not replied after 48 days of the committee forwarding a letter to him, Atunwa replied that a decision would be taken after September 19.
The National Assembly is on annual vacation till September 19.
“When we resume, we will review the situation and decide on the next line of action,” he added.
In making the panel’s decision to invite Jonathan in July, Atunwa had stated that certain information in the public domain had made the need to hear from the former President necessary, before the probe could be considered conclusive.
He explained that hearing from Jonathan was also an indication that “thoroughness, natural justice and fair play” was applied to the investigation.
Malabu deal: Reps should compel Jonathan’s appearance, says MEND
Atunwa gave the grounds for inviting the former President, “Mr. Jonathan was the President at the material time that (his cabinet) ministers brokered the deal that led to the allegation of $1bn diversion of funds.
“Mr. Jonathan’s name features in the proceedings initiated by the Public Prosecutor of Milan in Italy. A United Kingdom court judgment in relation to an application to return part of the money being restrained, castigated the Jonathan administration as not having acted in the best interest of Nigeria in relation to the ‘deal.’
“The Attorney General of the Federation at the material time, Mohammed Bello-Adoke, has recently instituted proceedings in court wherein he pleads that all his actions were as instructed by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“Accordingly, pursuant to the provisions of the (1999) Constitution, the committee has decided to request that former President Goodluck Jonathan give evidence as to his role in the matter.”
When Atunwa was asked in July whether the invitation meant that Jonathan would come personally before the committee or the committee would meet him at a location chosen by the former President, Atunwa replied that what was most important was to write to him.
“There are parliamentary procedures, so we don’t jump the gun.What we have said here is to ask for his response. When he responds, that is when we go further.
“At this material point, we have invited him and that is where the case will rest for now.” he added.
He spoke 48 days ago at the National Assembly in Abuja.
$1.3bn Malabu scam: Jonathan may have received $200m, says report
The House had first investigated the deal in the 7th Assembly (2011-2015), but not satisfied with the outcome of the probe, the current 8th House revisited it.
This second phase of the probe was launched in October 2016 with the committee taking representations from Shell, Agip and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
It also received the submissions of the current AGF, Mr. Abubakar Malami, among others.
However, a former Minister of Petroleum Resources under the Jonathan administration, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, and Bello-Adoke, reportedly shunned the panel.
According to the House, OPL 245 occupies an area of 1,958 square kilometres and holds up to “9.2 billion” barrels of crude oil.
Recalling how the deal started, the committee said Chief Dan Etete, a former minister under the administration of the late Gen. Sani Abacha, awarded the block to himself in 1998, using Malabu Oil and Gas.
“He awarded it to himself for just $20m, out of which he paid only $2m,” the committee stated.
It added that former President Olusegun Obasanjo revoked the block, but it was later sold to Shell at $210m, a development, which sparked off a series of legal tussles.
The committee recalled that while Malabu was still in court, Bello-Adoke and Alison-Madueke were alleged to have “contrived a series of complex agreements of a questionable nature.
$1.1bn Malabu scam: Adoke, others face extradition
“The summary of the agreement was that Shell and Nigeria Agip Exploration paid $1.1bn to the Federal Government for the oil block.”
However, instead of paying the money into the Federation Account, the committee stated that Bello-Adoke and Alison-Madueke “caused the money to be transferred to Malabu, which then spirited the money to various foreign bank accounts.
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Wednesday, 23 August 2017
Military monitoring social media for hate speech – Enenche
Dreamers2202/ Tuesday, 23-08-17

Social media is no longer a hiding place for hate speech, anti-government and anti-security in Nigeria as the platforms are now being monitored for information by the military.
Director of Defence Information, Major-General John Enenche, made the revelation onChannels Television’s News at 10 on Wednesday, saying the move became necessary in the light of troubling activities and misinformation capable of jeopardizing the unity of the country.
Enenche made the comment less than 48 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari said, in his national broadcast, that some of the discussion on social media in his absence crossed the line and left him distressed.
Enenche held that the social media has always been a challenge all over the world and for the military, it is no different.
“It is a double-edged sword and we are also having a bit of it,” he said.
“Imagine when the President came back and addressed the nation, not up to 30 minutes later, a fake speech of the Commander-In-Chief was being circulated in order to do what? To derail the people. If you are not very sharp and if you didn’t listen to the speech or you don’t have a copy of it like I had it almost immediately, you wouldn’t know. So, looking at it from that perspective, it is a challenge everywhere.”
“What are we doing? In the military, we are now taking on it more seriously than ever. We have our strategic media centres that monitor the social media to be able to sieve out and react to all the ones that will be anti-government, be anti-military, (and) be anti-security,” the military chief continued.
“We tackle them appropriately with appropriate responses. Ahead of that, we are also proactive. We have measures in place, scientific measures to be able to sieve this information and also to get the public and let them know that some of this information they are getting is not genuine are not true and their objective is an anti-corporate existence of this country.”
(BREAKING) SGF/NIA boss: Osinbajo submits probe report to Buhari
Dreamers2202/ Tuesday, 23-08-17

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday submitted the report of the committee that investigated the allegations against the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke, to President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.
The committee which had the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN); and the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, as members was initially billed to submit its report to Buhari on May 8 but could not do so because the President left the country on May 7 for medical follow-up in London.
Speaking to State House correspondents after submitting the report, Osinbajo said he would not divulge the details of the report.
He said the ball was now in the President’s court to study the report and take decisions based on the recommendations.
When asked whether he would disclose a brief of what is contained in the report, Osinbajo said, “Of course not. This is a report which contains recommendations to the President.
“It is a fact-finding committee as you know and what our terms of reference were was to find out based on the fact available to us and based on the interviews of witnesses of what transpired in those cases, one involving the SGF and the other the DG of NIA.
“We have now concluded that and we submitted a full report with recommendations to the President.
“We cannot, of course, give you any kind of details because the President has to look at the report, study it and then make his own decisions based on that report.”
Osinbajo said members of the committee were fair-minded and the approach adopted was to ensure that justice was done in all cases.
He said it was in the interest of the government and the nation that things were done properly with the due process followed.
He assured all stakeholders that the right thing would be done in the two cases.
When asked how soon should Nigerians be expecting the President’s decision on the report, the Vice President said, “All I can say now is that we have submitted the report to the President and it is a very detailed report as a matter of fact. The President has to study the report and make decisions.
When again asked to give an insight into the report, Osinbajo said, “Of course? I cannot. How can I? This is a document which has just been submitted to the President. He is the one who will read the recommendations and the facts and then make a decision.”
On whether heads will roll based on the report, the Vice President said, “No, how can I tell you? If you want to know what is in the report, you have to wait. You really have to wait.”
Present at the brief ceremony where Osinbajo presented the report to the President were the two other members of the committee and the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.
The President had on April 19 suspended Lawal and Oke and constituted a three-man committee led by Osinbajo to investigate them.
The panel investigated allegations of violations of law and due process made against Lawal in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East while it probed Oke on the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, for which NIA is laying claim.
South-East senators meet Kanu, call for caution
Dreamers2202/ Tuesday, 23-08-17

Leke Baiyewu, Abuja
The South East Caucus in the Senate has met with the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, members of the secession group over what it termed as the rising tension in the country.
Chairman of the Caucus, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia-South), in a statement on Wednesday, said the meeting was held in his Ohuru, Obingwa country home in Abia State on Tuesday.
The statement quoted Abaribe as telling journalists after the meeting that IPOB and other agitators in the country should let their actions conform with Nigeria’s laws and avoid any form of violence and abuse the rights of other Nigerians.
The lawmaker said while the consensus was to have unity and a peaceful Nigeria where equity and fairness were entrenched and no group or region is treated as second class citizens, the caucus would always support and work for a united Nigeria.
Abaribe added that the caucus demanded a total restructuring of the country and devolution of powers in such a manner that would assuage the feeling of despondency, injustice and near rejection within the Nigerian state, “which to us is the way to go.”
He said, “I thank Kanu for assuring (the caucus) to conduct his members in a peaceful manner and within the ambits of the law. This engagement is a continuous process that will lead us to find a lasting solution to whatever grievances that necessitated the agitations in Nigeria.
“The caucus will accordingly meet as soon as we resume from recess to continue the engagement for the good of our people and our dear country. All of us desire equality, equity, fairness in a peaceful and united Nigeria.”
The IPOB leader was quoted as assuring the lawmakers that his group would remain non-violent in its agitation.
Kanu, however, insisted that the group remained resolute in its demand for a fair and just society which, according to him, is the spirit behind the agitation for Biafra through a referendum.
“We are not afraid in our quest. What I promise my elder brother (Abaribe) is that we shall never fail them by resorting to violence. We can’t and it has never been our approach,” he said.
Dreamers2202/ Tuesday, 23-08-17

Social media is no longer a hiding place for hate speech, anti-government and anti-security in Nigeria as the platforms are now being monitored for information by the military.
Director of Defence Information, Major-General John Enenche, made the revelation onChannels Television’s News at 10 on Wednesday, saying the move became necessary in the light of troubling activities and misinformation capable of jeopardizing the unity of the country.
Enenche made the comment less than 48 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari said, in his national broadcast, that some of the discussion on social media in his absence crossed the line and left him distressed.
Enenche held that the social media has always been a challenge all over the world and for the military, it is no different.
“It is a double-edged sword and we are also having a bit of it,” he said.
“Imagine when the President came back and addressed the nation, not up to 30 minutes later, a fake speech of the Commander-In-Chief was being circulated in order to do what? To derail the people. If you are not very sharp and if you didn’t listen to the speech or you don’t have a copy of it like I had it almost immediately, you wouldn’t know. So, looking at it from that perspective, it is a challenge everywhere.”
“What are we doing? In the military, we are now taking on it more seriously than ever. We have our strategic media centres that monitor the social media to be able to sieve out and react to all the ones that will be anti-government, be anti-military, (and) be anti-security,” the military chief continued.
“We tackle them appropriately with appropriate responses. Ahead of that, we are also proactive. We have measures in place, scientific measures to be able to sieve this information and also to get the public and let them know that some of this information they are getting is not genuine are not true and their objective is an anti-corporate existence of this country.”
(BREAKING) SGF/NIA boss: Osinbajo submits probe report to Buhari
Dreamers2202/ Tuesday, 23-08-17

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday submitted the report of the committee that investigated the allegations against the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke, to President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.
The committee which had the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN); and the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, as members was initially billed to submit its report to Buhari on May 8 but could not do so because the President left the country on May 7 for medical follow-up in London.
Speaking to State House correspondents after submitting the report, Osinbajo said he would not divulge the details of the report.
He said the ball was now in the President’s court to study the report and take decisions based on the recommendations.
When asked whether he would disclose a brief of what is contained in the report, Osinbajo said, “Of course not. This is a report which contains recommendations to the President.
“It is a fact-finding committee as you know and what our terms of reference were was to find out based on the fact available to us and based on the interviews of witnesses of what transpired in those cases, one involving the SGF and the other the DG of NIA.
“We have now concluded that and we submitted a full report with recommendations to the President.
“We cannot, of course, give you any kind of details because the President has to look at the report, study it and then make his own decisions based on that report.”
Osinbajo said members of the committee were fair-minded and the approach adopted was to ensure that justice was done in all cases.
He said it was in the interest of the government and the nation that things were done properly with the due process followed.
He assured all stakeholders that the right thing would be done in the two cases.
When asked how soon should Nigerians be expecting the President’s decision on the report, the Vice President said, “All I can say now is that we have submitted the report to the President and it is a very detailed report as a matter of fact. The President has to study the report and make decisions.
When again asked to give an insight into the report, Osinbajo said, “Of course? I cannot. How can I? This is a document which has just been submitted to the President. He is the one who will read the recommendations and the facts and then make a decision.”
On whether heads will roll based on the report, the Vice President said, “No, how can I tell you? If you want to know what is in the report, you have to wait. You really have to wait.”
Present at the brief ceremony where Osinbajo presented the report to the President were the two other members of the committee and the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.
The President had on April 19 suspended Lawal and Oke and constituted a three-man committee led by Osinbajo to investigate them.
The panel investigated allegations of violations of law and due process made against Lawal in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East while it probed Oke on the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, for which NIA is laying claim.
South-East senators meet Kanu, call for caution
Dreamers2202/ Tuesday, 23-08-17

Leke Baiyewu, Abuja
The South East Caucus in the Senate has met with the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, members of the secession group over what it termed as the rising tension in the country.
Chairman of the Caucus, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia-South), in a statement on Wednesday, said the meeting was held in his Ohuru, Obingwa country home in Abia State on Tuesday.
The statement quoted Abaribe as telling journalists after the meeting that IPOB and other agitators in the country should let their actions conform with Nigeria’s laws and avoid any form of violence and abuse the rights of other Nigerians.
The lawmaker said while the consensus was to have unity and a peaceful Nigeria where equity and fairness were entrenched and no group or region is treated as second class citizens, the caucus would always support and work for a united Nigeria.
Abaribe added that the caucus demanded a total restructuring of the country and devolution of powers in such a manner that would assuage the feeling of despondency, injustice and near rejection within the Nigerian state, “which to us is the way to go.”
He said, “I thank Kanu for assuring (the caucus) to conduct his members in a peaceful manner and within the ambits of the law. This engagement is a continuous process that will lead us to find a lasting solution to whatever grievances that necessitated the agitations in Nigeria.
“The caucus will accordingly meet as soon as we resume from recess to continue the engagement for the good of our people and our dear country. All of us desire equality, equity, fairness in a peaceful and united Nigeria.”
The IPOB leader was quoted as assuring the lawmakers that his group would remain non-violent in its agitation.
Kanu, however, insisted that the group remained resolute in its demand for a fair and just society which, according to him, is the spirit behind the agitation for Biafra through a referendum.
“We are not afraid in our quest. What I promise my elder brother (Abaribe) is that we shall never fail them by resorting to violence. We can’t and it has never been our approach,” he said.
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