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REVEALED: The Men Who Helped Abacha Launder $23 Million Recently Recovered By UK Govt

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The $23.5 million Abacha loot recovered this month by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) was forfeited by Mohammed Abacha and an offshore company Mecosta Securities Inc., the British agency has told PREMIUM TIMES.

PREMIUM TIMES’ further investigation, based on the NCA’s exclusive disclosure and analysis of leaked financial records and court documents, shows that Mecosta’s account in London, from which the stolen funds were recovered, was controlled by Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu. In the 1990s, Mr. Bagudu worked in the role of an Abacha bagman helping to steal and stash hundreds of millions of dollars across the world.

On May 5, the NCA released a statement disclosing the recovery of “$23,439,724.98 siphoned out of Nigeria in the 1990s” by the Abacha family and associates.

The agency said it acted at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The USDOJ started its civil forfeiture case – and has since obtained forfeiture orders – in the district court in Washington D.C. against stolen Nigerian assets linked to Mr. Abacha. USDOJ told the court the assets were routed through the American jurisdiction and stashed in several other jurisdictions, including the UK, by the Abacha family and associates, most notably Mr. Bagudu.

“The funds form part of a larger pool of monies identified by the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) as having been misappropriated by Abacha and his associates,” the NCA said. It added that it obtained the recovery order after nearly seven years of litigation in the UK to enforce the U.S. forfeiture order related to the recovered funds.

However, the NCA in its statement did not disclose the specific individuals or entities from whom the stolen funds had been recovered.

Recovered from Mohammed and Bagudu’s secret company

PREMIUM TIMES contacted the agency with a request for specific and undisclosed information.

“The monies were recovered from Mohammed Sani Abacha and Mecosta Securities Inc,” said NCA’s communications manager Stuart Hadley in an emailed reply.

PREMIUM TIMES then used leaked financial records such as Pandora Papers and the USDOJ court documents to establish Mr. Bagudu’s association with Mecosta.

The Standard Bank London account of the offshore company Mecosta, registered in the British Virgin Islands on October 9, 1995, was controlled by Mr. Bagudu, who helped Mr. Abacha steal and launder Nigerian monies across jurisdictions with complicated financial transactions, according to leaked financial and U.S. court documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

The court documents specifically said that a sum of $21.7 million targeted for forfeiture was held in Mecosta’s account at Standard Bank London controlled by Mr. Bagudu.

Mr. Bagudu, who was twice elected federal lawmaker, has been the governor of Nigeria’s northwestern Kebbi State since 2015 and is an ally of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Bagudu is an example of how Nigeria’s kleptocratic political class enjoys power and privilege despite their clear and condemnable track record,” commented Mathew Page, a Nigerian governance expert.

Mr. Bagudu has never been charged and enjoys immunity from prosecution in Nigeria while he holds office as governor of a state.

Apart from the Standard Bank, Mr. Bagudu was the authorized signatory on the accounts of Mecosta at other banks such as ANZ, London; Credit Agricole Indosuez London; Goldman Sachs, Zurich, and Banque Baring Brothers in Geneva, according to the U.S. court documents obtained.

It is believed that the $21.7 million stashed in the Mecosta’s Standard Bank London’s account controlled by Mr. Bagudu was the far larger part of the $23.5 million recently recovered by the NCA.

The other part, it is believed based on our review of USDOJ’s court filing and the definite disclosure by the NCA, is $1.6 million in an HSBC account in the name of Mohammed Abacha, the late dictator’s son.

Abacha plunder machine

In the plunder machine that late kleptocrat Mr. Abacha set up, Mr. Bagudu was the most prolific bagman, court documents and leaked financial records revealed.

“Abubakar Atiku Bagudu was an associate of General Abacha and his sons who participated in the conspiracy to steal and launder hundreds of millions of dollars,” American investigators told the court. “Among other things, Bagudu played an instrumental role in setting up and executing the complicated financial transactions used to launder the proceeds of the conspiracy.”

Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State

Mr. Abacha, his family, and associates systematically plundered Nigeria between 1993 when the dictator seized power and 1998 when he died. In conspiracy with his family and associates, he stole up to $5 billion, according to Transparency International.

According to American investigators, they used false security claims to steal at least $2 billion dollars, which “was transported out of Nigeria and deposited into accounts controlled by General Abacha’s associates, including Mohammed Abacha and Bagudu.”

This was apart from other stolen funds through bribery and a dramatic conspiracy by Mr. Abacha’s son, Mohammed, and Mr. Bagudu to lend money stolen from Nigeria back to Nigeria “with zero risks and at an enormous profit” by using proceeds of the security vote fraud to purchase hundreds of millions of dollars of U.S. dollar-denominated Nigerian bonds, called Nigerian Par Bonds, NPBs.

Between 1998 and now, more than $3.6 billion dollars has been recovered through international efforts with different tranches linked to Mr. Bagudu alone.

The systematic plunder as well as the worldwide hunt for the stolen funds, worth billions of dollars, is reckoned to be one of the worst cases of kleptocracy and offshore shenanigans in the world.

The $21.7 million in the account of Mecosta at Standard Bank and the $1.6 million held in the name of Mohammed Abacha at HSBC were part of the stolen funds, American investigators said, and are believed to form the $23 million recovered by the NCA based on our analysis.

The NCA said it had transferred the recovered funds to the U.S. with the “ultimate intention” being the repatriation to Nigeria for the benefit of the people in the West African nation.

NCA said it would not answer our question if Nigeria was involved in a tripartite deal over this particular recovery. It also did not disclose the outstanding Abacha-linked assets being targeted for forfeiture in London.

However, PREMIUM TIMES understands from our Pandora Papers investigation that nearly 100 million euros kept in London investments accounts of Mr. Bagudu’s Blue family trusts and holdings are among the outstanding assets.

Mr. Page said the revelations about Mr. Bagudu “suggest he has held unto significant quantities of unexplained wealth accumulated in the Abacha years.”

Mr. Bagudu did not honor our request for his comment on this report, a consistent pattern since we started reporting his link to the Abacha kleptocracy.

Mohammed Abacha also did not reply to a text or answer calls to seek his comment.

Credit: Premium Times

BIG STORY

Marketers Eye Petrol Price Reduction, Ready To Load As Port Harcourt Refinery Begins Operation April

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The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria have projected a marginal reduction in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, produced from the Port Harcourt Refining Company once the plant begins operations next month.

IPMAN and MEMAN also declared their readiness to load products from the facility, as they urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to fulfill its promise of pumping put refined products from the plant in two weeks.

It was reported last week that the Group Managing Director, of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, announced that the Port Harcourt refinery would commence operations in about two weeks.

Kyari, who appeared before the Senate Ad-hoc Committee investigating the various Turn Around Maintenance projects of refineries, revealed that mechanical works had been completed on the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, stressing that the Kaduna refinery would commence operations in December.

“We did a mechanical completion of the (Port Harcourt) refinery, that was what we said in December. We now have crude oil already stocked in the refinery. We are doing regulatory compliance tests that must happen in every refinery before you start it, and I assure you that this Port Harcourt refinery will start in the next two weeks.

“Completing the mechanical work means that you are done with the rehabilitation work, now you have to test to see how it works. Of course, we have also completed the mechanical work on the Warri refinery.

“It is also undergoing regulatory compliance; processes that we are doing with our regulator, and this will soon be completed and it will be ready. The Kaduna refinery will be ready by December. We have not reached that stage in Kaduna, but we promise Kaduna will be delivered by December,” Kyari had explained.

Reacting to this on Monday, the National President, of IPMAN, Abubakar Maigandi, told our correspondent that marketers had been informed of the development and were ready to start lifting products.

He also stated that once products start coming out from the plant, the cost of petrol would reduce, but stressed that this would be a marginal reduction.

“As independent petroleum marketers, immediately we received the information, we told all our members to start preparing for loading, especially those in the South-South region of the country, because it is closer to them.

“So at any time they (NNPCL) say we should come and start loading, we are ready. We are just waiting for them to start,” the IPMAN president stated.

He added, “Price reduction is obvious when they start releasing products, and there will be availability because it would serve as support to the imported products. So we are expecting a change in price, for no matter how small the reduction is, it is still a reduction.

“Also, the commencement of operations there will create more employment for Nigerians. So it is a welcome development and IPMAN is happy about this, especially if products start coming out from the plant in the next two weeks as promised by NNPCL.”

On his part, the Executive Secretary, MEMAN, Clement Isong, stated that major oil marketers had been buying products from the trading arm of NNPCL, adding that this arm of the national oil firm would be in charge of the products to come out from the Port Harcourt refinery.

He noted that though the facility would not be able to provide all the volumes of petrol required by the consumers, MEMAN would definitely load from the plant by buying refined products through the trading arm of NNPCL.

“Sure, we have been buying from the trading arm of NNPCL and we will continue once products from the refinery are being released. On price reduction, this is going to be marginal, because the product is being produced in Nigeria,” he stated.

Kyari had told the Senate that over 450, 000 barrels of oil had been stocked into the Port Harcourt refinery, which means the plant is ready to deliver refined crude to the market.

“All crude lines are active and have actually delivered over 450,000 barrels into Port Harcourt refinery.

“We are confident of the integrity of it. Yes, there may be security issues, but also the government is responding to the situation,” the NNPCL boss had stated.

The Federal Government had announced in December 2023 that the mechanical completion of Port Harcourt refinery had been completed, stating that products from the plant would get to the market before the end of last year.

This, however, did not happen, as Nigerians anxiously await the production of refined petroleum products from refineries in Nigeria. Currently, Nigeria imports its refined petroleum products through the NNPCL.

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Nike Unveils Super Eagles 2024/25 Jersey [PHOTOS]

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The new Super Eagles jerseys for the 2024–2025 football season have been unveiled by clothing powerhouse, Nike.

Nike’s Instagram page published a post on Monday with a launch video of the new jerseys.

“The 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒔 disrupt convention with bold twists on icons.

“Featuring 𝑫𝒓𝒊-𝑭𝑰𝑻 𝑨𝑫𝑽 innovation, each kit is engineered for the needs of the modern footballer, from kick-off to the final whistle,” the post read.

Green hoops at the ends of the sleeves and shorts adorn the white home jersey. In a striking combination of colours, the word “Naija” is written in green across the kit’s breast.

In a stylistic nod to Nigeria’s national colours, the away uniform is patterned in a pastel version of the same colour, dark green.

For their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, the Super Eagles are anticipated to wear the new jerseys.

The team’s third qualifying match is scheduled for June 3 at home against South Africa. Seven days later, they are scheduled to travel to Benin Republic.

Before that, the Eagles will visit Grand Stade de Marrakech in Morocco for friendly matches against Ghana and Mali on March 22 and 26, respectively.

 

See photos below;

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Renovated Government House: Osun PDP Mocks APC, Says Opposition Party Hallucinating

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The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), encouraged by the recently reopened Government House in Osogbo, the capital city of Osun State, after a respectable renovation, has chastised a faction within the Osun APC over a statement attributed to its embattled chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, on the renovated Government House. The party has asked the disorganised opposition group to either apologise for its heinous looting of the state’s common patrimony or cease filling the airwaves with loud music.

It would be recalled that officials of the previous administration led by the then defeated Governor and now Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, left the Government House virtually empty after callously bolting away with properties in the quarters– an act reminiscent of some mannerless unarmed robbers, who never wished the state well.

A statement released on Monday by the media office of the ruling party and signed by the State Chairman, Hon Sunday Bisi, described the statement credited to Lawal led APC faction as unbridled afront on the collective intelligence of the well enlightened people of Osun State, who are still spoiling for further punishments against the inglorious pilfering of public asset by stalwarts of the APC.

“Granted that Lawal and his conquered hirelings in the APC are in shock over the level of upgrade and innovations in the State Government House, we expected that it would have served the looters better if they had opted for the silence button, instead of classless grumblings over the patriotic efforts of His Excellency, Governor Ademola Adeleke in bringing the state assets up to speed of modernity and dignity befitting of cradle of Yoruba race.”

“APC as a regressive party populated by known thieves in the context of the renovated government asset was just bringing its shamelessness again to the fore by having the guts of any finger of objection to bringing the State House back to life after the edifice was set for desolate with reckless looting of almost all the interior fittings by APC officials, without any iota of consideration of the cost implications on the already mismanaged economy by the prodigal son in chief, Gboyega Oyetola.”

“APC statement about the Government House renovation has shown that Lawal and his faction of mourners are still grieving about the rejection of their discredited party by the Osun people. They have since their woeful loss resort to wailing and craving for attention and public sympathy they’ve lost long ago with no remedy in sight”

“Lawal and his factional members should be grateful for the maturity and exposure of the good people of Osun State by allowing the APC elements to still walk the streets without some pebbles on their heads considering the ungodly level of atrocities committed against humanity in Osun State. While you await your days with relevant security operatives for your sins, you should keep shut and lay low at least.”

“As a good manager of resources, Governor Adeleke, unlike Oyetola, will continue to inject life into all abandoned assets of the state left to rot away by the immediate past APC administration and this the governor has pursued without compromise”

“Lawal has not only shown unseriousness and confusion about governance but he has also reduced his group to ‘Paperweight, Jesting Desperados,’ merely hallucinating about the steadfast running of the state by the Governor Adeleke led administration.”

“Lawal should tell Osun people how he came about the N1b cost of renovation he quoted. He should be tapped out from his fallacious claim that there is nothing to show in the state in terms of physical infrastructure. Lawal should be reminded that the last time Osun State had a befitting infrastructural investment, like what is ongoing in the state, was under PDP administration, followed by Ogbeni Aregbesola, only for the opportunistic Oyetola to bring the expected progress to a criminal halt after he was spoonfed into office by his predecessor.”

“The only thing Oyetola did in his 4 years in terms of infrastructure was to give Osogbo a substandard, Mungo Park era bridge, which aggravated public anger against him and his acrimonious lieutenants. For Governor Ademola Adeleke, he is making good his promise to give the state a global standard facelift and we are glad the great of the state are right behind him to succeed”

“While the PDP government is open to constructive criticism as enshrined in a democratic society, the APC factional group is however expected to do better by engaging their thinking cap, away from frivolous ranting and wailing without borders,” Hon Sunday noted.

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