Date: 2012-05-22

THE surprise that greeted the invitation of former governor of Kwara State and the representative of Kwara Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Dr. Bukola Saraki for interrogation over a multi-billion naira loan by officers of the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), apex of Police investigation, may not have fully dissipated, but what may linger for a lifetime is the outcome of the on-going investigation which is tilting dangerously against the savvy Kwara politician.

Emerging details showed that between January and December 2009, Mr. Mathew Obahor, Managing Director (MD), Joy Petroleum Nigeria Limited, now late, was sick and on admission at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital. He later died on 8th December 2009. 
Before his sudden demise Mathew Obahor who had functioned as a Personal Assistant (PA) to the embattled Saraki, was the owner of Joy Petroleum Nigeria Limited which is parent to the following companies: Skyview Properties Limited owned by Mrs. Toyin Saraki and Mr. Toyin Pinhero; Carlisle Properties owned by Mrs. Toyin Saraki (nee Ojora); Dicetrade; and Linkers owned by ToyinPinhero, Kolade Babafemi and Tokunbo Agoro. He was also the sole signatory to the company's accounts.

It was again established that between 2008 and 2010, these companies borrowed huge sums of money running into billions of naira to do sundry businesses, including trading in shares. It was also discovered that Dr. Bukola Saraki who within the period was the governor of Kwara State was reported to be the chief promoter of all the companies.

Investigation revealed that there were questionable mutual transactions and transfer of hundreds of millions of naira among these companies. The total indebtedness of the companies as at September 2009 was N11, 985,269,988.99 billion. Under questionable circumstances and apparently with the influence of Saraki, the companies were collectively granted a waiver of N9.76billion and concession to pay N2.3million. It was gathered that the present Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatai Ahmed who was then Commissioner for Finance, also caused transfer of funds from his own personal account to Skyview, Carlisle Properties and Joy Petroleum.

Unraveling
On the demise of Mr. Mathew Obahor on 8th December 2009, the Board of Directors at an emergency meeting on 29th January 2011 appointed Paul Obahor, the new Managing Director and sole signatory to all the company's accounts including the Intercontinental Bank accounts; nos: 0134115000050197, 0134001000230974, both with main house branch, Ikeja; and 0029001000013760, Ilorin.

While other banks obliged the request, Intercontinental refused and even severe all communications with the company, this untoward conduct arouse suspicion that some unwholesome activities might be taking place with the accounts. 

When Paul Obahor pressed too hard, the office of the company located at 30, Saka Tinubu Street, Victoria Island was allegedly invaded by aides of Saraki, led by Abdul Adama, a Personal Assistant (PA) to Saraki. The invading men seized the premises of the company and locked out the workers. The workers were not allowed to gain access to their office, neither were they permitted to remove ant company document. It is pertinent to note that the corporate building and premises belongs to Saraki, who must have given it to the company for use.

Abdul Adama was to latter approach Paul Obahor and hand over to him a list of files of Joy Petroleum Nigeria Limited excluding that of the Intercontinental Bank Plc that contains all correspondences regarding loans taken by the company and documents of properties purchased among which is No. 40 Gerald Road and another on Proben Street, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The inability of Paul Obahor to access the company's accounts with Intercontinental bank forced him to petition the IGP.

The case the Police was asked to investigate was the unlawful withholding of accounts from Joy Petroleum Limited by the management of Intercontinental Bank Plc (in spite of repeated requests by the company), reported to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) by the petitioner; Managing Director (MD), Joy Petroleum Nigeria Limited, Mr. Paul Obahor and referred to the Commissioner of Police Special Fraud Unit Lagos for investigation.

Police investigation
On request by the Police, Intercontinental Bank made available the statement of accounts which it had earlier refused to avail the company alongside some scanty number of documents regarding all loans taken by the company.

National Daily investigation uncovered the fact the statement of accounts presented to the Police were manipulated. The Police also discovered that there were evidence that credit and debit transactions transpired during the time that the former MD of Joy Petroleum was hospitalized and incapacitated, that is February 2009 to December 8, 2009, when he eventually died. It was also clear that even after the death of Mathew Obahor, some transactions still took place when there was no other authorizing signatory to the accounts apart from late Obahor.

It was equally gathered that the management of Access Bank Plc, that took over Intercontinental Bank Plc was also suspicious of the loan concession and waivers granted to Saraki through these companies.

It was based on these revelations that the SFU decided to invite Saraki, for questioning last April 20.

But the sitting senator initially refused to show up. A mild drama thus ensued with the Police almost issuing a warrant of arrest.

The Police disclosed in the heat of the invitation for interrogation episode that a warrant was in place for the immediate arrest of the senator who was believed to have gone into hiding after a Federal High Court in Abuja cleared the way for his arrest. 

The Police, according to findings, were acting on instructions from the Police headquarters after Justice Gladys Olotu of the Abuja High Court denied granting injunction against the arrest of the former governor, being prosecuted by the police concerning "conspiracy, forgery and stealing the sum of N21 billion belonging to Joy Petroleum Limited, a company which subsidiary and another N11 billion loan obtained from the now defunct Intercontinental Bank.

The media aide to the embattled former governor, Akintoba Fatigun, had informed then that the former Kwara state Governor had obtained an interim injunction from the court, stopping the Police from infringing on his right pending the determination of the court on the case.

"As a law-abiding citizen, Senator Saraki has decided to seek legal redress to put a stop to what appears an orchestrated frenzy calculated at smearing his name, assaulting his dignity and intimidating his person," Fatigun had said in a statement.

He said that police ought to stay further action pending the determination of a suit he filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja. Saraki, denied allegation that he deliberately shunned invitations extended to him by the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police Force, stressing that he decided to take the case to court following plans by the police to tarnish his public image. 

The denial
Saraki denied links with Joy Petroleum even though it was widely known that the company belonged to one of his aides, Mathew Obahor and despite also the news that a former Chief Executive of the Intercontinental bank was also arrested over the same issue.

In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media and Advocacy, Mr. Bamikole Omishore, Senator Saraki, who is the immediate past governor of Kwara State, said that he was cleared of the same allegations by the appropriate authorities before he was allowed to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries to contest the last presidential election.

The statement stated that Senator Saraki had business interests in Linkers, Skyview and Dicetrade, but that the senator disengaged from running of the companies and retained his interests in them when he became governor of Kwara State in 2003.

The statement also noted that during that period, when major banks in the country were offering margin share loans to individuals and companies, the companies approached Intercontinental Bank for a facility to buy shares in blue-chip companies.

In another reaction in Ilorin, Fatigun stated thus; "We are aware that there is a petition that was submitted by the brother to Senator Saraki's former Personal Assistant, Matthew Obahor, of blessed memory to the special anti-fraud unit of the Nigeria police over a company called Joy Petroleum.

"We want to categorically state that Senator Saraki is not and was never a shareholder of any Joy Petroleum company; the company was that of his formal Personal Assistant, the late Matthew Obahor.

"Unlike it is being insinuated that Matthew was assassinated under questionable circumstances, we want to state categorically that Matthew was a diagnosed diabetic who was flown to different parts of the world by Senator Saraki for treatment but later gave up his battle to diabetes after 10 years of battling the disease. He died in 2010 through diabetic coma in a hospital. Records are available which can support this."

The statement continues: "We are also aware that this matter as related to loans with Intercontinental Bank was thoroughly investigated and thrashed out by all appropriate authorities years back after receiving all manner of investigation. It should be recalled that it reoccurred during Senator Saraki's presidential bid and again thrashed out and we are once again surprised it is resurfacing.

"The attempt to link this baseless petition to Senator Saraki is purely a blackmail and character assassination; it is surprising that we are coming back to this again in 2012 which is a distraction and the timing is very questionable.
"Senator Saraki continues to reassure his constituents and country that he will play his legislative role even at this crucial time of our polity."
While he continued with the denials, the Police said that their investigation uncovered the fact that the former Governor constantly sought people to invest in the company.
Spokesperson of the SFU, Ngozi Isintume, said the agency decided to go all out after Saraki since it has been discovered that there is no injunction restraining the police. She also said the SFU did not earlier declared him wanted since they thought that he would honour the invitation extended to him.
Saraki had sought, through three Senior Advocates of Nigeria, that the court restrains the special anti-fraud unit of the Nigeria police from investigating and interrogating him over his alleged involvement in the scam. He eventually turned himself in on May 3rd.
Milverton Road drama.

Another drama ensued on the day he turned himself in for interrogation at the Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU), Milverton Road, Ikoyi, Lagos. At this point, he was also not allowed to speak to journalists. During his hours of interrogation, journalists had thronged the office of the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the unit, NgoziIsintume, a superintendent of police (SP) to await the ex-governor.

However, things turned the other way round when Saraki was about to leave and the personal assistant to the Commissioner of Police SFU, Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin, came down to lock the same office the journalists were in. The officer locked up the waiting journalists inside the one-room office denying them access to a departing Saraki.

Saraki, who spent about two hours at the office of Tunde Ogunsakin, received a 'privileged' treatment from the police after they opened the gates for him, allowed him to drive into the premises, park very close to the entrance of Mr. Ogunsakin's office, from where he quickly disappeared into the building.
The police officer who locked up the journalists said "he did what he did to save his job".
One of the journalists, grappled at the door with the officer before he was shoved away and the door slammed shut, the key quickly turning in the lock; the journalists left with barely elbow room inside the office of the Police Public Relations Officer.
The door remained locked until Mr. Saraki was chauffeured away from the police premises.
Afterwards, Mr. Ogunsakin told the police officer to apologize to the journalists.
"We are still conducting our investigations and whenever we need him (Mr. Saraki), we'll call him again," Mr. Ogunsakin told journalists.
At exactly 11:00a.m, Mr. Saraki, quietly drove into the Sunday Adewusi House of the SFU Dressed in striped Agbada native attire, with a cap to match, and a pair of leather sandals; came in a convoy of three black vehicles, a black Mercedes Benz SUV (GL 450 4matic) with Abuja number CH 165 RBC, and waited inside.

After a few minutes, his aides gave him a 'coast-is-clear' signal before he alighted, and without uttering a word, hurriedly walked up the one storey building housing the SFU's commissioner's office.

Alabi angle
The SFU had earlier in Lagos arrested former Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank, Mahmoud Alabi, for fraud related to a questionable loan write-off.

Alabi's arrest followed a petition submitted to the unit by the brother of a whistle-blower who was allegedly killed for revealing shady dealings involving former Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki.

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Sanusi Lamido, had appointed Alabi to run Intercontinental Bank at the beginning of the CBN's banking reform in 2009. The reform began with the CBN sacking several commercial bank chief executives deemed to be linked to corruption.

However, the appointment of Alabi raised serious concerns at the time. He had served as the MD of Songa Farms owned by the Saraki family.
In a 2010 petition, the former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Erastus Akingbola, wrote a nine-page petition to President Goodluck Jonathan stating that Alabi had improperly written off N8billion in loans to companies with links to Saraki. He gave the companies' names as Linkers, Dicetrade, Skyview Properties and Joy Petroleum.

Police sources informed that Alabi wrote off billions of naira in unserviced loans linked to Saraki. In addition, Alabi decided to release four houses in Lagos and another two in Abuja that the Sarakis had been used as collateral to secure the huge loans.

The SFU disclosed that top officials in the banking industry were invited to help with information that would lead to the recovery of a N16 billion loan allegedly written off by Alabi.

A police source at the SFU revealed that the suspect had written off a loan of N9 billion. The source noted that Alabi and some yet-to-be identified accomplices may have collected the loan and written it off as against the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) directives.

He said that the suspect allegedly granted another N7 billion loan without collateral. The police officer said: "We believe the loan was equally given to themselves (Alabi and his accomplices.)"

He said the police were investigating why Alabi and other suspects wrote off the loan amounting to N9 billion and also why they should grant a loan of N7 billion without collateral, contrary to CBN's regulation and the normal practice in the banking industry.

According to him, an investigation will actually reveal if the loans were granted to the suspects and his friends or were really granted to some other persons.