US, EU THREATENS TO WITHDRAW SUPPORT FOR BUHARI'S ANTI-CORRUPTION WAR
By Okonkwo Isaac Somto
For Family Writers
The United States (US) government and the European Union (EU) are threatening to withdraw support for the President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption movement should he fail to reopen the Halliburton bribery scandal. Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation and one of the world's largest [6] oil field services companies, with operations in more than 80 countries. The company has been involved in numerous controversies, including the Deepwater Horizon explosion, for which it agreed to settle outstanding legal claims against it by paying litigants $1.1 billion.
The Halliburton bribery scandal dates back to 1994 when the Nigerian government launched an ambitious plan to build the Bonny Island Natural Liquefied Gas Project had revealed a network of secretive banks and offshore tax havens used to funnel $182 million in bribes to Nigerian officials in exchange for $6 billion in engineering and construction work for an international consortium of companies that included a then Halliburton subsidiary.
Also earlier in 2009, KBR, a former subsidiary of Halliburton, agreed to pay $402 million after admitting that it bribed Nigerian officials, and Halliburton paid $177 million to settle allegations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission without admitting any wrongdoing. In mid-December 2010, the case was settled when Nigeria agreed to drop the corruption charges against Cheney and Halliburton in exchange for a $250 million settlement.
According to Femi Babafemi, the spokesperson for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the $250 million would include approximately $130 million frozen in a Swiss bank, and the rest would be paid as fines. The Federal Contractor Misconduct Database details 10 instances of misconduct since 1995 under which Halliburton has agreed to pay settlements of $791 million. A further 22 instances of misconduct relate to the company's former subsidiary KBR. It was revealed that the US and the EU have declared that the Nigerian government has enough information at its disposal to prosecute the case and bring the perpetrators to book. In 2010, the then US Ambassador to Nigeria Robin Sanders, presented documents and evidence needed by the Nigerian authorities to prosecute culprits in the $180million Halliburton scandal but sadly nothing has been done to bring those involve to justice.
Robin Sanders in a statement then said “the Nigerian government and ministers have…enough information to act on their own as there are other countries that are involved and they have the same degree of access to those countries as we do. We know that information has been with the Nigerian government for quite some time and with the previous ministers that have held that ministerial position. So that information is there and is there for you to act on as your laws and your country deems fit.”
It was reported that the US and EU are showing unwillingness to further support the Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign if he fails to reopen the Halliburton case and punish those indicted by the investigative report. Reports states that the reason the US and the EU angry with the Nigerian government is the fact that those indicted in the case in the US and Europe have all been punished and they are surprise that the Nigerian government is shielding those indicted who are Nigerians.
So unless the President Buhari’s administration show seriousness with the Halliburton case, “there is no way that the US and European governments will take his anti-corruption case very seriously. People who committed the fraud must be punished”. “If those indicted in the Halliburton case are not
tried and jailed, the Buhari’s anti-corruption fight would been seen as selective, designed to hunt the opposition and those he has a past history with. He must look into the Halliburton case and reopen the case so that those fingered in the case will be punished. Anything short of this will be unacceptable to the international community,” the diplomat said.
Names on the list include four former heads of states, two first ladies, military and intelligence chiefs, former ministers, business moguls and well as a host of other influential Nigerians. This are some alleged names implicated in the scandal: Former Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal A. D. Bello alleged to have collected $15. 7million using his foreign account, for himself and a former military head of state; Alhaji Ibrahim Aliyu, elder brother of the Niger State governor and former federal permanent secretary alleged to have collected over $35million for himself and others including a former military head of state, and Alhaji Abdukadir Abacha, brother of late head of state also alleged to have collected $7million using his foreign firm as front.
Other names on the list are a former Minister of Petroleum, Chief Dan Etete, alleged to have collected $3. 5million, using his oil firm as front; former Group Managing Director of the NNPC,
Mr. Jackson Gaius Obaseki, alleged to have facilitated the collection of about $11million that was shared between Bodunde Adeyanju, former Special Assistant to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Minister of State for Defence, Lawal Batagarawa, and a frontline political party. Mr. Mark
George, who was alleged to have collected $6million from Mr. Jeffrey Tesler and helped transfer the money to two top shots of the frontline political party and a special assistant to a former head of state.(The party was said to be PDP and the also Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was accused of collecting some the money)
Also contained in the list was Alhaji Gidado Bakare of the defunct CITI Bank who was detained for over one month during investigation. He was alleged to have collected more than $60million for himself, a former military head of state and other prominent persons in the North.
By Okonkwo Isaac Somto
For Family Writers
The United States (US) government and the European Union (EU) are threatening to withdraw support for the President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption movement should he fail to reopen the Halliburton bribery scandal. Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation and one of the world's largest [6] oil field services companies, with operations in more than 80 countries. The company has been involved in numerous controversies, including the Deepwater Horizon explosion, for which it agreed to settle outstanding legal claims against it by paying litigants $1.1 billion.
The Halliburton bribery scandal dates back to 1994 when the Nigerian government launched an ambitious plan to build the Bonny Island Natural Liquefied Gas Project had revealed a network of secretive banks and offshore tax havens used to funnel $182 million in bribes to Nigerian officials in exchange for $6 billion in engineering and construction work for an international consortium of companies that included a then Halliburton subsidiary.
Also earlier in 2009, KBR, a former subsidiary of Halliburton, agreed to pay $402 million after admitting that it bribed Nigerian officials, and Halliburton paid $177 million to settle allegations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission without admitting any wrongdoing. In mid-December 2010, the case was settled when Nigeria agreed to drop the corruption charges against Cheney and Halliburton in exchange for a $250 million settlement.
According to Femi Babafemi, the spokesperson for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the $250 million would include approximately $130 million frozen in a Swiss bank, and the rest would be paid as fines. The Federal Contractor Misconduct Database details 10 instances of misconduct since 1995 under which Halliburton has agreed to pay settlements of $791 million. A further 22 instances of misconduct relate to the company's former subsidiary KBR. It was revealed that the US and the EU have declared that the Nigerian government has enough information at its disposal to prosecute the case and bring the perpetrators to book. In 2010, the then US Ambassador to Nigeria Robin Sanders, presented documents and evidence needed by the Nigerian authorities to prosecute culprits in the $180million Halliburton scandal but sadly nothing has been done to bring those involve to justice.
Robin Sanders in a statement then said “the Nigerian government and ministers have…enough information to act on their own as there are other countries that are involved and they have the same degree of access to those countries as we do. We know that information has been with the Nigerian government for quite some time and with the previous ministers that have held that ministerial position. So that information is there and is there for you to act on as your laws and your country deems fit.”
It was reported that the US and EU are showing unwillingness to further support the Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign if he fails to reopen the Halliburton case and punish those indicted by the investigative report. Reports states that the reason the US and the EU angry with the Nigerian government is the fact that those indicted in the case in the US and Europe have all been punished and they are surprise that the Nigerian government is shielding those indicted who are Nigerians.
So unless the President Buhari’s administration show seriousness with the Halliburton case, “there is no way that the US and European governments will take his anti-corruption case very seriously. People who committed the fraud must be punished”. “If those indicted in the Halliburton case are not
tried and jailed, the Buhari’s anti-corruption fight would been seen as selective, designed to hunt the opposition and those he has a past history with. He must look into the Halliburton case and reopen the case so that those fingered in the case will be punished. Anything short of this will be unacceptable to the international community,” the diplomat said.
Names on the list include four former heads of states, two first ladies, military and intelligence chiefs, former ministers, business moguls and well as a host of other influential Nigerians. This are some alleged names implicated in the scandal: Former Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal A. D. Bello alleged to have collected $15. 7million using his foreign account, for himself and a former military head of state; Alhaji Ibrahim Aliyu, elder brother of the Niger State governor and former federal permanent secretary alleged to have collected over $35million for himself and others including a former military head of state, and Alhaji Abdukadir Abacha, brother of late head of state also alleged to have collected $7million using his foreign firm as front.
Other names on the list are a former Minister of Petroleum, Chief Dan Etete, alleged to have collected $3. 5million, using his oil firm as front; former Group Managing Director of the NNPC,
Mr. Jackson Gaius Obaseki, alleged to have facilitated the collection of about $11million that was shared between Bodunde Adeyanju, former Special Assistant to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Minister of State for Defence, Lawal Batagarawa, and a frontline political party. Mr. Mark
George, who was alleged to have collected $6million from Mr. Jeffrey Tesler and helped transfer the money to two top shots of the frontline political party and a special assistant to a former head of state.(The party was said to be PDP and the also Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was accused of collecting some the money)
Also contained in the list was Alhaji Gidado Bakare of the defunct CITI Bank who was detained for over one month during investigation. He was alleged to have collected more than $60million for himself, a former military head of state and other prominent persons in the North.
Thats cool
ReplyDeleteThe Nigerian system is rotten to the core. While at it, let them investigate what happened to the Oil money $2.1 billion that was discovered in Buhari's account when he was Petroleum Minister back in the day.
ReplyDeleteBuhari has got a lot in his sleeve. Aisha Buhari had better talk to her husband to open up the Halliburton bribery scandal and bring to book all persons and & female who are involve in the super corruptible Halliburton bribery scandal. Aisha Buhari must make sure that her husband did not leave any stone un-turn. Wow what a zoo jihadist Islamic fraudulent fake country. It is not all that glitters that is gold...
ReplyDeleteChukwu okike abiama is at work,
ReplyDeletePlease the world all the leaders of that expired name so called Nigeria, right from 1970-2016, should not fail to bring to justice, because they are the same group still in the government, they don't want any other person or people to be in the government, because all of them are corrupted and deadly means to eliminate whomsoever that's try to ask questions about humiliation, intimidation, killings, negligence against pour masses who are supposed to be laying good foundation for the future of the young generation. The world my points is, let's stand firmly in the truth to investigate all those corrupted (kaki-men) I mean, those camouflage uniform men, military to civilians clothes who are deceiving the world. I mean they are hypocrites to the masses progress, they have no sympathy to the Human-Rights.
ReplyDelete