Just In: EFCC is set to examine alleged N2.2 billion fraud at the Supreme Court

Ibekimi Oriamaja reports

A plea dated May 30, 2022 written by a certain Aliyu Mohammed and delivered to Abdulrasheed Bawa, Chairman of the EFCC, ostensibly on behalf of the concerned Supreme Court of Nigeria officials, served as the basis for the extensive assignment.

According to a copy of the petition that Vanguard Law and Human Rights has seen, the initial petition was sent on June 1, 2022.

The anti-graft agency was requested in the petition to solve the riddle of who really owns a bank account at the United Bank for Africa with the account number 2027642863, where a total of N2.2 billion that was allegedly stolen from the Supreme Court of Nigeria was reportedly redirected.

The investigation will also try to determine where the funds that went into the account during that time period came from.

Additionally, members of the EFCC are anticipated to look into the validity of the claim that the current Executive Secretary of the National Judicial Council, Mr. Gambo Saleh, conspired with one Surajo, a staff member of NJC and the son of the recently retired Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, to sell a property used by a Justice of the Supreme Court without Justice Tanko’s knowledge.

The Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters’ ongoing efforts to visit the Supreme Court of Nigeria, SCN, on a fact-finding mission regarding an unprecedented memo written by 14 justices of the Supreme Court detailing allegations of mismanagement against the recently retired Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko, appear to coincide with the EFCC’s decision to look into the petition.

Even as it pledged to involve the media in its job, the committee vowed to shortly announce a date for the task.

It is now known that the aforementioned message caused Justice Tanko to retire from his position on June 27, 2022.

Aliyu Mohammed’s petition challenging Ahmed Gambo and Justice Tanko-led Supreme Court

Aliyu Mohammed requested in the suit that the EFCC conduct a forensic assessment of the actions of the Justice Tanko Muhammad-supervised National Judicial Council and the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

Part of the petition reads: “Right now, there is unrest in the court. Mr. Surajo Muhammad, the son of Justice Muhammad, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, and Ahmed Gambo Saleh, the Secretary of the NJC, have been named as leaders in the ongoing destabilization and fraud.

“The following carefully highlights a few recent instances of fraud. An extensive examination is essential.

You may find it interesting to note that Gambo and Surajo just sold a Supreme Court Justice’s house in the Villa, Abuja. It was sold to a government organization. The CJN was unaware of this. When the dubious deals reached the CJN, Kim conveyed his displeasure over them. The CJN was so furious with the shady activities between Gambo, Surajo, and the agency that he ordered the transaction to be reversed. The JSC who was supposed to be given the abovementioned residence is currently homeless because the house in question was destroyed before any remedy could be applied.

On November 6, 2020, some justices took their oaths of office. They were each meant to receive three different, brand-new cars, as per tradition: a Mercedes Benz, a Land Cruiser, and a utility vehicle. They (the JSC) were only handed a Land Cruiser, although one that had been modified, as a result of Gambo and Surajo’s mischief. After a year, a Hilux was added, and the Justices are still waiting for the Mercedes-Benz.

Despite the fact that they were projects for the 2020 fiscal year, they were included in the capital budget.
Today, Surajo may be considered the de facto head of the SCN because it appears that his father has given him control over running the court even while he is not a staff member. As fraudulent operations grow, the Chief Registrar, who is meant to be in charge of administration, has been demoted and pushed to the side.

“Let’s be conscious of the fact that Gambo’s appointment as the Secretary of the NJC in 2017—after being promoted to the position of Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court in 2014—remains a mystery, despite the fact that his case file overflows with corruption allegations. His promotion coincided with the period of time when he was meant to be responding to crucial fraud-related queries. Many of us in the anti-corruption movement are still confused by his promotion, in fact.

There are numerous incidents of economic and financial crimes that continue to hover over Gambo’s head like a sword of Damocles. Gambo was accused of diverting a total of N2.2 billion that belonged to the Nigerian Supreme Court. He is accused of transferring the money into his own personal bank account, which is located at United Bank for Africa PLC and has the account number 2027642863.

Following a thorough preliminary inquiry, it was claimed that the same Gambo had admitted that the money in question was his because the most of it was a present from friends. Further inquiry, however, showed that he did, in fact, take bribes from several contractors in addition to openly robbing the apex court’s vault and performing subpar work or outright abandoning contracts for which he would have received full payment.

“Further inquiry showed that he received N19 million from Ababia Ventures Limited, a private contractor that works for the Supreme Court of Nigeria, according to the report.

“As future research would establish, he also engaged in the following fraudulent activities:

*Getting N21 million in satisfaction from MBA Computers Limited, a business that does work for the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
*Receiving N2.4 million in satisfaction from Welcon Nigeria Limited, a business partner of Nigerian Supreme Court.
*Getting N6 million in satisfaction from the Supreme Court of Nigeria’s private contractor, Welcon Nigeria Limited.

*Receiving N10 million in appreciation from Willysdave Limited, a business partner of the Nigerian Supreme Court.

Getting paid N16 million by Dean Musa Nigeria Limited, a private contractor that worked for the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

Even after an investigation was satisfactorily completed, it is still a cause for considerable concern that a high-profile suspect would be promoted to Secretary of the NJC, the highest court in the land. Does that imply that crimes of any kind, especially those involving money and the economy, are now rewarded? This inquiry begs for a response.

It is past time for the EFCC and NJC to conduct a follow-up investigation into the SCN and NJC’s operations when Gambo was in charge.

There are sufficient justifications why this petition shouldn’t be ignored. His estimated value exceeds N10 billion. How did he acquire this dubious fortune while serving as a public official? He must provide the anti-graft organization with some justifications.

“I’m hoping he’s not an untouchable. His prior accomplishments provide compelling evidence that this petition should not be dismissed. An early stitch can save nine.

Aliyu Mohammed signed off, saying “Many thanks for your timely assistance,” and left his GSM contact information at 0702335070233.

The Petition of Aliyu Mohammed’s Issues

A close examination of the petition would show that it raised seven (7) major issues, including the alleged sale of a property in Aso Villa that was occupied by a Justice of the Supreme Court by the NJC Executive Secretary duo of Gambo Saleh and Surajo; the son of Justice Tanko Muhammad; underfunding Supreme Court justices appointed in 2020 in terms of the official vehicles they are entitled to; and the claim that Surajo took control of the Supreme Court from his father and the Chi.

However, some of the claims made in the petition were unclear because the author had not offered enough details.

Following receipt of the petition, Vanguard Law and Human Rights made multiple attempts to contact Aliyu Mohammed in order to learn more about some of the charges in the petition, but the calls were never answered.

The Supreme Court’s management claimed that they examined the staff list for the highest bench but that no one answered such a name, thus attempts to locate him there too were unsuccessful.

Additionally, it was reliably reported that the EFCC had made numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact the petition’s author. This information prevented the anti-graft organization from acting right away.

However, Vanguard Law and Human Rights discussed the concerns stated in the petition with the National Judicial Council’s and the Supreme Court of Nigeria’s management.

The National Judicial Council’s director of information, Mr. Soji Oye, spoke on behalf of the council’s secretary, Mr. Gambo Saleh, while t
he former chief justice of Nigeria’s media assistant, Mr. Ahuraka Isah, spoke on behalf of Justice Tanko Muhammad and his son, Surajo

.
Before his boss’s resignation, Ahuraka spoke with Vanguard Law and Human Rights, and Soji Oye spoke during the week.

In particular, the National Judicial Council and the Nigerian Supreme Court both stated that they had no objections to any kind of investigation.

Let me begin by stating that the petition’s author is not a member of the Supreme Court’s staff, as he claimed, says Mr. Soji Oye. The name on the Supreme Court staff directory is unanswered. Additionally, despite our repeated attempts, the GSM number he left unanswered. After that, let’s examine each of the concerns brought up as they relate to the NJC Executive Secretary one at a time.

“Let me begin by responding to the preamble to the petition, which quoted Justice Eko, a former Supreme Court justice, who requested that the Auditor-General of the Federation occasionally open the books of the NJC. You might be astonished to learn that the NJC is home to the Auditor-General of the Federation’s office, which employs 11 people to open our books every day. The Office of the AGF is always present in this location. We have a transparent government, he remarked.

The claim that Gambo and Surajo conspired to sell a Supreme Court Justice’s apartment in the Villa is absurd.

The Executive Secretary of the National Judicial Council, Gambo Saleh, and Surajo, the son of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, are accused of selling a house owned by a sitting Supreme Court Justice, according to the National Judicial Council image creator.

Soji Oye asserts that it appears the author purposefully withheld some facts on the disputed property in order to damage Saleh Gambo, the secretary of the NJC.

He clarified that the apex bench only received an allocation of the property (House 10, Ibrahim Taiwo Street), which belonged to the Presidency, for the purpose of housing a Justice of the Supreme Court.
The audience would be interested to know that Justice Tanko, the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, previously resided in the aforementioned House No. 10 Ibrahim Taiwo Street on the route to the Villa. The house No. 11 on the property, which was occupied by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, or NFIU, was nearby.

“What transpired was that NFIU owned property adjacent to the aforementioned Supreme Court Justice’s residence, but it needed to expand the office. It requested permission from the Presidency to annex the Supreme Court Justice’s home, and that request was granted. Later, the NFIU approached the CJN, who said that while he was not opposed to the choice, the Presidency should provide them with a successor. If you exit the Supreme Court here, the building is at No. 10 Ibrahim Taiwo Street on your route to the Villa.

“While NFIU moved in to have the building on Ibrahim Taiwo demolished so they could reconstruct their office how they desire, the Presidency granted the Supreme Court another building at No. 11 in Queen Elizabeth Crescent as a replacement. Julius Berger is currently renovating the office for them.

Does it make any sense, now that I think about it, for someone to claim that two people conspired to sell the Presidency’s mansion to the NFIU?

In order to support his assertion, Soji Oye really provided documentation from Vanguard Law and Human Rights.

Malicious and deceptive allegations of misappropriating N2.2 billion from the S’Court budget against me

Regarding the claim that Gambo transferred N2.2 billion from the Supreme Court into his personal account with UBA under Account Number 2027642863, Soji Oye said that claim could only be a lie straight out of hell.
The operative account of the Supreme Court of Nigeria is the supposed UBA account that they claimed belonged to Mr. Gambo. The Supreme Court launched the account in 2009, when Justice Kutigi was still in office. You can conduct your own research. Account information is not kept secret.
In 2014, Mr. Gambo was appointed Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court. The sum that was sent through that account between 2009 and 2016 was the aforementioned N2.2 billion.

The Supreme Court judges’ wellbeing is taken care of by the account. The account was not signed by Justice Gambo. How can it be claimed that the Supreme Court’s account belongs to a certain person?

In fact, Justice Usman Alhaji Musale served as the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court from 2007 to 2010 at the time the account was registered, according to Vanguard Law and Human Rights. He quit NJC to become a judge on the supreme court.

Justice Sunday Olorundahunsi succeeded Musale in 2010 and held the position until 2014, when he was appointed to the high court as well. Mr. Ahmed Gambo Saleh succeeded Olorundahunsi in 2014 and held the position until 2017, when he was appointed executive secretary of the National Judicial Council. Records also revealed that Mrs. Hadizatu Uwani Mustapha succeeded Saleh in 2017 and held the position until August 2021, when she resigned after reaching the statutory retirement age of 60, while Mrs. Hajo Sarki Bello has served as the apex bench’s chief registrar since August 2021.

According to Soji Oye, the petitioner claimed that Mr. Saleh was responsible for the alleged N2.2 billion transfer through the Supreme Court account number between 2009 and 2016, which was used to intentionally and maliciously mislead the public and damage the reputation of the NJC scribe.
Regarding allegations that S’Court contractors were paid N74.4 million in gratification

The accusation in the petition that Gambo received money from Supreme Court contractors was similarly dismissed by Soji Oye as being the product of the author’s imagination.
Where were the alleged bribes paid into, I inquire? The same UBA Account, which belonged to the Supreme Court and was managed by the cashier, held the N74.4 million in funds that they asserted to be bribes. After an investigation into these baseless accusations, Gambo received a clear report. I am unaware of their goal, he continued.

How I became NJC-Executive Gambo’s Secretary

The petition also questioned how Gambo became the Executive Secretary of the National Judicial Council, NJC, in less than honest circumstances.

Contrary to the assertion, according to Soji Oye, Gambo’s selection as the secretary of the NJC was not only transparent but also the result of his outstanding performance in the job interview.

In fact, Gambo competed for the position with Mr. Williams Rotimi Daudu, the Chief Registrar of the National Industrial Court, and Mr. Aliyu Ibrahim, a former Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal. Vanguard Law and Human Rights also obtained a copy of the score sheet used to evaluate candidates for the top position. Based on his outstanding performance in the interview, the score sheet indicated that he outperformed the other two candidates and won the position.

That Gambo Saleh is only worth N10b, how absurd!

The most absurd claim made by the petitioner, in Soji Oye’s opinion, was that Gambo was worth N10 billion. He claimed that aside from the fact that he had merely dropped the number, the charge was unsupported by even a shred of evidence.

Concerning the official cars that were provided to the new Supreme Court Justices who were treated unfairly

The petitioner further connected Mr. Saleh to a different accusation regarding depriving the newly appointed Supreme Court judges of the official cars they were entitled to.

I ask, “Where were the alleged bribes paid into?” The N74.4 million in funds that they claimed to be bribes were kept in the same UBA Account, which belonged to the Supreme Court and was maintained by the cashier. Gambo was given a detailed report following an examination into these unfounded allegations. I don’t know what their aim is, he said.

How I became Secretary to NJC-Executive Gambo

The petition also questioned Gambo’s questionable path to the position of Executive Secretary of the National Judicial Council, or NJC.

Soji Oye refutes the claim, claiming that Gambo’s appointment as the NJC secretary was not only transparent but also the outcome of his great performance in the interview.

In reality, Mr. Williams Rotimi Daudu, the Chief Registrar of the National Industrial Court, and Mr. Aliyu Ibrahim, a former Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal, were in competition with Gambo for the job. A copy of the scoring matrix that was used to assess applicants for the top post was also obtained by Vanguard Law and Human Rights. The score sheet showed that he outperformed the other two candidates and was chosen for the job due to his excellent performance in the interview.

How ridiculous that Gambo Saleh is only worth N10b!

Soji Oye thought the petitioner’s assertion that Gambo was worth N10 billion was the most ridiculous. In addition to the fact that he had merely discarded the number, he asserted that there was zero proof to back up the accusation.

Regarding the official vehicles issued to the newly appointed Supreme Court Justices who received unfair treatment

The petitioner further claimed that Mr. Saleh was responsible for depriving the newly appointed Supreme Court judges of their legal right to official cars.

To Soji Oye, the petitioner seems to not understand that the Supreme Court and the National Judicial Council are two distinct organizations with independent managements.

In addition, Gambo stopped serving as the Supreme Court’s chief registrar in 2017. The Supreme Court’s justices were appointed in 2020. The petitioner might not have known. However, the reality is that, since the Supreme Court and the NJC are two separate organizations, Mr. Ahmed Gambo Saleh, in his capacity as NJC Secretary, does not oversee its operations.

On the withdrawal of N2.2 billion, Gambo is accused of fraud.

Regarding the claim that Mr. Saleh’s N2.2 billion fraud charges were withdrawn by the Attorney-General of the Federation after he allegedly reached a plea agreement, the truth is that the charges were dismissed immediately once the AGF’s office realized they couldn’t be supported.

“It is crucial for the general public to be aware that, prior to his appearance as the Secretary of the NJC, certain elements that had hoped to thwart his appointment as the Council’s Secretary had reappeared with actions meant to damage his reputation and bring his good name into contempt.

It has been established that these elements falsely claimed that he had diverted N2.2 billion from the Supreme Court from 2009 to 2016 on the day the Council meeting was scheduled in an effort to prevent his appointment as the NJC Secretary following the interview to consider his appointment.

“It should be remembered that Mr. Saleh has never confessed to committing a crime in front of anyone or a court of law.

The people behind these false accusations think they control the judiciary and that no one can advance inside it without their consent.