Corruption in Nigeria dates back to the time of colonial rule. It is no baby talk and definitely not a year-old phenomenon bewildering the country.
We wail our state of economic comatose today for the sins of some men who sought it right to suck us dry at the slightest opportunity they had at our national “cake & orange”.
As much as we live to pray for Nigeria to live more fruitful years, let us continue to stay mindful of these ‘Kleptomaniacs”.
1. Sanni Abacha
Abacha was a military head of state in Nigeria from 1993 till his death in 1998.
Sanni Abacha in collaboration with his security adviser, Alhaji Ismaila Gwarzo navigated a swooping $1.4 billion from the country to off-shore accounts by sending in travelers’ cheques from CBN to Gwarzo.
All in all, $267 million was discovered and retrieved by Jersey.
2. James Ibori
James Ibori was a former governor of Delta state from 1999 to 2007. This is someone we can call “Big Con”. He was a very tricky and funny person.
Ibori was first charged with a case of fraud in 2007 when the office of a lawyer, Gohil Bhadresh was raided by UK police and discovered hard drives that revealed deals about many off-shore companies run on behalf of Ibori by Gohil, fiduciary agent Daniel Benedict McCann, and corporate-financier Lambertus De Boer. All of these men were later jailed for a total of 30 years.
His assets of about £17 million ($35 million) were frozen. He declined all charges and argued that it was a plot by the then EFCC chairman Nuhu Ribadu.
In December 2007, he was again charged in Nigeria by the head of EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu for money laundering but was acquitted. Ribadu disclosed how Ibori tried bribing him with a sum of $15 million.
He was again charged in 2010 for N40 million loan misappropriated but fled the country. He was sought after in the UK and his sisters were apprehended for fraud too.
On 27 February 2012, he was eventually arrested for stealing US$250 million from the Nigerian public purse and sentenced to 13 years in London for conspiracy to defraud.
3. Diepreye Peter Alamieyeseigha
Alamieyeseigha was also a former governor of Bayelsa state.
He was first charged in 2005 in London for money laundering after the discovery of £1m in cash in his London home, a total sum of £1.8m ($3.2m) in cash and bank accounts and four homes in London worth £10 million.
In 2007, he was tried in a Nigerian court and condemned to 12 years imprisonment on 6 different charges but was later pardoned by the then President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013.
In 2012, the United States Department of Justice executed an order of forfeiture on $401,931 in a Massachusetts brokerage fund related to Alamieyeseigha. It was reported that he fled the UK after bail in the disguise of a woman.
4. Bode George
Bode George was a former chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority in the Obasanjo administration.
In 2005, he was accused of N85 billion fraud and dragged to court by the EFCC under the leadership of Nuhu Ribadu.
Farida Waziri, however, took over the case in 2008 and he was found guilty on 47 counts charges of the 68 he was charged with by EFCC. He was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment but was released by court order in 2013 exonerating him of all charges.
5. Diezani Allison-Madueke
Diezani was the first female president of OPEC. She was a former Minister of Transportation and later, Minister of Petroleum Resources.
She was accused of siphoning $20 billion which was whistle-blown by the then Governor of CBN, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
In 2009, the senate-house indicted her for the unlawful transfer of N1.2 billion. In 2015 the Federal government confirmed her arrest in London along with four other people on suspicion of bribery and corruption offenses.
On 28 August 2017, a Nigerian federal court ordered the forfeiture of 7.6 billion naira ($21 million) from all bank accounts connected to her.
6. Sambo Dasuki
Dasuki served as National Security Adviser under the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
He was in 2015 arrested on an order by President Buhari Muhammedu for siphoning $2 billion meant for the procurement of arms during Jonathan’s tenure and his passport withdrawn.
7. Olisa Metuh
Olisa Metuh was arrested by EFCC in 2016 for siphoning funds of N400 million for arms during the administration of Goodluck Jonathan.
He was imprisoned on the 25th of February 2020.
The End!
Which Of These Thieves Do You Think Made Nigerians Suffer The Most?
Let’s hear from you all.
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