By: Okoi Obono-Obla The same senior lawyer, who had won the favour of the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister...
By: Okoi Obono-Obla
The same senior lawyer, who had won the favour of the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice—and who was earlier briefed to handle the concluded recovery of the Abacha loot from Switzerland—was also entrusted with the responsibility of disposing of crude oil, barges, vessels laden with crude oil, vehicles, and other items seized and impounded by the Nigerian Navy from oil bunkerers in the Niger Delta region over the years. These items were passed to me by the Nigerian Navy, and I, in turn, forwarded them to the Attorney General of the Federation through a memo. As soon as that happened, I was cut off and never knew what transpired thereafter until stories began circulating on social media about four years ago, alleging that the sale of these items was bungled and that the money realized was never remitted into the Federation accounts.
I vividly recall how the Nigerian Navy provided gunboats to move me from the Apapa Naval Base in Lagos to the high seas to inspect massive oil tankers seized from oil thieves but left floating off the coast of Lagos. I also travelled to Warri in Delta State to inspect some of these seized items at the Naval Base there, and later to Bonny Island in Rivers State for the same purpose. I have details of these arrested barges and vessels. During this period, I had developed a synergy and collaborative working relationship with the Navy as Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution. The then Chief of Naval Staff was elated and appointed me to a high-powered committee, entrusting me with the responsibility of developing and designing a standard procedure manual for the prosecution of maritime criminal cases in the exclusive economic zone of the Niger Delta Region. This development prompted him to hand over the forfeited assets recovered by the Navy to the Federal Ministry of Justice, with the expectation that the Ministry would take inventory and advise on the most appropriate government organ for their disposal.
However, the Federal Ministry of Justice under Abubakar Malami SAN became deeply engrossed in asset recovery and disposal, to the extent that he declared himself the “Chief Asset Recovery and Revenue Officer of the Federation.” At the same time, I was working with Dr. Clinton Tonye Jaja, a lawyer who had established contact with the Attorney General of the State of New Jersey in the United States of America, to recover $300 million of the Abacha loot stashed there. When we had made significant progress, I suddenly received a terse letter from a private legal practitioner, acting on the instruction of Abubakar Malami SAN—the same lawyer retained to recover the Abacha loot from Switzerland—warning me to desist from pursuing the recovery of the loot in New Jersey. The letter stated that such recovery fell within the exclusive preserve of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice as the “Chief Asset Recovery and Revenue Officer of the Federation.”
I continue to wonder why the Federal Ministry of Justice, which is supposed to concern itself with policy formulation and implementation, would be constituted into an agency tasked with selling properties emanating from the proceeds of crime during those heydays.
Conclusion
This episode raises serious questions about transparency, accountability, and the proper role of government institutions in managing assets seized from criminal activities. It remains a stark reminder of how mismanagement can undermine public trust in the justice system.
— Okoi Obono-Obla
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