A former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, has dismissed report in an online publication linking him to an alleged $1.6 billion Local Government judgment debt scam.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mr. Adoke wondered what motivated the Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC) that has reportedly petitioned the EFCC.
The group was said to have asked the EFCC “to investigate a court judgment obtained by the 774 local government councils in the country, ordering the Federal Government to pay them $3.188billion and the diversion of $1.6billion”.
The former AGF described the allegation as weighty but without facts, insisting that he was never at any time involved in the alleged diversion of the sum of $1.6billion paid pursuant to the judgment of the Court or any other sums of money.
Adoke in a statement he personally signed said, “My initial reaction was to dismiss it as the handiwork of mischief-makers who are hell bent on pitching me against anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies especially the EFCC in order to instigate and/or precipitate spurious investigations against my person to settle personal scores.
“I was however advised otherwise particularly as Government’s current war against corruption has unwittingly created an enabling environment for mischief, harassment, fraud and revenge to thrive through malicious petitions against perceived enemies with the sole aim of disparaging them and bringing them to public odium.
“While I cannot decipher the motivations of the Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC) that has reportedly petitioned the EFCC “to investigate a court judgment obtained by the 774 local government councils in the country, ordering the Federal Government to pay them $3.188billion and the diversion of $1.6billion” and their antecedents, I am however surprised that they could make such weighty allegation without any factual basis.
“I wish to state categorically that I was not at any time involved in the alleged diversion of the sum of $1.6billion paid pursuant to the judgment of the Court or any other sums of money.
“It will be recalled that when I assumed office in 2010, one of the reforms measures I initiated was the decentralization of payment of judgment debts, which was before then, domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Justice. This became pertinent in view of allegations of collusion, connivance, bribery and other acts of corruption that had trailed the Judgment Debt payment system I had inherited.
“I therefore presented a Memorandum on the issue to the Federal Executive Council, which considered the reasons I had articulated and approved that the payment of Judgment debts be decentralized (meaning that henceforth, the various MDAs will be responsible for payment of judgment debts that they were primarily liable from their budgetary allocations). The objective was to make the MDAs take active interest in cases that they were involved, ensure robust defence to such actions and instill transparency and accountability in the system.
“By the operation of the Policy, the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation was only a nominal party to suits initiated against MDAs including suit number FHC/ABJ/129/2013, where the Ministry of Finance was the Primary/Principal Party. This notwithstanding, when enforcement proceedings commenced, I wrote to the Ministry of Finance to ascertain whether they had appealed the judgment. The Ministry’s response to my enquiry was that they did not appeal and had no intention of appealing the judgment. It was at this stage that I advised that steps be taken to reach an amicable settlement that can guarantee a win-win outcome. This was the advisory role I could play under the prevailing policy.
“It should be appreciated that the Federal Ministry of Justice was not involved in the payment of the alleged judgment sum and could not have been involved since the Ministry of Finance was primarily liable. I could therefore not have been involved in the alleged diversion. It is instructive to note that the publication detailed the names of individuals and corporate entities to which monies were allegedly paid. I am not mentioned as an individual beneficiary and therefore find it mischievous and malicious that my name featured prominently in the aforementioned headline.
“I therefore urge my well-wishers and other Nigerians who have expressed concern over the publication to be rest assured that I was not a party to any unwholesome act or diversion of public funds as alleged. The EFCC has no reason to investigate me on the strength of this frivolous petition. I reiterate that in all my public service, my only motivation was the desire to serve my fatherland and contribute my quota to the development of our great country.”
