By Gabriel Ajanaku
The governing All Progressives Congress (APC) as Nigerians will recall, rode to power on the premise of ridding the country of endemic corruption.
The late President Muhammadu Buhari who became the party’s first leader, laid the foundation for the war against corruption on assumption of office by strengthening institutions for an all-out battle.
The Buhari administration did unearthed corruption in high places including in the country’s civil service.
Key among such cases was the one investigated by the Special Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property headed by the former the Special Assistant to the late President Buhari on Prosecutions, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla involving an ex-Director of Finance and Administration at the defunct Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Ibrahim Tumsah.
According to a police officer Muhammed Kabiru, a prosecutor in the case, the investigation against Ibrahim Tumash was as a result of a petition accusing him of corruption and abuse of office.
For the sake of those who did not follow the incident and intrigues around it at the time, the panel uncovered 86 luxury vehicles, 23 of which were said to be armoured, linked the former director. The vehicles and other items were said to have been found on November 17, 2017, in a warehouse located on the premises of the house at 22 Igbani Street, Jabi, Abuja. Also linked to the former director were some landed properties including houses located in choice areas in Abuja and other places.
After what many referred to as a diligent probe, the Obono-Obla-led panel approached a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Apo, Abuja, with an ex parte application on November 23, 2017, requesting an interim forfeiture of the properties, which Justice Muawiyah Idris graciously granted on December 6, 2017.
Some of the affected luxury cars listed with their chasis numbers and colours in the schedule attached to the panel’s ex parte motion include Wrangler Jeep (black), Audi ASL (ash), Toyota Hilux (white), Taurus Ford (red), Mercedez Benz S550 (red), Mercedez Benz GL 550(black), Toyota Land Cruiser V6 (black), Toyota Prado Jeep (white), Jaguar (ash), another Toyota Hiluz (white), Toyota Highlander, and another Mercedez Benz S550 (black).
Also on the schedule are two Golf GTI cars (both black), Hyundai Veloster (red), Wrangler (red), Chevrolet (ash), Mercedez Vaneo (ash), Infinity FX50 (ash), Honda 2008/9, Jaguar XF (silver), Sahara Jeep (grey), BMW 7 Series (dark ash), Mercedez E550 (silver), Toyota Avalon (dark ash), Mercedez CLK 550 (ash), Cayenna Porche (black), Toyota Camry 2009 (sky blue), Jeep SRT Chirokee (silver), BMW GT550 (white) and BMW R8 2 Series (black).
Others on the list are Hyundai Velager (red), Camry 2013/14(white), Mercedez C300 (black), Ford Taurus (golden), Lincoln Niks (dark ash), Equus 2013 (dark ash), Toyota Sequoia (black), Audi A7 3.OT (black), Toyota Prado (black), another Mercedez C550 (black), KIA 900 (black), Avalon 2014(dark ash), Fiat 500 (silver), Acura RNX 2013, Lexus 15 3500, another Ford Taurus (Maroon), Caridac XT54 (red), Fiat; Turbo; Ford Excursion; Honda V6 Tourine, Audi Q 736, Ford BW, Lexus LS430 and Infinity QX705.
Some also include Maserati, Ford Super Duty, Toyota RAV4, Ford 4X4 Super Duty, Land Rover VIE 1155, Land Rover VIE 1265, Ford Taurus Limited, Ford SHD, Audi 55, Roya Turbo and 20 other luxury cars.
Apart from from the 86 exotic cars, the court’s forfeiture order also affected four houses, two of which are located in Wuse II; one in Wuse Zone 7, and the other in Jabi, and a quarry in Kuje, all in Abuja. This is aside eight containers containing household items.
The investigators had alleged that Tumsah acquired the seized assets in the name of two of his companies registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission –Integrated Service Insurance Limited and Integrated Bureau De-Change Limited.
They further alleged that the assets were proceeds of crime acquired between 2016 and 2017.
The alleged discovery had understandably elicited outcry from the general public, which queried the “outrageous” enterprise and the audacity of those entrusted with position of authority in public service.
Nigerians had called for the outright prosecution of Tumsah over the anomaly. However, the accused was far from being remorseful. He denied the panel access to the properties in defiance of the court order.
The federal government had to charge him to court in January, 2018 over his alleged failure to declare his assets to the Obono-Obla-led panel. He was subsequently arraigned in February, and granted bail while the case was adjourned to March 1 of that year. Curiously however, the federal government in April, withdrew the charges against him. Equally curious was the decision of the Court of Appeal in Abuja to nullify the prosecutorial powers of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP) following an appeal by Ibrahim challenging the refusal of an FCT High Court to set aside the ex-parte order made on December 6, 2017 seizing his properties.
Hope of getting justice in the matter seemed dashed when the late president in September, 2019, dissolved the SPIP, while directing the then AGF, Abubakar Malami to take over all outstanding investigations and other activities of the body.
In November 2019, over 500 case files were retrieved from the office of the disbanded Panel, and an 8-man Panel was set up by the Department of Public Prosecutions, DPP, in the Ministry of Justice, to review the heaps of files, among which was that of Tumsah investigated and handed over to the AGF’s office by the SPIP, on the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari, in 2019.
There is therefore the urgent need for the Tinubu-led administration to revisit the case in the interest of justice, and in the spirit of the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President.
I aligned with the position of a former prosecutor with the SPIP, Oluwatosin Ojaomo, that revisiting the case will build public confidence in the anti-corruption war, and it will be a disservice to the country to bury the matter permanently.
Mr. Ajanaku, a public affairs analyst and anti corruption crusader writes from Mpape, Abuja.
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