Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) has denied allegations suggesting that the sum of N2 billion was paid to his office from the recovered funds.

The Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, and Minister of Justice, Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, in a statement denied  the allegations, explaining that prior to the repatriation of all the recovered assets, Nigeria and relevant nations signed a memorandum of understanding as to what the monies will be put to “and the government has been working in compliance with all the provisions of multi-national agreements reached”.

Malami,  noted that it was on the basis of the application of the said funds in line with the agreements that Nigeria earns a reputation among the international committee of nations which translated into further recoveries.

He, further informed that the federal government has a designated account at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for all recovered assets, adding that neither he as a person nor as Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, has in any way received any funds from the recovered assets.

Meanwhile, a House of Representatives panel, had earlier in the week, alleged that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) illegally paid N2 billion to Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF), from recovered loot.

The house ad hoc committee probing the status of recovered loot, at its Tuesday’s sitting, queried the Minister on the funds which they said they never approved as a budgetary allocation.

The lawmakers cited a letter from the CBN which indicated that the apex bank directed the release of the funds following a request made for the money to be used to prosecute terror suspects.

They also challenged the Minister of Justice for allegedly requesting payment of approved solicitors’ fees from the recovered assets, a claim which Malami utterly denied.

He, also challenged any person who has any evidence of such payments to either him or his office, to come out publicly with proofs.

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However, we want this letter to serve as a note of warning to you to avoid being partners in crime as all the shady deals embark upon by the State Government have been revealed and being closely monitored.

For your information, all these criminals acts have been monitored by relevant agencies, most especially the NFIU. And we would not hesitate to drag any bank that connive to perpetrate this evil and fraudulent act before the court for necessary prosecution.

For this, you must avoid being put under duress by the State Government to partake in another man’s sins you know nothing about, by not allowing yourselves to be used and to further foist what is clearly an illegal and fraudulent administration over our Local Government Councils and LCDAs in Oyo state.

The Government of Oyo State and the Governor himself have been repeatedly warned before now by the Chief Law Officer of the Federation that is, (the Attorney General of the Federation) to respect the rule of law and desist from the path of illegality he was treading and being railroaded onto by some political jobbers whose stock in trade are to divide our Local Government Councils and constituencies as their political fiefdoms and their spoils of war.

You may need to be informed and reminded once again that the management, administration and financing of Local Councils and LCDAs according to the constitution and the Supreme Court in cases variously cited and now in the public domain, can only be validly approved, authorized, authenticated any documents and executed by elected Local Government Chairmen. No authorization from any ” Caretaker Chairman “of any Local Government Council or LCDA nor their appointors is recognized under the current legal regime in our country. Any bank that honours such illegal approvals, directives or authorization from any persons not recognize by law therefore renders such liable to criminal prosecution for conspiracy and fraud.

We recognize that the Governor continues to act illegally hiding behind a cloak of constitutional immunity, while his political or financial collaborators outside government who may be urging you all to embark on serial illegalities, will not be signatories to any official council document that may incriminate you and form the subject of investigations of this orchestrated fraud on the administration of Councils.

It should be strongly noted that under our jurisprudence ignorance of the law has never been an excuse to criminal culpability. A claim of ignorance, or self imposed duress will not avail anyone of our bankers nor Local Government staff and civil servants who act in defiance of established laws to conspire with usurpers not provided for under any law in our land to rob our councils. Any financial documents or vouchers signed by or authorized by any person other than the legally elected Local Government Chairmen will be tantamount to fraud.

It is no longer news that the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, has called the attention of Oyo State Government and the Inspector General of Police, DSS, EFCC and NFIU to the subsisting Supreme Court judgment reinforcing Section 7 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and pronounced as illegal and unconstitutional the dissolution of elected local council administration by State Governors or State Assemblies in Nigeria with no court order to back it up. You will also recall that the Inspector General of Police has passed down the order to effect the legal opinion of the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF by ensuring safety of the legally elected Local Government Chairmen while resuming back to their various offices. Letters and legal documents to this effect are attached for your perusal.

We again reemphasize by way of warning NOT TO PARTAKE OR STOP PARTAKING IN THEIR CRIMES AGAINST THE STATE as the law does not excuse criminality by reason of ignorance or even duress, under these circumstances.

Now that we are fully back in our offices with the aid of security agencies, we urge and appeal to you to depart from the path of illegality being urged upon you, and be courageous to save yourselves from impending culpability if found wanting. This is an appeal, but make no mistake about it, the law will take its course against every infringement and criminality irrespective of who perpetrates it.

We trust you will ponder over these truths, seek legal counsel from your personal attorneys to be properly guided, and ensure you are not sucked into the crucible Governor Makinde has heated up in our state.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!

Prince Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye
ALGON Chairman, Oyo State

The post ‘Illegal Withdrawal Of LG Money’, Oyo ALGON Writes Bank Regional Managers {Read Full Details} first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

The post ‘Illegal Withdrawal Of LG Money’, Oyo ALGON Writes Bank Regional Managers {Read Full Details} appeared first on MegaIcon Magazine.

Gani Adams also warned him against plunging the country into another war in this very week that Nigeria is marking “the 50th anniversary of the end of the civil war.”

The Aare Ona Kakanfo added that he finds it disturbing the statement credited  to  the Attorney -General declaring the security initiative of South-West governors ‘Amotekun’ as illegal, saying  that the outburst against the governors who were elected, not selected or appointed, is against the spirit of the 1999 Constituted (as amended).

Adams issued the warning in a letter he personally signed and addressed to the Attorney – General on Wednesday in Lagos and made available to Mega Icon Magazine.

According to him, “the right to life is universal and no government can legislate against that. I don’t need to bother you about killings, kidnappings, banditry and other criminal vices in the South-West recently. Even Mrs. Funke Olakunrin, the daughter of Yoruba leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, was killed and nobody has been arrested in respect of all these killings.

“One thing is clear: Nigerians have the right to protect themselves. Not only that: South-West people have a right to protect and defend themselves against attacks.

” Amotekun is an initiative by the South-West governors to defend our people”.

In the letter, Aare Gani Adams further explained  that the Amotekun initiative has nothing to do with the territorial integrity of Nigeria, stressing that if there is a breach of the territorial integrity of the country, the military will come in immediately. “So, nobody is rising against Nigeria, as your letter to the governors, directly or indirectly, implied.

“May be you have forgotten. I need to remind you that you are the Attorney-General of the country, not a section of the country. What is happening is that our people no longer feel safe because the land has been invaded by some elements from within and outside the country.

“It is unfortunate that rather than praise the governors, you are condemning their action, thereby strengthening the hands of those who believe the Federal Government is against some sections of the country. As a lawyer and a Senior Advocate, you should know that you are not the law. You are only the Attorney-General, not a court.

“It is only a court of competent jurisdiction that will decide if what an individual, group of individuals, an entity or a state does is legal or otherwise. So, it is only a court that can invalidate the South-West joint security initiative, not you. I want to establish this fact that the Yoruba have a right to protect themselves from attack or violence of any sort.

“Issues of security is highly sensitive, and we can now understand where the threat is coming from. It is unfortunate that the FG is doing everything to frustrate the southwest governors’ efforts. For instance,  last Wednesday, that was less than  24-hours before the launching of Amotekun in Ibadan, the Presidency summoned the  southwest governors to Aso rock.

“We knew about the intrigues that played out at the meeting. We knew about the frustrations at Aso rock, but the governors, having realised the implications of  playing politics with the lives of their people, stood their ground and went ahead to launch the security outfit as planned

“So, it is your position on this volatile situation that is illegal, unlawful, immoral and of no effect because your declaration has proved some critics right that some states in the country are deliberately left vulnerable to attacks by criminals. I want to state that the right to life cannot be in the exclusive list of any serious government. I am aware of similar security outfits in other sections of the country. Why you are against the protection of the lives and properties of Yoruba people defies logic”.

Aare Gani Adams,  however  called  on the Southwest governors  to ignore Malami’s position on this matter and move on.

The post Amotekun: Don’t set a bad precedent, Gani Adams warns Malami first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

The post Amotekun: Don’t set a bad precedent, Gani Adams warns Malami appeared first on MegaIcon Magazine.