Ibori: On Ribadu's $15m Bribery Allegation
By Tony Eluemunor
MY Lord, Mr. Average Citizen, with due humility, I announce my appearance in your honourable court today on behalf of my client, 'The Other Side Of The Story'.
Last week, 'One Side of The Story' read his brief on the pages of the newspapers and even on the Internet; the statement Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission chairman, made to the London Metropolitan Police (herein after called the London statement) dated 26th August 2009 - on the $15 million bribe allegation against Chief James Onanefe Ibori.
I shall not waste the time of this honourable court but would go straight to the point; by displaying the heart-rending contradictions therein if that London statement is compared with the three Police statements Ribadu himself, EFCC's former Director of Operations, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde and the Central Bank of Nigeria staff seconded to the EFCC, Mr. James Garba, made on 12th December 2007 on the same allegation.
In the London statement, the alleged bribe was made on "25th April 2007" but was "26/4/07" in Ribadu's 2007 statement.
In Ribadu's 2007 statement: "The money was collected in my presence at Dr. Andy Ubah's house by Lamorde and his officers." Finish. But in his London statement, another version appeared:
"On that day... James (Ibori) was there and his servant or driver brought out the money from the house, in two (2) massive sacks containing U.S. $100 dollar bills."
My Lord, how Ribadu knew the money was in $100 bills was not explained, as the bag or bags were only allegedly opened at the CBN and he did not accompany his staff there according to all the statements. But then, Garba said the money were in "$100 and $20 bills".
Contradicting Ribadu, Lamorde said on "25th April" Ribadu told him that "there was the sum of $15 million (USD) in cash given to him and the Commission by James Ibori and directed that I should make arrangement to collect it.
"So on 26-04-07, myself and Mr. James Garba, accompanied by Police escort, proceeded to Mr. Uba's residence. We collected the money."
So, from Lamorde's statement, even Ribadu was not there when the alleged money, deposited the preceding day, was collected.
Garba supported this version, saying the money was there in Uba's house on the 25th April 2007, and he was directed by Lamorde to collect the sum and deposit at the CBN.
So, he wrote an authorising letter, which Lamorde signed - for Garba to deposit the money that same 25th April 2007. Garba said: "But I could not make the deposit that day because it was already late to do so."
Garba contradicted Ribadu further: "In the compound, I saw Mr. Andy Uba and he directed some men, to carry a brownish long bag, very heavy, into the booth of the Director's (Lamorde) car. This happened after the Director and Uba had exchanged greetings on our arrival to Uba's house." Ibori was not there!
So, in Garba's statement, Ibori, who was present in Ribadu's London statement, was absent, and Ibori's driver or servant, who allegedly brought out the money from Ibori's car, curiously turned into "some men (not one) to carry the long heavy bag" into Lamorde's car.
Lamorde, too, like Garba, stated that neither Ibori nor Ribadu was there when the alleged money was collected.
Garba's statement further contradicts Ribadu's: "In the compound, I saw Mr. Andy Uba and he directed some men to carry a brownish long bag, very heavy, into the boot of the director's car."
Mr. Uba was worried if the vehicle could carry the long and heavy bag. So, Garba was so emphatic that the alleged money was contained in only one "long heavy bag" that he repeated the single number of the bag, not once but twice.
Yet, Ribadu, in the London statement, included Ibori in the scene: "James (Ibori) was there and his servant or driver brought out the money from the house in two (2) bags."
Ribadu claimed in his London statement that he never questioned Ibori over the alleged bribery, because he (Ibori) enjoyed immunity until he left office on May 29, 2007.
But then, the EFCC did not raise that question when the investigation team visited Ibori on 4th July 2007, too!
Also, why all the publicity given to the London statement? My plea is that Ribadu knows that Ibori's lawyers have attacked those three statements where it matters; in judicial as opposed to this public opinion court, arguing in their brief that the 2007 statements are absurd and contradictory.
Moreover, they have stressed Garba's statement: that he was informed by Lamorde that the said sum was recovered from an ongoing investigation but he was not informed of the specific investigation.
Lamorde, too, stated that Ribadu informed him that there was money given to him and the Commission, which should be lodged at the CBN.
Similarly, Ribadu stated that Ibori informed him that he had money to be collected from the residence of Andy Uba. No reference was made there by the three witnesses to the words like "gratification", "bribe" or "to influence an ongoing investigation" spoken or written by Ibori. They featured only in the (Ribadu) London statement.
Ibori's legal team has rightly noted that Uba, despite his central role, made no statement to say who gave him the money and for what purpose.
I concur. Really, could a bribe have actually been offered to the EFCC operatives in these circumstances and the giver was not captured on tape in any way? No is the answer.
The media savvy Ribadu made the tall claims in his London statement as P.R to lionise himself and help him clinch some international appointment.
My Lord, with due respect, I rest my case.
- Mr. Eluemunor, a 1991 Fellow of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, is Ibori's media aide.
