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Plateau, Aondoakaa at war over Dariye loot

By Jude Owuamanam and Semiu Okanlawon

A messy row has erupted between the Plateau State Government and the office of the Federal Attorney-General and Minister of Justice over the recovery of monies allegedly stolen by former state governor, Chief Joshua Dariye.

File AGF and Minister of Justice Aondoakaa

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The state government is accusing the AGF’s office of impropriety in the engagement of London-based firm of solicitors, Messrs Kendall Freeman, to represent Nigeria in the prosecution of cases against the former governor in the United Kingdom . It also alleges that huge sums have been withheld from the recovered loot as legal fees by the law firm, without formal agreement or understanding of the state. In this regard, the state government accuses the AGF’s office of complicity for not carrying it along in the process of Dariye’s prosecution in the UK .

Kendal Freeman had in November handed over additional 3,000 pounds as part of the money recovered from Dariye. In its letter to Justice minister, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, with which the cheque for 3,000 pounds was handed over, the firm submitted a bill of 646, 838 pounds for its services on Nigeria’s behalf. Reports quoting from the letter, signed by a Collin Joseph, had said the law firm promised to make further payments from the loot in December on the condition that its bill is settled.

Dariye is currently facing trial in Nigeria on graft charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Equally, the London Metropolitan Police indicated plans to continue with his prosecution in the UK , which was interrupted when he jumped bail in that country and fled back to Nigeria in December 2004 to appropriate constitutional immunity available to him then as state governor.

In September, 130,000 pounds seized from him by the British authorities was returned to the AGF’s office. But the former governor caused a stir when he wrote to President Musa Yar’Adua, alleging that a substantial part of the fund recovered from him had been withheld by those keeping its custody. He accused the EFCC of conniving with a London-based law firm and the Metropolitan Police to convert the loot recovery process to personal gain.

But the EFCC swiftly dismissed Dariye’s claim, saying the process of loot recovery in the UK was being handled by the AGF’s office and not by the commission.

Sources told Saturday Punch on Thursday that the firm of Kendall Freeman, retained by the AGF’s office during the tenure of former Justice minister, Chief Bayo Ojo, to handle loot recovery on Nigeria ’s behalf, was not duly briefed by the Federal Ministry of Justice. Consequently, the firm has been relating on strictly personal basis with the AGF. It is said that neither the Justice ministry nor the law firm has been able to produce formal contractual documents signed on the engagement.

The Plateau government alleges that huge sums had already been deducted from the recovered funds by Kendall Freeman for its professional services. The governor, Commodore David Jang (rtd.), actually wrote to President Yar’Adua to protest the terms of the law firm’s engagement; saying the state was not briefed on the contract, and neither did it give prior approval for deductions made from the loot.

Saturday Punch investigations showed that Plateau State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Edward Pwajok, had written letters to the Justice minister on July 11 and August 7, demanding to be briefed on specific cases “and any other pending matters” against Dariye in the UK, “to enable us assist in any way possible to facilitate the success of the recovery process, in view of the fact that the cases directly affect the interest of Plateau State.”

Sources privy to exchanges between the state and the Federal Government said when Aondoakaa delayed in responding to the Justice commissioner, Governor Jang wrote to President Yar’Adua to voice his concern. In one of the governor’s letters, he accused the AGF’s office of reluctance to carry the state along. He added, “To the contrary, the AGF found time recently to meet with Messrs Kendall Freeman in his office (in) Abuja without extending the courtesy of an invitation to my Attorney-General, neither has he contacted him over the matter till date. The circumstances governing the interaction between the Federal Ministry of Justice and Kendall Freeman are a source of concern to the Government of Plateau State and leave much to be desired.”

It was learnt that following the pressure from Plateau government, the Justice ministry instructed Freeman to brief the state on the cases it was handling. The first case is Suit no. HC06 CO0454 in the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division in re: FRN (Federal Republic of Nigeria) vs. Dagwan and JCD (Joshua Chibi Dariye) said to have been instituted by Freeman to recover a Dariye property at Flat 28 Regent Plaza, allegedly acquired with state funds. The second case, Suit no. HC07 CO 0169 in the same court, was in respect of embezzled funds (about four million pounds) laundered through various bank accounts in the UK , among them Barclays Bank and National Westminster Bank. The third case involved £116, 812.90 seized from Dariye and his associates by the Metropolitan Police when they were arrested in London in September 2004. The fourth involved a Dariye associate, Joyce Oyebanjo, alleged to have received one million pounds within a nine-month period from the former governor. She was convicted at the Southwark Court and sentenced to three years imprisonment.

The law firm allegedly demanded nine hundred thousand pounds as charges on the state government for its services, and proposed to make deductions accordingly from the loot recovered. But the Plateau government protested to the Presidency against the proposed deduction.

In a letter by the Justice minister to Jang, dated October 22, 2007, he acknowledged the Presidency’s receipt of the governor’s letters and assured him that “we have been liaising with Kendall Freeman to address the concerns expressed.” The minister added, “We have accordingly objected to, and protested the proposed deductions in respect of professional fees by Messrs Kendall Freeman.”

Through another letter dated same day, and addressed to Pwajok, the minister invited the Justice commissioner to, on the state’s behalf, collect “two NatWest cheques received from the Ag. British High Commissioner,” totalling 126, 679.19 pounds.

But our correspondent learnt that there are misgivings in Plateau government circles that the state does not have a total picture of the activities of Kendall Freeman concerning the Dariye loot. The state government gave the law firm up to Friday (yesterday) to disclose all details of the loot recovery effort or face a legal action.

Reports had said the latest release of 300,000 pounds on a cheque of the Royal Bank of Scotland , dated November 5, followed Aondoakaa’s meeting with the solicitors in London . The law firm stated in its letter, “Given the very constructive meeting we held on Friday, we should immediately release 300,000 pounds to the (Justice) ministry for payment to Plateau State Government.”

Our correspondent, however, learnt that though the money was said to be coming from the British government, the cheque was drawn on Freeman. Sources said this suggested that the law firm had custody of the recovered funds.

Efforts to speak with the Justice minister on Friday over the matter were unsuccessful. Calls placed by our correspondent to his phone early in the day were answered by an aide, who claimed that his boss was in the bath.

The aide told our correspondent later in the afternoon that Aondoakaa was attending a meeting at the National Assembly. A text message sent later on, stating that our correspondent wanted clarifications on certain issues, had not been responded to at press time.