By Wole Olaoye
There is a standard tactic employed by people scared of being brought to justice in Nigeria: attain notoriety by mounting a pre-emptive campaign of calumny against the authorities so that when eventually investigators knock on the crook’s door, the suspect can scream persecution! Bias! Political victimisation! When a hardened pickpocket is caught red handed, he doesn’t beg for mercy. He tries to bully/bluff his way through. In Lagos-speak, the trick is called “Ogboju pass power”.
The suspicion that Ayodele Fayose rigged his way to the governorship of Ekiti State is not a new one. Indeed, a series of investigations had been commenced by the various security and anti-graft agencies after the release of audio tape evidence by Capt Sagir who witnessed the grand heist. Now the EFCC, having followed the trail of slush funds deployed to subvert the people’s will, have frozen Fayose’s account in furtherance of their investigation.
Of all the salacious stories that have made the rounds in the public space, the one that struck me was how Fayose’s share of the N4.7 billion were moved. It reads like a Nollywood script
*”The N1, 219, 490,000 was in two consignments but flown in the same aircraft twice in the morning and in the evening. From FAAN records, the first cash of N724, 500,000 arrived at Akure Airport at an estimated time of 9.38am and the second was at 17.57 hours… .*
*Obanikoro handed over the funds to Fayose’s associate, Abiodun Agbele (alias Abbey). This Abiodun in company with the bank officials moved the money to Zenith Bank in Akure.*
*The N1, 219, 490,000 was not deposited in any account but it was kept in a vault in the bank. It took the bank officials about 10 days to count… *
*On June 26, 2014, the wanted associate (Abiodun Agbele) paid N137 million into Ayodele Fayose’s account 10003126654 with Zenith Bank through Teller-0556814. Fayose’s BVN on the teller is 22338867502. On August 22, 2014, he paid N50 million into the same account. By the records from the bank, Abiodun paid another N118, 760,000 into Fayose’s account on 27/8/14.*
*Based on the transfers, Fayose moved N300 million to a Fixed Deposit Account No 9013074033 with Zenith Bank … .*
*After that, Abiodun deposited another N100 million from the N1, 219, 490,000 into Spotless Hotel Account run by Fayose and Helen Olayemi Fayose with Account No. 1010170969, Fayose’s BVN is 223338867502 and Helen’s BVN in the account is 22298990256.*
*The governor and Helen are the two directors and signatories of Spotless Hotel account.*
*On June 19, 2014, the same account received N300 million and another N200 million on June 23, 2014. The BVN of the account is 22235692890… .” Et cetera.*
Fayose insists that the EFCC has over-reached itself by freezing his account as his position as governor constitutionally guarantees him immunity from prosecution. As usual, lawyers are divided on the issue. Not that they are famous for unanimity on anything anyway. Fayose says his campaign was funded by Zenith Bank. The bank quickly issued a rebuttal.
Rather than deny the cold facts unearthed, Fayose has resorted to the standard “Ogboju” of counter-allegations. His public protestations are like those of a man accused of stealing who, instead of denying, accuses his neighbours of worse crimes and says, “Why not catch my neighbours first?”
Eminent lawyer, Femi Falana endorses the EFCC move and adds that, “If he is indicted, Fayose ought to be prosecuted by the EFCC since the immunity of a governor is put in abeyance when the legitimacy of his election is in dispute”. His analysis makes sense to me because it appears to toe the line of argument of the Supreme Court on the freezing of assets. Delivering the leading judgment of the seven-man panel of the Supreme Court on Friday 10th
May, 2002 on whether a governor can be investigated, Justice S.O. Uwaifo, J.S.C (as he then was), held inter alia: “That a person protected under section 308 of the 1999 constitution, going by its provisions, can be investigated by the police for an alleged crime or offence is, in my view, beyond dispute”. I agree with Falana. Fayose’s goose is cooked.
As the Fayose drama was playing itself out, PDP senators fired their own ‘Ogboju pass power’: “We the PDP Senators … deliberated on the state of the Nation and to examine our position on unwarranted threats to the legislative arm of government, particularly to the Senate leadership by the executive arm as well as the on-going intimidation and persecution of the opposition party (PDP) by the ruling party (APC)”. They said they were therefore withdrawing their support for President Buhari. Blackmail, cheap shameless ‘*jankara’* blackmail!
Is Buhari now expected to stop the anti-graft war so as to be in the good books of those over-pampered freeloaders? Anyone who has a case to answer should just go and face the courts. This *’gra-gra’* will not wash. The campaigns of hate making the rounds will fail. For once, those who have looted our collective patrimony all these years are about to find out that while they may succeed in eluding justice a hundred times, the law has only to be vigilant once to nail them. And since some of them are saying they have dossiers on other people in government, the public expects them to overcome their cowardice and publish those dossiers. Otherwise let them remain silent forever.
Brexit: Shoot First, Think Later
“Even though I voted to leave, this morning I woke up and I just – the reality did actually hit me,” one woman who voted to that Britain leave the European Union told ITV News. “If I’d had the opportunity to vote again, it would be to stay.”
About eight hours after the polls closed, Google reported that searches for “*what happens if we leave the EU” *had more than tripled. Meaning: Many people actually voted without knowing exactly the implications of their actions. This time I’m not laughing in vernacular; I’m chuckling in Queen’s English!
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