“A Nigerian lawyer, Dr Toney Clinton Jaja who is also the Executive Director,Nigerian Law Society (NLS).gives KUDOS TO THE EFCC FOR THE RECENT RECOVERY AND ADDITIONS TO THE ASSETS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA (₦6.3BN KEYSTONE BANK AND NOK UNIVERSITY)
His Congratulatory message to the entire staff and Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in respect of two major asset recoveries for the federal government of Nigeria namely:
1. The federal government now owns the controlling shares in Keystone Bank (₦6.3bn); and
2. The federal government of Nigeria now owns NOK University now renamed Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kuchia, Kaduna State.Anyone who has ever worked in the area of assets tracing and recovery would appreciate the enormous difficulty and life-threatening nature of this line of duty.
Dr Tonye jaja believes the fraudulent agents in this sector are most adept and always seem to be one step ahead of law enforcement agencies when it comes to hiding stolen public funds.
Even when law enforcement officials manage to discover such stolen public funds, when it seems that the criminals are cornered by law enforcement officials and these criminals have their backs to the wall, the criminals seem to still have one or two tricks up their sleeves.
Most of these persons are known to often resort to the words of Pablo Escobar: ” *plata o plomo* “, translates from Spanish to “silver or lead”, meaning “money or bullets”.
The phrase was used by Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar who would offer government officials and law enforcement the choice of taking a bribe, or having a murder contract placed against them.
“In his brief stint as an operative/lawyer with the defunct Special Presidential Panel Recovery of Public Property, He overheard expressions such as: “Why do you want to go and kill yourself, is it your father’s money that he/they stole?
“And these are not empty threats!!! They use their stolen public funds and political connections to execute their threats!! The former Chairman of the said Special Presidential Panel for Recovery of Public Property was set up and hounded for “stepping on toes”!!!Ibrahim Magu, former Acting Chairman of the EFCC was hounded.It is no wonder that in the year 2018, a book entitled:
“Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous, (The Stories Behind The Headlines)” was written and published by Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Dr Tonye Once again, given the foregoing dangers, the Chairman and staff of the EFCC deserve congratulations and commendations as seen from the excerpts below:
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the Federal Government to take over Nok University, Kachia, Kaduna State, and transform it into a Federal University.
Following the President’s directive which is coming after a Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the final forfeiture of the privately-owned NOK University to the Federal Government, the private institution is now named Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State in fulfillment of a promise made to the people of Southern Kaduna.
Justice Ramon Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja, on Tuesday, ordered the forfeiture of 6.3 billion units of ordinary shares of Keystone Bank Limited, valued at ₦1.00 each, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The order came after Sigma Golf Nigeria Limited, represented by its Chairman, Umaru Hamidu Modibbo, pleaded guilty to the fraudulent conversion of ₦20 billion belonging to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) funds.”Chief Okoi Obono-Obla
