Government to begin trial of Halliburton bribe takers

He said the Federal government is close to prosecuting those indicted in what has come to be known as the Halliburton bribe scandal. The trial is expected to boost Goodluck Jonathan’s anti-corruption credentials as the 2011 elections approach.

Mr. Adoke who spoke to NEXT in an exclusive interview in his office yesterday, however refused to name those on the list.

Investigations by United States law enforcement agencies have named past Heads of State – the late Sani Abacha, Abdulsalami Abubakar and Olusegun Obasanjo – among those linked with the scandal.

Mr. Adoke denied insinuations that the presidency had stepped down the report ahead of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) primaries scheduled to take place next month, so as not to rock Mr. Jonathan’s chances of picking the party’s presidential ticket.

“No, no, no! Whoever says that is not saying the truth. The federal government did not and has not stepped down the report. President Jonathan has not in any way interfered in my work. Particularly, he has not interfered with the report on Halliburton bribery. He is a president whose work ethic recognises the fear of God and rule of law. For that, I am eternally grateful to him,” he said.

Asked why the report was not made public within the first two weeks of August as he promised in a previous interview, Mr. Adoke said the government is perfecting plans to begin the prosecution of all those that were indicted in the preliminary report.

“We have been working on the report even though we do not need to make noise. The courts have been on vacation, so there was no way we could have done that until now.

“But the courts will be resuming very soon. I can assure you that we are working on the file over there. Once the courts resume, we will prosecute all those who have been indicted in the preliminary report before me. We will be filing charges against them soon.”

Yerima is free

Speaking on Ahmed Sani Yerima’s controversial marriage to an Egyptian minor, 14-year-old Eladly Maryam Maged Saleh, Mr. Adoke was emphatic that the senator has no case to answer before the law.

Responding to child rights advocacy groups and activists who have called for his sack for not prosecuting the former governor of Zamfara State, the Justice Minister said he would rather be sacked for doing what is backed by the constitution than for doing something illegal.

“I swore to protect the constitution of the Federal Republic when I took this post,” he said. “So, I would not want to expose myself as an incompetent lawyer and Justice Minister by prosecuting a case simply based on popular agitation; or embarrass the government by prosecuting a case that is not backed by the law.

“I have already said it and I will say it again that I will not play to the gallery. Having looked again at what the law says, I found that Yerima’s marriage was a legal marriage contracted under the Islamic law and rites. And the constitution recognises marriage under Islamic and customary laws as exceptions. And to those people who called it a case of child trafficking, it is not at all. The girl in question was brought into the country by her parents for the marriage. The marriage had their blessings. Of course, the Child Rights Acts was enacted by the Senate to protect the Nigerian child, not the Egyptian child as this case was.

“If on the basis of this action, some people are now calling for my sack, they are free to do that. All I will like to say is that I want to be sacked for taking a legal action than for permitting illegality.”

Bribery cesspit

The British police on March 5, 2009, arrested a London lawyer, Jeffrey Tesler, accused of conveying millions of dollars in bribes to officials of the Nigerian government, in order to obtain engineering, procurement and construction contracts to build the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas in Bonny Island. Mr Tesler was implicated along with another British citizen, Wojciech Chodan.

Tesler’s arrest followed an extradition request from the United States government. He was charged before the City of Westminster magistrate the same day.

Until now, the federal government has not demonstrated a willingness to prosecute Nigerian officials involved, claiming it was yet to receive a legal notification from the countries taking action on the bribery scandal.

About $182m in bribes was allegedly paid by Halliburton’s subsidiary, Kellogg Brown and Root, to obtain contracts worth over $6 billion, to build and expand the Bonny Island liquefied natural gas terminal.

Kellog Brown has since agreed to pay a US criminal fine of $402m as part of a plea bargain for guilt.