The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday raided the Abuja residence of the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello.
A counsel to the senator, Mr. Adebayo Olanipekun, informed an Abuja High Court that the EFCC operatives stormed the senator�s residence in the early hours of Tuesday attempting to force their way in.
The senator�s brush with EFCC is as a result of her role in the N300m unspent budget scam in the Federal Ministry of Health which, two weeks ago, led to the resignation of Prof. Adenike Grange and Mr Gabriel Aduku as Minister and Minister of State respectively.
Grange, Aduku and nine others are already standing trial over their role in the scam. Until Tuesday when Justice Salisu Garba admitted the accused to bail, they had been in EFCC custody.
At the resumed trial of the suspects, Obasanjo-Bello�s lawyer told the court that EFCC�s men collected the mobile phones of her client�s house assistants.
He told the court that the anti-graft operatives tried to force their way into the senator�s residence, and in the process harassed her personal staff. He therefore sought the court�s intervention for his client�s protection.
Justice Garba declined the court�s intervention but Adenipekun to explore alternative resolutions with EFCC.
Counsel to the commission, Mr. James Binang, however sought the court�s leave to amend the charges against Obasanjo-Bello to compel her appearance in court.
But the senator has challenged the competence of the commission to arraign her. Her application has been fixed for hearing on April 28.
The judge also said that granting Grange and others bail was informed by his conviction that they would not jump bail.
Grange and Aduku were granted bail in the sum of N10 million each.
Also granted bail in like sum were the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Simon Ogandi; the Director of Finance and Administration, H.P Oyedepo; Mr. Hanafi Mohammed, Donald Ekanem, Donatus Iyang, Olomo J.A, Obanla Emmnuel Olatubonsun, Henry Onyeagwalam and Edem Augustine.
Justice Garba said, �The application for bail is governed by Section 341[1] of the Criminal Procedure Code which prescribes that the accused persons should not tamper with the investigation and I expect that they would not jump bail.
�I also expect that they would not commit any other offence if granted bail, the accused persons have also pledged to do that.
�I hereby grant them bail in the sum of N10 million each, with one surety each who must be a very prominent citizen of this country.�
He however directed the accused to submit their travelling documents to EFCC and report to the commission�s Director of Operations on the first Monday of every month.
Aduku has challenged the competence of the court to try him for commiting �no offence known to law�.
As at press time, the lawyers were making frantic efforts to meet the bail conditions.
Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory, which is probing activities of the FCT ministry under former President Olusegun Obasanjo may invite the ex-President for questioning over his alleged approval of N6.4bn for the development of satellite towns in the territory.
The Senator Abubakar Sodangi-led committee was told on Tuesday how Obasanjo approved the execution of projects whose contracts were allegedly awarded to 10 unregistered companies.
The General Manager of the Satellite Development Agency, Mr. Abdullahi Diko, told the committee that the projects were approved by the former President on direct labour basis.
The committee observed that a project to be done through direct labour could not have been given out to external bodies costing the government billions of naira.
A member of the committee, Senator Bassey Ewa-Henshaw, drew the attention of the committee to the fact that the impression given by the direct labour approval suggested that the SDA would use its in-house expertise to execute the job.
Diko said the various contracts were at different stages of completion, even though some had collected a greater percentage of their contract fees.
A contradiction was also observed in his presentation when he said some of the jobs were at some stages of completion against a document he presented showing that nothing was recorded against their completion status.
On how he got approvals for the contracts, Diko said he was acting on an approval conveyed in an earlier memo by former FCT Minister, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai to Obasanjo seeking his approval for the projects.
el-Rufai�s memo listed the various jobs to be done through direct labour for the development of the satellite towns, with a warning from Obasanjo that el-Rufai should get trusted personnel to monitor the projects.
But Diko could not confirm, if besides the approval for the execution of the projects, the funding of the projects went through the due process.
He also could not ascertain the genuineness of the various companies that got the contracts.
At the request of the committee, the Corporate Affairs Commission wrote to the committee noting that out of the 34 companies working for the SDA, 10 were not registered.
CAC�s response, signed by Mrs. E.E. Agwara for the Registrar, read in part, �In line with your request, I am directed to forward to you certified true copies of CTC of forms CO2 and CO7 of 34 companies on your list.
�I am also directed to inform you that there is no evidence in our system to show registration of the under-listed companies:
�Abuja Investment Company Limited, Comdic Limited, Sky Technical and Construction Company, Sky Technical Engineering Company, Yak International Limited, Nedeco Works and Projects Limited, Kard Associates, Landing Nigeria Limited, Steam Ventures and Icon Resources.�
Diko revealed that Sky Technical Engineering Company, which was listed as unregistered by CAC, received a contract of N215million and had collected all the sums with doubts over the completion of its contract.
Another company, Sky Technical and Construction Company, got a job of N155 million, but had been paid N148 million of the total.
Making his defence in awarding contracts to non-existent companies, Diko said he was not aware that the companies were not registered.
He however admitted that his agency ought to have conducted due diligence on the companies.
Chairman of the committee, Abubakar Sodangi, noted that the committee would probe further the status of Obasanjo�s approval for the contracts.
Meanwhile, the EFCC said on Tuesday that Obasanjo-Bello�s immunity in the Senate has prevented the commission from arresting her over the mismanagement of the unspent funds.
A News Agency of Nigeria report quoted EFCC Assistant Detective Commander, Mr. James Binang, as saying that the senator was still hiding under the protection of the immunity conferred on her by her membership of the senate.
Binang said, �It is like a game of catch me, if you can. While she is in the hallowed chamber, she enjoys immunity and it is statutorily impossible for us to effect her arrest.�