President Umaru Musa Yar�Adua will not stop any move to probe Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, his predecessor, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, has said.
Andoakaa said in Abuja yesterday that the government was very surprised to hear that the President had stopped the probe of Obasanjo, stating that �the issue has not arisen�.
�The President has no intention of interfering in the criminal investigation of any individual in the country,� he said.
According to him, �at no time did the issue arise for any discussion by the President and therefore it couldn�t have formed the basis of any news attributed to the President or to the government of President Yar�Adua, not even in [National Executive] Council.�
Presidential spokesman, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, had been quoted in an interview with a newspaper last week as saying: �I don�t know what former President Obasanjo did that would warrant a probe panel being set up for people to go and make allegations that cannot stand up in a court of law. He could be humiliated publicly. A probe is a military terminology, a populist tendency to criminalise opponents, sometimes without hard evidence. The moment you say someone is being probed in Nigeria, you have already passed judgment on the character of the person.�
Opposition parties had interpreted this to mean Yar�Adua had decided to stop any move to probe Obasanjo�s government.
However, Aondoakaa said yesterday: �I am the chief law officer. We have never discussed the issue which will arise from a statement credited to the President that will say the administration of Obasanjo will not be probed.
�The nature of the President is to allow due process to prevail and he has made it clear that he does not interfere with due process and where due process is prevailing.�
Aondoakaa also said yesterday that the Federal Government had begun moves to settle out of court the $100 million judgment entered against Nigeria by a United States� district court after former head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, was found guilty over the death of acclaimed winner of the June 12 election, Bashorun MKO Abiola.
He confirmed that Nigeria had been given up till January 14 to settle the matter out of court or risk getting property belonging to the Federal Government being attached by the United States courts.
Appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Justice at the Hearing Room 8 of the National Assembly, Aondoakaa revealed that the debt was not captured in the 2008 Appropriation Bill, adding that he needed to confer with his Finance Ministry counterpart on how to pay the debt.
The Minister regretted that some prominent Nigerians had to testify against the Federal Government during the trial culminating in the former head of state to lose the case.
Throwing more light on the local and foreign judgment debts owed by the Federal Government, Aondoakaa said he would leave for the US to negotiate with the court officials on how to settle the debt.
He revealed that his Ministry needed at least N16 billion to settle pressing judgment debts owed by the Federal Government even as much more was needed for the established judgments.
He disclosed that last year, his ministry made a request of N5 billion to settle urgent cases.
Out of the amount, N3 billion was for judgment debts, while N2 billion was for legal services. But the Finance Ministry was only able to make available N1 billion.
The minister, who expressed worries that ministries were not bothered over cases involving the Federal Government, regretted that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) without clearance from the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Finance Ministry withdrew from source N450 million belonging to the Ministry of Sports to settle a judgment debt.
The Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola, who appeared for the Finance Minister, berated the Justice Ministry for its inability to effectively perform its statutory duties.
�Judgment debts should be distinct from legal fees. No responsible government allows its properties to be attached. Every single judgment at the highest level, we should make available funds for it. It is a complete failure on the part of the Ministry of Justice on non-payment of judgment debts.
�There are some cases we need not get entangled in. It is the Ministry of Justice that makes sure its functions are done. From the list we have, we thought we have provided enough,� Babalola said.
Aondoakaa, however, explained that the worst culprit was the Defence Ministry who he claimed occupied a property for 11 years without paying rent and when judgment was entered against it, it still refused to pay.
�When we had an attachment, Oceanic Bank issued a cheque of N8 billion. But the cheque bounced because I did not approve it. Ministries don�t bother. For now, we have about N16 billion unprotected judgment debts in local currencies, $1,225,868.
�For instance, the case against the Federal Government entered by a US court was about $12 million in respect of a case with Marsh Oil Company and we paid half of it. I found that debt strange. I have not seen the judgment. I needed to see it. But there was an approval and the company said you have made part payment so we must complete the second schedule,� Aondoakaa said.
He also spoke on the N42 billion judgment in respect of the Zaki Biam case where the Army did not put in an appearance and the account was garnished and taken from the CBN and yet it is not captured.
He said the lawyers are now asking for N500 million legal fees for the judgment.
�I believe some judgments were obtained by fraud. I want to find out from the FIRS if some of them are paying tax,� he said.
On what the Ministry is doing to ensure that such frivolous and unscrupulous cases are not entered against the Federal Government in future, Aondoakaa told the Committee led by Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson that though some of the cases had been on since 1998, �most of the ministers don�t get to know until they are attaching their monies in the banks. We have asked that the officers be informed about the cases. We need to dialogue. I paid money on behalf of the Ministry of Defence on three occasions when it was critical. We have to find a way and make something that is realistic and there is a limit to which I can hold the money.�
Aondoakaa also said his Ministry �will discipline the concerned legal officers who fail in their duties or connive with individuals or organisations to defraud the Federal Government. We are demanding explanation from them. Some of them have overstayed, like 18 years in a particular ministry or department. We are bringing them back to the ministry and send people who can do the work.�
He revealed that with the Yar�Adua�s administration�s insistence on the rule of law, there were some judgment debts which his Ministry had settled without waiting to be dragged to the court.
He said the payment to the Lagos State government last year was part of the new policy being put in place to check future occurrences and delays of confirmed debts.
Though the Minister promised to come out with the actual figure on judgment debts that can no longer be contested and the ones still pending before the end of Wednesday�s working day, Dickson however told Andoaka that the National Assembly would conduct an independent investigation into the debts to verify the authenticity of the figures.
�The debts are condemnable. Some of them are real. Others could not be verified and could be a product of fraud. We have to thoroughly examine the judgment debt and authenticate the process that led to the debts especially the foreign debts.�
Jan82008