Despite his release from prison last Friday, there seems to be no respite yet for former Bayelsa State governor, Chief Diep-reye Alamieyeseigha.
Yesterday, a Federal High Court in Lagos ordered that eleven houses and six companies belonging to him be confiscated.
The presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Shuaibu, directed that the companies be wound up while their assets, running into billions of naira, be sold and the proceeds paid into the Bayelsa State Government account.
Alamieyeseigha is also to lose over N600 million in local and foreign currencies as well as properties owned by the companies.
Meanwhile, hopes that the former Plateau State governor, Chief Joshua Dariye, may leave Kuje Prisons soon dimmed yesterday as an Abuja High Court granted him another bail with very stringent conditions that made the ones attached to the earlier bail by the Federal High Court look like child�s play.
The companies to be forfeited by Alamieyeseigha are Solomon & Peters Ltd, Santolina Investment Corpor-ation, Pesal Nigeria Ltd, Kpedefa Nigeria Ltd, Jetty Properties Ltd and Herbage Global Services Ltd.
The former governor�s properties ordered to be forfeited by the court include Chelsea Hotel, Abuja; property at Plot 26, Dalhatu Close, Abacha Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos; property at No 20, Obagi Street, Diobu, Port Harcourt and property at No 1, Community Road, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos; property at 247.
Others are Water Gardens, London, W2 2DG, London; property at 14, Mapesbury Road, London, NW2 4JB; property at Flat 202, Jubilee Heights, Shootuphill, London, NW2 3UQ; property at 68-70 Regent Park, London; property at 4A Ilu Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos; property at 10, Oguda Close, Maitama, Abuja; and property at 18, Mississippi Street, Maitama, Abuja.
The monies to be forfeited by the former governor are �100,000; �70,000; �50,000; �122,175; �70,000; �198, 814,88; �120,000; �100,000; �100,000; �250,000; �99,985; �81,985; �19,985; �136,157; �275,027 and �299,465.61.
When the matter came up for hearing yesterday, the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, told the court that a further amended charge had been filed against the accused persons (companies) and that it should be read for the plea of the companies to be taken.
After the 25-count charge was read, Jacob said, �pursuant to section 468 of the Criminal Procedure Act, the accused persons have in writing pleaded guilty to the charge and the court can act on the written plea pursuant to section 218 of CPA and by section 218 of the CPA, we are to demonstrate that an offence had been committed.
�I will urge the court to look at the statements in our proof of evidence, Volume I. The court will see from this how contractors funded the accounts of those companies through contract kickbacks and outright withdrawal from the Bayelsa State Government accounts, mostly in Bond Bank. Page 44 to 50 of the proof of evidence is the statement by the officials of the bank, stating how the various sums were remitted to accounts abroad and how monies were remitted to acquire properties in the United Kingdom.
�Also at page 145 to 185 of the same proof of evidence is the statement of the agents, which are Olatunde Ayeni and Aliyu Abubakar, who happened to be contractors to Bayalsa State Government and how they remitted money abroad and how properties were acquired in the country. The proof of evidence is a proof of how the crimes were committed,� he said.
Jacobs then prayed the court to enter a guilty verdict against the accused persons.
Counsel to the companies, Chief Mike Ozekhome, did not object.
In his judgment, Justice Shuaibu said, �an amended 25- count charge of concealing the nature of various proceeds of crime was filed against the accused persons and they have entered a guilty plea. Upon careful and meticulous consideration of the charge and the proof of evidence, this court is satisfied that the accused persons intended to admit to all the charges against them. The prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. I consequently find the accused persons guilty as charged.�
After their conviction, Ozekhome pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing the convicts, contending that they were first time offenders and that the companies had not been functional since the case started, while all their employees had been forced out of job. He therefore pleaded with the court to give the companies a second chance.
But the prosecution asked the court to order the forfeiture of the affected properties and cash which were acquired with the proceeds of crime to the Bayelsa State Government.
He contended that under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act, the said companies are to be wound up and their assets sold and proceeds paid into Bayelsa State Government account.
The court consequently ordered the forfeiture of the assets and cash listed in the schedule attacked to the charge to the state government.
The same court had last week convicted and sentenced the former governor to 12 years in prison on a six-count charge of fraud and false declaration of assets.
Alamieyeseigha, who was released from prison last weekend, was handed a two-year imprisonment term on each of the six-count charge.
Justice Shuaibu held that the terms would run concurrently and from the day of his first arrest, meaning that he had served out his prison term, having been arrested on December 9, 2005.
In his ruling, the judge said, �I have listened to counsel of the accused. The court will take into account the plea of counsel. The accused person is sentenced to two years imprisonment on each of the count charge. It shall run concurrently.�
The court had also last Thursday ordered that Alamieyeseigha should forfeit the property at V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa; one situated at 2, Marscibit Street, Ishaku Rabiu Estate, off Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja ; property at 34, Amazon Street, Maitama, Abuja.
Others included N1billion worth of shares in former Bond Bank; $160,000 in account number 005482562491 with an American bank; and N105million in account number 2010062850006 with former Bond Bank.
The charges against the companies among others read:
� That you Solomon & Peters Ltd on or about August 20, 2003 in the Lagos Judicial Division of the Federal High Court did transfer the sum of �1,750,000 from Lagos to London to buy the property situate at 247 Water Gardens, London, W2 2DG London which sum you knew represent the proceeds of crime with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said crime and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 14(1) of Money Laundering Act 2003.
� That you Solomon & Peters Ltd. between July 2001 and December 2003 in the Lagos Judicial Division of the Federal High Court did transfer the sum of �1,400,000 from Lagos 1to London to buy the property situated at 14 Mapesbury Road, London NW2 4JB which sum you knew represent the proceeds of crime with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said crime and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 14(1) of Money Laundering Act 2003 proceeds of crime with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said crime and thereby committed an offence- section 14(1) of Money Laundry Act, 2004.
Before yesterday�s ruling, Dariye had been battling to meet the conditions attached to the bail granted him by a Federal High Court in Abuja that is trying him for alleged money laundering.
Justice Babs Kuewumi of the Federal High Court had granted him bail in the sum of N100 million and two sureties in the like sum.
More than a week after being granted that bail, Dariye could not meet the conditions, a situation that had kept him in Kuje Prisons.
Instead of two sureties that he got from the other court, Justice Adebukola Banjoko while ruling on his bail application yesterday, granted the former governor bail in the sum of N100 million and three sureties in the like sum.
One of the three sureties, according to the court, must be a serving senator, while all of them must show to the court, a guarantee from reputable banks that they are worth the bail bond.
The judge also ordered that the sureties must be ordinarily resident in Abuja, with evidence of means, by way of swearing to affidavit, while they must also drop with the court registrar, evidence of tax payment in the last three years, fully authenticated by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
These sureties, who the judge said must be responsible Nigerians, must also own landed property in choice areas in Abuja, like Asokoro, Maitama and Central Business Area (CBA), and must deposit the original documents for these property with the court.
The judge ordered him to deposit all his international, diplomatic and any other passports in his possession to the court registrar, submit three passport photographs and make sure that he reports to EFCC once every week.
Dariye was also warned against interfering with proceedings in the trial, as well as staying off the back of prosecution witnesses whom the EFCC alleged he had been harassing.
Justice Banjoko stated that the slightest proof of violation of any of the latter part of his bail conditions would lead to automatic revocation.
She fixed the commencement of full trial for October 10, 2007.
But Dariye�s counsel, Joseph Conrad, after the ruling, said his client�s passports were already with the Federal High Court where he was also struggling to meet another bail conditions.
The judge then directed that certification should be got from the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, authenticating Conrad�s claim.
Conrad complained that it would be impossible to meet the conditions, if the court insisted that all the three sureties and Dariye should separately produce bank guarantee on the N100 million.
He pleaded with the judge to allow Dariye�s N100 million to cover for that of the sureties, pointing out that the presumption of innocence in favour of his client should be put into consideration.
�No surety will put his N100 million down, especially now that the payment of school fees are about to be effected,� he said.
Jul312007