In what appears like a thief accusing another of dishonesty, embattled convicted financial crimes kingpin, Chief Emmanuel Nwude, has alleged in a petition to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, that the anti-graft commission short-changed him in a plea bargain entered into, over a $120 million suit with a Brazilian businessman in November 2005.
According to the petition dated September 10, 2007, filed by a law firm, Egbene Chambers of Okey Okoye Associates in Lagos, the EFCC altered the original sum of $80 million to $120 million, and compelled the said Chief Nwude to sign, accepting the changes, even as it went ahead to sell off his assets and property in order to meet up the plea sum.
They argued that the anti-graft commission kept the processes of the disposal of the assets secretive, and failed to render accounts of what was realised from the sales to the embattled Nwude, even as it continued to prefer multiple charges against him, ostensibly to subdue any possible query from him.
The seven-page petition, signed by Okey Okoye, a principal counsel in the law chambers, also alleged amongst other things that, at the time Chief Nwude’s assets were being disposed by the EFCC, there were higher offers for some of the property, but the EFCC ignored such offers and went ahead to sell off the assets at ridiculously low prices.
It cited the sale of Russell Centre in Abuja, in which Obat Oil offered to buy at N3.2 billion as against an offer of N3.3 billion from one Chief Uba, stressing that the property was eventually sold at N2.3 billion to the same Obat Oil, less by about N900,000,000 from the original deal.
Chief Nwude’s lawyers also accused the EFCC of deliberately under valuing several other assets of their client, and failing to explain the whereabouts of funds accruing from the sale of share certificates in Union Bank and Nigerian Bottling Company.
The petition, they said, was the fallouts of a power of Attorney executed by Chief Nwude when he was being sentenced to prison, to the effect that he asked the law firm to represent his interest while in prison, in the fulfillment of a court judgement and the settlement agreement entered with representatives of the Brazilian businessman, with the consent of the EFCC.
Falling short of accusing the EFCC operatives of diverting part of their client’s money into private pockets, Egben Chambers claimed that since their client gained freedom in 2006, he has made repeated appeals to the EFCC to furnish him with details of how much was realised from the sale of his property and how much he was entitled to as refunds in case of an excess, to no effect.
Instead of responding to his inquiries, they alleged, the EFCC cooked up fresh charges against their client to the effect that while still in prison custody, he planned to cause arson and mischief, while in another charge, Chief Nwude was accused of failing to disclose all his assets; all of which the petition claimed Chief Nwude denied.
The petitioners prayed the Minister of Justice to compel the EFCC or its agents to stop forthwith any further harassment of their client, Chief Nwude and members of his family, and to respect the terms of agreement in respect of plea bargain.
They also want a thorough auditing of all the processes involved in the disposal of his assets and a reconciliation of what was realised from the management of the said assets and property from 2004, when the matter started to 2006 when he was released from prisons.
In pledging some relevant documents to buttress their case, they also argued that nothing less than an open and thorough investigation of the “reckless mudless under deals,” will assuage their client’s feelings in the spirit of justice and the rule of law.
The petition was copied President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Senate President David Mark, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, the Public Complaints Commission, and the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA.
Our correspondent confirmed the receipt of the petition by the office of the Minister of Justice, but whether the minister has acted upon it was not known, as Chief Aondoakaa was said to have travelled overseas over the Siemens scam.
Spokesman of the EFCC, Osita Nwaja told Leadership Sunday that the commission has not yet received the petition and it will be unethical for him to comment on it on phone, maintaining that the petitioners were not courteous enough to copy the EFCC as has been the convention.
Even when our correspondent went to his office with details of the allegations, he abandoned him in the office and travelled to Lagos with some EFCC fieldmen on Thursday, with a promise to get back to him but never did.
– Leadership
ofilis1234.wordpress.com 
If the above allegation by Mr Nwude regarding disposal of his assets by EFCC has any semblance of truth, then EFCC and it’s Chair have some explaining to do. By any standard, it’s quite a serious allegation that cannot be merely swept under the carpet unless EFCC is now ‘Game keeper turned Game poacher’.
Since there are two sides to a coin, I’ll urge Mr Nwude to put any evidence he has in the public domain, as soon as possible.
With regard to his Plea-Bargain, on the one hand, I’ll blame his legal advisers for not being smart enough to EFCC shenanigans and letting him sign a document that made him even more criminally culpable; on the other, EFCC have a moral responsibility to keep their end of any bargain they enter into. On this particular one, I am afraid, Mr Nwude should learn to take it on the chin.
I’ll be looking forward to further evidence from Mr Nwude or a factual denial by EFCC.