Date Published: 10/19/09

Igbinedion business empire in Sierra Leone crumbles

Anxiety over source of wealth • President Koroma under pressure to order probe

Lucky Igbinedion

AFTER a long recess, as it were, the former Governor of Edo State, Chief Nosakhare Lucky Igbinedion appears to be back on banging headlines as an unhappy man whose business empire in the Diaspora is under serious stress and scrutiny, National Daily can reveal.

The derivatives from his wired loots, sources revealed, have remained targets for destruction by their host nations. Just as he tries to put behind the nightmarish experience from a business partnership with a South African now deceased, anti-graft operatives from Sierra Leone are said to be on the former governor's trail. A bitter truth he has refused to admit.

A situation compounded by the recent reopening of the corrupt charges against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Dissatisfied with the verdict of a Federal High Court, Enugu, which fined the former governor of Edo State, Lucky Igbinedion, over corruption case brought against him, EFCC has filed an appeal questioning the judgment.

In the notice of appeal filed by EFCC's counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs and M.S. Hassan at the Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal, EFCC said the judge was wrong in the option of fine it handed down on the former governor; Justice A. Abdu-Kafarati had on December 18 convicted Igbinedion on a one-count charge of corruption with a fine of N3.6 million. But EFCC rather believed that he should have been sentenced to jail instead of the fine option.
National Daily learnt that the Chairman of the anti-corruption agency, Mrs. Farida Waziri, who was piqued at the turn of event, personally instructed the commission's counsel to file an appeal against the verdict immediately. Ground one of the appeal reads that "the learned trial judge erred in law when he imposed a fine on Igbinedion rather than a term of imprisonment." Her annoyance, sources revealed, stemmed from the fact that the plea bargaining, which the commission duly entered into fell short of its expectation.

Currently, the former Edo governor is in dire strait as his assets in a hitherto friendly West African country, Sierra Leone, is in jeopardy. Indeed, it has also been gathered that the former governor's billion-naira property in Freetown is in the ruins and under siege.

Impeccable sources said that youths in Freetown have petitioned Sierra Leone's anti-fraud commission to investigate the former Edo State governor over his sprawling property littered all over the capital city.
Although, the former governor has dismissed the story as untrue, inside sources said that no fewer than three companies in Freetown host to his various multi-purpose businesses have been sealed up by the country's Crime Commission. Furthermore, highly privileged sources said that the fishing petrochemical industry, the former governor set up with billions of naira, is alleged to have been sealed up by the irate Sierra Leonean youths, who also threatened to attack him, physical if he ventures to visit Freetown.

Expectedly, given the volume of capital investment in the Freetown arm of his Business Empire, the Igbinedions have had a good working relationship with the President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, a situation raising the “sacred cow” concerns and fears that the presidency may chose to turn a blind eye to whatever perceived fraudulent activities of the former governor.

Buttressing the fears, sources said that the wife of the Sierra Leonean President, Mrs. Sia Nyama Koroma, during the 75th Birthday of Chief Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion, the father of the former Edo governor, was present to felicitate with him, lending credence to the fact a relationship deeper than cordial has already been nurtured.
But the youths, we gathered are undaunted by these expressed fears. To teach the former Governor bitter lessons, the angry youths are said to have mobilized themselves into groups to keep watchful eyes on his various companies, with a view to freezing activities there until thorough investigations of the source of the wealth used in establishing them are carried out.

Besides, the youths' siege at the firms, Igbinedion is on the other hand alleged to be in trouble with the workers, especially Nigerians recruited from Benin City, the capital of Edo State. He allegedly owes several months in unpaid salaries to these workers who were deceived into what was said to be “relief measure to their livelihood.” These Nigerians, some them his close relations, have since embraced untold hardship courtesy the former governor who has been honoured with the traditional title, Okono bum bum of Freetown.

Taking into cognizance the billions of dollars he has so far sunk into the Sierra Leonean economy, the natives of that country resolved to honour him with the title which our sources said is the highest in the land.
Sadly, as thousands of Edo youths, including university graduates and other school leavers languished in unemployment, occasioned by the unsteady industrialization programme during his eight years maladministration, the former governor's business empire provides jobs for a conservative estimate of 4,000 Sierra Leoneans.
But nemesis seem to have caught up with the former governor, this windfall notwithstanding, the Sierra Leonean youths are irked by the “superlative wealth” he made through his alleged fraudulent and unending looting while in the exalted Edo State Government House.

National Daily gathered that the former governor's overseas properties as of 2007 when the graft whistle was blown on him by Edo State people, were valued conservatively at about N6 billion. Some of the identified overseas properties included: a mansion in Cape Town, and, numerous houses in Johannesburg, South Africa; as well as the famous Kenwood mansion in United Kingdom (UK), valued at £3.3million which he allegedly paid for in one day.

His younger brother, Bright, who recently acquired a massive property in a highbrow area in Johannesburg, South Africa worth several millions of Rands, allegedly oversees the former governor's estimated N7 billion business in South Africa. But it has not been business as usual for the empire of the former governor lately, we learnt.
National Daily gathered that his conglomerate known as Skanga International, has on its stead, the largest fishing company with some of the most modern vessels, trawlers and equipment, and is the biggest supplier of fish and other sea foods in Sierra Leone.

Skanga, our sources said, also has high stakes in petro-chemicals. It is grossly involved in the importation, packaging and distribution of petroleum products, with a several petrol stations as retail outlets spread across the country.

Former Governor Igbinedion was said to have expanded his interest to gems business. Sources said that the former governor, who overnight turned business Mogul, with his political career now in shambles, recently pumped in some more billions into Skanga for a foray into the hinterlands to start up a burgeoning business in the extraction and sales of diamonds and other precious stones, working in partnership with some Lebanese.

According to our sources, the Okono bum bum's latest diversion of interest from South Africa to Sierra Leone was informed by a rather tragic tale of a breached trust and graft adventurism boomerang combined. A source said: “It all began with heavy investments in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town. Igbinedion was said to have courted the friendship of a certain South African businessman and who before long suggested to the former governor that he could become his business front there. The South African was said to have jumped at the offer and in due course, the former Governor Igbinedion began to entrust funds with him. Thus started a flourishing business empire; it was such that Igbinedion made the country his second home, even holding birthday parties there. Sadly for him, his South African friend died and when Igbinedion went in to secure his investment, he discovered that all the critical documents had been registered in the late friend's name. Indeed, the South Africans would have nothing to do with the claims of ownership. The controversy surrounding the relationship escalated so much that all the parties were compelled to explore the litigation option to resolve the mess. The Nigerian chief at the end of the legal exercise, of course lost the battle to 'son of the soil.' It was at this point that he miserably began to plot a way out of the country.”

Another source said: “The former governor's movement was spurred by the discovery that so much has been known about his interest in South Africa and moreover, the administration of that country seemed a willing ally of the Nigerian government in the fight against money-laundering and corruption.”

“The argument for the geographical mobility of the business was that the trade and security checks, taxes and other government regulations in South Africa are stringent. Again, the South African economy is buoyant and stable and the authorities are near rigid in their insistence on standard business ethics and practice. Under the situation, the company decided to move some of its investments to a relatively smaller economy, as Sierra Leone where the government would readily welcome foreign investments and also want to defend and protect such investors for the impetus they bring to the local economy, the source said.

Our sources also hinted that though Skanga is registered as a partnership, between the governor and his business associates from South Africa, it is almost wholly-owned by the Edo chief, whom they said had in the past three years, steadily pumped in required funds.

In a shocking disclosure, commenting on the origin of the conglomerate, our source hinted that Skanga was derived so much from the debris of the near-moribund Edo State Investment Company. This is evidenced by the fact that the company's general manager then, Patrick Owie was also the general Manager of the Edo State Investment Company. Indeed, curiosity has continued to trail how the Edo State outfit was operated and its eventual grounding. The most puzzling aspect is that even when Owie apparently could not sustain the company to achieve its corporate objectives, in spite of the huge resources sunk into it from Edo State finances, the former governor still found him worthy to handle his personal business overseas.

This contradiction has led to insinuations that the Edo State Investment Company was deliberately killed and made to resurrect in the private capacity of former Governor Igbinedion. National Daily contacts in Sierra Leone said business has been booming for Skanga and the former governor and some of its employees are enjoying the fallouts. The general manager, for instance, is said to be constructing a master-piece personal building somewhere behind the Air Force base in Benin to accentuate his new status. He is believed to be making regular shuttles between Benin City and Freetown to convey company reports and dividends between former governor Igbinedion and his Skanga partners. However, most of the company's profits are said to be domiciled in overseas banks for safety.

Our sources revealed that investment in aviation is next line of business for former governor Igbinedion, to consolidate the stakes of the conglomerate on the economies of the West African sub-region. It will be recalled that the Igbinedion family once operated in the industry with Okada Air, but after several years on the top, the business collapsed.

Our sources said the former governor Igbinedion now has personally taken up the challenge to re-launch the family back into the aviation industry. Indications are that he has acquired Capital Airlines as a pivot for the operation of shuttle services in the West African sub-region.
But how the red signals from Freetown would affect further expansion of the embattled Business Empire remains uncertain.

When in 2007 the Edo indigenes blew the whistle on Chief Igbinedion's misdeeds, he outwitted EFCC that had concluded arrangements to arrest him and five other former state helmsmen for alleged corruption while they were in office.

National Daily in July that year quoting sources reported that Igbinedion had travelled out of the country soon after he received signal that he would join his former colleagues in EFCC net.
To douse suspicion of any smart moves, Igbinedion, before he sneaked out of the country, had responded to the EFCC invitation to appear before it for interrogation.

National Daily sources revealed that Igbinedion was allegedly questioned on the disappearance of billions of naira from the Edo State treasury and how he acquired multi-billion naira properties in Nigeria and overseas.
Some of the properties in the country allegedly traced to Igbinedion included: Personal residential houses in Benin City, Okada, Lagos, Abuja; and mansions at Ugbor Road, Benin-City, Etete Quarters, Benin-City, Victoria Island Extension, Lagos (built before he became governor but extensively upgraded), and Asokoro, Abuja.

Igbinedion's personal residential houses in Benin-City, Lagos and Abuja were then estimated at about N5 billion.
The five-star Hotel Constantia along Airport Road in Benin Benin-City, managed by his wife, Eki Igbinedion is valued at about N4 billion; CapLink Limited, a blue-chip company allegedly worth about N4 billion and headed by one of his younger brothers, Dr. Fred Igbinedion; Chicken Republic, a Benin-based agro-allied business valued at about N2 billion; Wan Tan Garden Restaurant, Ihama, GRA, Benin, the most expensive Chinese Restaurant in Edo State and valued at about N300 million has his younger brother, Michael Igbinedion, as Managing Director.

Igbinedion who then was alleged to had signed off his local investment in the billion-naira Capital Airline, besides the petroleum and fishing company in Sierra-Leone also acquired petroleum products haulage vessels from Asia. He also has investment in refineries in Venezuela; and exclusive properties in Parkhead, Atlanta and Chicago in the United States.

It was gathered that Lucky Igbinedion's father, Chief Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion, the Esama of Benin, was involved in negotiating an agreeable exit for his ailing eldest son. Sources said that former chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih who had a no love lost relationship with the former governor was approached to help an old friend in need.

Former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, who is emerging as the second most influential politician in this era was also urged to intervene in the effort to get some respite for the former governor Igbinedion.
Sources said that the former governor requested his close friend, an erstwhile governor of one of the South-south states to persuade President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to restrain the EFCC from arresting him.

The Esama was said to have been greatly worried about the plan to arrest his son. Sources said he feared that he may not survive the agony of being hauled into detention because of his fragile health. The elderly patriarch of the Igbinedion dynasty said it is a taboo for a father to bury his son. He preferred the reverse situation in which he would be buried by his children.

The Esama, according to sources, pulled all strings to extricate his son from danger, when he was informed of EFCC's plan.

However, National Daily sources had then also revealed that the Esama, Gabriel Igbinedion, himself, was wanted by the EFCC to answer to allegations on a multi-billion naira contract scam, but high-wire lobby on the Igbinedions behalf by former military President Ibrahim Babangida and the embattled former Delta State Governor, James Onanefe Ibori shielded the patriarch of the family from arrest and prosecution by the EFCC.
The unexecuted contracts were allegedly discovered to be a conduit through which whooping sums were laundered into his foreign accounts.

Impeccable sources said that if the Sierra Leonean youths' alleged disquiet over the source of the former governor's wealth gets the nod from the presidency, the EFCC would be ready to offer the most-needed cooperation for justice to be finally exerted and any found ill-gotten funds repatriated.

A clear indication that this might soon happen is EFCC's fresh argument that Section 27 (3) of the EFCC Act, 2004 under which the respondent was charged clearly provides for a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years. Citing decided cases, EFCC said the trial judge should not have imposed a fine unless in exceptional circumstances. It stressed that for a serious offence bordering on corruption such as the one with which the respondent was convicted, Section 381 of the Criminal Procedure Act would not apply.

Ground two of the notice of appeal noted that the learned trial judge erred in law when he wrongly exercised his discretion by imposing a fine in lieu of imprisonment under section 382 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Act when the facts of the case did not support the exercise of such discretion in favour of the respondent.

EFCC sources revealed that the former governor had sought a plea bargain in the course of his prosecution by the EFCC, stressing that the outcome of the exercise at the court in Enugu, however fell short of the expectation of the commission.

Efforts to get a reaction from the embattled former Edo governor proved unsuccessful. One of his aides, whose name was given simply as Mr. Ken when contacted for comments declined, saying he knew nothing about the Sierra Leone or any foreign investment by Chief Lucky Igbinedion.