Date Published: 01/14/10

N6.5bn Safe Tower Project: Borishade, Others forged my signature- NAMA Director  

The Director, Safety Electronics and Engineering Services, of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, Nnamdi Udoh, on Thursdays told an FCT  High Court that the documents and his purported signature used for the N6. 5 billion Safe Tower Project of the Aviation ministry, under ex aviation minister, Prof. Babalola Borishade, were forged.

At the hearing, presided over by Justice Umar Sadiq,  another EFCC witness, Husseini Kazeem, had also told the court how 350,000 Euros bribe money was distributed between Borishade and eleven others while on a trip to Austria.

The EFCC, is prosecuting the former minister and three others over the N6.5billion Safe Tower Project, awarded by his ministry when he served as minister.

The Director who was testifying in the aviation contract scam said as at the time in question, February 25, 2008, as the General Manager, Surveillance and Risk Management, he was not in a position to sign such documents.

Udoh who was being examined by the prosecution counsel, Barrister Serbastine Hon, SAN, also told the court that he was shocked when documents, exhibit E7-8, were showed to him where he saw his name and signature appended on one of the documents. “I immediately alerted the EFCC operatives that someone has made effort to forge my signature”, he stressed.

When showed and asked to verify exhibit E7-8, he said the document ought not to be signed by him but the MD as it was a Consent and Policy document addressed to the minister.

He also told the court that when he assumed duty as director, there were no inherited files on Safe Tower Project. He further explained that he had to make his own file on the Safe Tower Project. In his created files, he said he never had the controversial documents.

He was asked to sign a specimen signature to compare with the alleged forged signature. He did and it was tendered before the court as exhibit AQ. He was also asked if there was any other Nnamdi Udoh in NAMA, he said to the best of his knowledge, there is no other Nnamdi Udoh apart from him.

He was also showed exhibit E281-E284 which are documents containing the tabulation of result of the evaluation of the project which bears his name. But he said he was never in any committee, whether collation or evaluation committee. He also confessed that he had never met with Gbenga Obadina who was the Chairman of the Committee.

While being cross examined on Wednesday by the defence counsel, Olumuyiwa D.B. Akinboro, representing Rowland Iyayi, former Director General, Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, EFCC Witness, Kazeem, said that in the course of investigation the 4 th accused person, George Eider, told him that he gave the minister and his twelve man committee the sum of three hundred thousand Euros for their trip to Austria.

However, counsel to the 3 rd accused person, Awomolo SAN, was quick to tell the witness to take a look at exhibit AN, saying that the money was meant for training of the staff of NAMA, NIMET, and Ministry of Aviation.

But Kazeem, who was not deterred by Awomolo’s position, said that the honorable minister travelled to Austria with his committee and were given the money by the 4 th accused person, George Eider, in Austria to share among themselves, and another fifteen thousand Euros as “personal package” for the minister’s upkeep in Austria, as confessed by the 4 th accused in his statement during interrogation.

Prosecution counsel went further to tender some relevant documents before the court. The documents include:

*  Nigeria Airspace Management Agency letter with reference Nam/MD/MC/003B/1/382,    dated August 4, 2008 and addressed to the Executive Chairman, EFCC and signed by Captain Agbo Sanusi

·        Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, internal memo dated August 1, 2008 signed by Dr. Mrs. WG Ankemi.

·        EFCC letter with reference CR-3000/EFCC/Abj/ASO/TM3/ Volume 6/651, dated July 24, 2008 addressed to MD, NAMA

*     Nigeria Airspace Management Agency internal memo dated January 24, 2007 and signed by NN Udoh

*    2 Letters addressed to MD, FCAA dated July 20, 1990 and November 15 1990 signed by NN Udoh. All documents were duly certified.

Komolafe who raised objection to the tendering of the documents said he will reserve his comments to a latter date when the documents will be in use. All other lawyers aligned with Komolafe. All the documents were admitted in evidence by the judge.

The presiding judge, Justice Umar Sadiq after hearing the heated argument from both counsel adjourned the case till the February 1, 2 and 3, 2010, for further cross examination and continuation of hearing.   

The EFCC had on Wednesday  July 2, 2008 first arraigned the trio of Professor Babalola Borishade the erstwhile Minister of Aviation, his predecessor Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, and the former Director General of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Mr. Roland Iyayi before Chief Magistrate, Kabir Lamido of an Abuja Magistrate Court at Life Camp.