Prince Bola Ajibola

A combination of greed, lack of discretion and poor judgments to circumvent due process through an elaborate scheme including alleged payment of bribe on the part of some key Government functionaries in Nigeria has led to a court litigation in which the country may be paying about $1.75 Billion in damages. Former Nigeria High Commissioner to United Kingdom, Prince Bola Ajibola, former Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Gaius Obaseki, the Group General Manager, Corporate and Legal, NNPC, Ms. Sena Anthony and Managing Director of Pipeline Product Marketing Company, PPMC, Mr. Dan Nzelu are being accused of paying a total sum of $50 Million as bribe to international arbitrators.

In what has turned one of the epic international legal tussles, a case that has been dismissed by a Federal District Court in the Eastern District Of Texas is now on appeal at the 5th circuit court of appeal in New Orleans, Louisiana where oral arguments would be entertained on September 6, 2007 between Gulf-Petro Trading Company and the NNPC on alleged payment of $25 Million to international arbitrators in London, Belgium and the United States.

Ms. Sena Anthony

Gulf-Petro Trading Company wants the court to rule in its favor that it has suffered travesty of justice, loss of profit and unfair treatment in the hands of the NNPC concerning how the Nigerian parastatal breached a contract on a joint venture that would have led to recovery of flared gas, waste oil lost to evaporation and ultimate use of the flared gas in the process of urea (Fertilizer).

According to relevant court documents, the same proposed venture would also have led to a decisive initiative that would stop the massive environmental pollution resulting from the prospecting of petroleum products in Nigeria.

Gulf-Petro was first invited to Nigeria by the Ibrahim Babangida’s administration to participate in the NNPC Joint Venture Agreement, JVA. The JVA was perpetual with a five year review provision in Article 16 paragraph 1 (16.1) of the JVA. At the end of every first five years a review of the terms and conditions of the contract by the parties is required.

Pointblanknews.com learnt from very reliable source that Beginning in late 1993, and in accordance with the JVA, three Petrec Nigeria Limited, PNL, board members were appointed by Petrec and two PNL board members were appointed by NNPC to attend quarterly board-of-directors meetings of PNL in Lagos, Nigeria. At these meetings the two board members appointed by NNPC provided excuse after excuse as to why NNPC was not paying the $650.000.00 as its part of the start-up capital .

It was learnt that NNPC’s breach of the reclamation contract caused breaches in the two additional contracts further damaging GPT, Petrec and G-PI and necessitating future arbitration and litigation into 2004 .

Pointblanknews.com investigations revealed that former President Olusegun Obasanjo was actually briefed on the issue when he came into office in 1999. Sources disclosed that the case formed a critical background to his decision to appoint former Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Prince Ajibola to liaise with the NNPC in the high profile international legal squabble.

The former President was said to have given him full powers “to do whatever is necessary to resolve this problem.” Prince Ajibola and Ms. Anthony were said to have been allocated $25 Million from the NNPC’s account “to take care of the arbitrators.” The arbitrators allegedly got $6 Million while Ajibola was said to have decided to keep the balance of $19Million to himself.

The situation drew the ire of the concerned members of the arbitration panel led by one Andrew W A Bekerley who demanded payment of the balance of $19 Million. It is further alleged that the $6 Million that exchanged hands was responsible for the decision of the arbitrators to dismiss the case in Switzerland and in the U.S. The NNPC’s team was said to have been impressed by Berkeley’s handling of the affair that they promised to refer to him two other issues.

Pointblanknews.com tracked the movement of the bribe money. Berkeley initially raised concern on how the gargantuan amount would be moved offshore. Chief Anthony douse his fears and assured that “in respect of the outstanding stuff (money) it is a sensible idea that Robert Clarke’s offshore UK account in the UK should be used to distribute this stuff. Mr. John Miles stands willing to cooperate as usual.”

Whistleblowers in Nigeria revealed to Pointblanknews.com that while $25 Million was what the arbitrators actually expected to get, NNPC actually released £25 Million. In November 2003 when former President Obasanjo decided to remove Obaseki as NNPC helmsman, the shoddiness in handling the case had become very apparent. Also, the Nigerian presidency had given marching orders to the then Director of State Security Service, Mr. Kayode Are to investigate Obaseki’s tenure at NNPC. Obaseki was out of Nigeria, an emergency message was quickly sent through his “boy” Paul Nomayo in England alerting him that his fate has been sealed concerning his removal from office. The message which originated from Chief Sena Anthony, GM, corporate and Legal Affairs advised him that “ Both you and Mr. Berkeley should discard all documents relating to £25m Petrec operations which you collected for your records. At any rate do not return with any sensitive document, especially those others relating to NLNG projects at least for now. You should not be surprised if SSS gives you a rough time at the airport.”

Although Obaseki tried fruitlessly to seek the intervention of Otunba Johnson Fasawe, General Abdulahi Mohammed, one Chief Olapade to persuade the President from removing him as the GMD of NNPC, the decision was carried out. Nigeria is sued for an aggravated $1.75 Billion in damages. And the nations is getting a black eye because this saga is used to reinforce the stereotype that Nigeria is a corrupt nation.

Pointblanknews.com contacted the GM Public Affairs of NNPC, Mr. Levi Ajuonoma for a response. He requested to be called back in two hours since he was in a meeting. We did but he never picked up his call. We followed it up with a text message and he never bothered to respond.