‘I am being persecuted for disobeying illegal order from Ex-Justice minister’

Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, of a A Federal High Court, has adjourned further proceeding of criminal case filed against the former Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Mr. Raymond Omatseye, to October 21 who alleged that he is being persecuted for refusing illegal directive by former minister of justice.

Justice Rita Ofili Ajumogobia adjourned the matter till October 26, following a letter written to the court by the EFCC’s prosecutor, Mr. Obla (SAN), seeking for the adjournment  due to absence of the prosecutor, Mr. Godwin Obla, SAN.

She adjourned the matter to October 21, for re-cross examination of the former NIMASA’s Director-General,who is standing trial before Ofili-Ajumogobia’s led-court on an amended 27-count bordering on contract splitting and bid rigging to the tune of about N1.5bn.

The accused person was said to have been involved in contract splitting and bid rigging estimated at over N1.5 billion.

The offence according to the prosecutor, Chief Godwin Obla, contravenes the provisions of sections 58(4) (d) of the Public Procurement Act 2007; and the provisions of sections 14(a) of the money laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004.

As at last hearing of the matter, Omatseye had alleged that he is being “persecuted” because he refused to do the bidding of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN).

Omotseye made the allegation while being cross examined be the EFCC’s prosecutor, Mr. Obla (SAN).

He said,l; “In December 2010, I was approached by a gentleman, who at that time was was the Executive Director of the Cabotage Service of NIMASA, in the name of Ibrahim Zailani. Mr. Zailani told me that he had been in a meeting with the Attorney-General of the Federation, and that the AGF had directed him to tell me to withdraw a case between NIMASA and NLNG. I told him I was unable to withdraw the case because it was a board decision.

“Exactly on November 14, 2010 between 12-1pm, while in my office, I received a call from a gentleman called Tunde Ayeni. He said hello, hold on for your caller and then handed the phone over to a man who said he was Mohammed Adoke.

“The man said, ‘I sent Zailani to you to withdraw the NLNG case and you have refused.’ He said, ‘Mr. President has called me twice on this matter to instruct you to withdraw this case.’ I responded to him, ‘My AG sir, either you please send me a memo to that effect or please send a message through my minister to direct me accordingly; I am not in a position to unilaterally withdraw the case.’ He said, ‘I am the the chief law officer of the Federal Republic,’ and I replied ‘Sir, please help me to do as I have requested.’ He asked if I was aware that there was a directive from his office that no government institution can sue another government institution without his permission, and I told him that the NLNG is majority-owned by foreigners and therefore cannot be considered as a government parastatal or agency.

“At that point he said to me, ‘I have given an instruction and you have refused to obey, this would be your waterloo.'”

Omatseye told the judge that it was exactly 10 days after the phone conversation with Adoke that three operatives of the EFCC came to pick him up for interrogation.

He narrated how he was taken to the EFCC office in Ikoyi in company of the Director of Procurement and the Director of Finance of NIMASA.

He said that while he was on his way to the EFCC office in Ikoyi, he called the Minister of Transportation, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, to inform him of what was going on.

“The question he (Suleiman) asked me first was: do you have any issue with the AGF?” Omatseye told the court.

He added that they were flown to the EFCC office in Abuja the following day where he was confronted with a petition written against him by the Minister of Transportation and which formed the basis of his trial.

Omatseye, told the court that the contract approval threshold for NIMASA was N2.5m for supply and N5m for goods and services, and that the said the thresholds were not in place when not yet stipulated as of the time he approved the contracts over which he is being prosecuted.

According to him, while the charges captured contracts awarded between December 2009 and February 2010, the contract award threshold for NIMASA was only put in place by the Bureau of Public Procurement in November 2011.

The accused, who has been suspended as the DG of NIMASA since December 2010, is being tried before a Federal High Court in Lagos by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Omatseye, who opened his defence on Tuesday, informed the court presided by Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, that he believed his prosecution was due to his refusal to dance to the tune of the AGF.