On the allegations against the Buharis

The ‘corruption’ allegations against the First Family demand a robust response. Though the person who made these allegations might have made some frivolous ones in the past, this time he has backed them up with ‘distorted facts’.

In an angry response to the alleged freezing of his account by the EFCC, the Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, claimed that the President “was far from being a clean man”. He inferred that the President had questions to answer.

The governor claimed that the First Lady was indicted in the Haliburton scandal and that the President owned an estate in Abuja. Since owning an estate might not be an offence, the governor was apparently insinuating that the President might not have declared that property in his asset declaration form.

These allegations are grave and damaging.  Should any of these allegations turn out to be false, the governor cannot be sued because he has some immunity. It will be a sad day for the opposition if Fayose hides under the guise of immunity to peddle a falsehood of this magnitude.

However, it is not really clear if you can freeze a governor’s personal account, since he still enjoys immunity – such action insinuates the person is being investigated.

The governor made reference to the Virginia Court document which reported that ‘one’ Aisha Buhari paid a company owned by William Jefferson the sum of $170,000 in 2002. The former Democratic Louisiana congressman, William Jefferson, was jailed in the U.S. for using his office as a conduit for bribe from businesses with interest in Africa, especially in Nigeria.

The said sum was transferred to a company called ANJ Group LLC from an account in Nigeria, according to the court documents. Interestingly, the Jury found that ANJ Group LLC funded Jefferson’s posh and expensive lifestyle, and that the company could hold substantial amount of illicit shares in a Nigerian telecommunication venture.

Until his conviction, the former congressman argued that his stakes in ANJ Group LLC and other related companies were used for legitimate businesses. But numerous court evidences and FBI videos showed that the congressman was involved in money laundering and other corrupt activities.

In one incidence, $90,000 was found in his freezer. In another, he was secretly videotaped by the FBI when he received the sum of $100,000 in a leather briefcase – the former congressman claimed this money was for Atiku Abubakar in order to facilitate a Nigerian deal. The Jury found that Jefferson conspired to bribe former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

However, there was no proof that the congressman delivered this money to Atiku Abubakar before the Vice President departed the U.S. on July 31, 2005. To this extent, the former Vice President might argue that he has no case to answer.

Court documents show that ANJ Group LLC was established to be a conduit for bribe. In one instance, the court found that the company received a bribe of $367,500 from a company called iGate Incorporated. ANJ Group LLC was nominally owned by the congressman’s wife and five daughters.

And this is where anyone who has dealt with ANJ Group LLC or any of Jefferson’s businesses might have a case to answer. It might be important to clarify reasons for any payment or deals with Jefferson. The court document on Jefferson’s trial, which can be easily found online, shows that Jefferson had many dealings in Nigeria, with Nigerians.

I understand that President Buhari denied knowing who this Aisha Buhari is – he might actually not know her. But, there are many people who have been indicted abroad who are still walking freely in Nigeria. And this shows that the President needs to rejig his anti-corruption fight, if he intends to keep looking at the past – he is actually looking at the past at the moment.

It might actually have been someone else, posing as President Buhari’s wife or child, who did that transfer! Some American newspaper articles suggest this.

These court documents have been in the public domain. This might actually be the best time to take a close look at some indicted Nigerians.