Paris Club refund: Saraki commends supreme court for overturning N1.2bn forfeiture judgment 

Bukola Saraki, a former president of the senate, has commended the supreme court for overturning a federal court judgement that said Melrose General Services should forfeit N1,222,384,857.84 to the federal government.

On April 27, 2018, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) secured a judgment for the final forfeiture of N1.5 billion which Melrose General Services Limited, obtained from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) through false claims.

Dissatisfied with the verdict, Melrose General Services Limited, the appellant, challenged the judgment of the court of appeal ordering the forfeiture of the money to Nigeria’s government.

On Friday, the supreme court panel led by Justice Akomaye Agim (SC 1519/2019) set aside the judgments of the lower courts and ruled in favour of Melrose General Services.

Reacting to the development, Saraki described the case as a “proxy war” that used Melrose “as a mere pawn” to “victimise and persecute” him.

“As much as this case was between the EFCC and Melrose General Services Limited, it was a proxy war, with Melrose serving as a mere pawn in a larger scheme to victimise and persecute me. It was always clear that this case was a thinly veiled attempt by the Buhari administration to weaponise the legal system for political gain,” he wrote.

“The allegations of “Paris Club Fraud” were nothing more than a smokescreen designed to weaken the institution of my office, undermine my political career, and tarnish my reputation through spurious accusations similar to the Code of Conduct Tribunal, which also acquitted me of all charges.

“I am profoundly grateful to the Almighty Allah, the ultimate arbiter of justice, for guiding the Supreme Court to this righteous verdict.

“I applaud the judiciary for their meticulous examination of the evidence and adherence to due process, which has ensured that justice prevailed. I also thank Melrose’s legal team for their tireless efforts in bringing this case to a just conclusion.

“Moving forward, we all have to canvas for fairness in the fight against corruption. We should see this verdict as an inspiration to champion the rule of law, promote democracy and its institutions, and tolerate divergent views.”

BACKGROUND

On March 27, 2019, the EFCC alleged that Saraki and some of his aides laundered a N3.5 billion Paris Club loan refund.

The N3.5 billion was allegedly part of the N522 billion loan refund disbursed to all the states of the federation in December. The refund was as a result of over-deductions from the statutory allocations of the states for debt servicing from 1995 to 2002.

In a report to former President Muhammadu Buhari, the anti-graft agency alleged that the said amount was paid by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) into the bank account of Melrose General Services, a company owned by Robert Mbonu, an associate of Saraki.

NGF had reportedly hired Mbonu as its consultant on the deal.

TheCable’s full report on the allegations can be found here.