2015/08/16/
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has intensified efforts to combat corruption by targeting civil servants with questionable wealth.
The ICPC has seized 24 properties and several vehicles from three civil servants, one of whom owned 18 properties. A document from the ICPC Chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta, titled “Notice of Seizure of Movable and Immovable Properties Pursuant to Section 45 (4) a – (b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000,” confirms the commission’s action. The properties were seized from three officials of the Ministry of Niger Delta due to suspicions that their value exceeded the officers’ legitimate earnings.
While the document, dated August 11, 2015, did not specify the rank of the officials, it was gathered that they are principal account officers within the Ministry of Niger Delta, which has been under investigation by the ICPC. The civil servants identified in the document are Poloma Kabiru Nuhu, Mangset Longyl Dickson, and Daniel Obah.
Mr. Nta stated that the decision to seize these properties would be formally communicated to the relevant land registries and departments in the states where the properties are located.
“The commission is investigating certain staff members of the Niger Delta Ministry, and we believe the properties they own far exceed their legitimate earnings. Therefore, we are notifying the public that all movable and immovable properties owned by these officials, as listed, are seized,” Nta said.
Among the seized assets, Nuhu owns 10 hectares of land in Kuje, valued at ₦50 million, and an unfinished duplex at Diamond Estate, Apo, Abuja, valued at ₦90 million. He also holds 16 plots of land across Gwagwalada, Abuja.
Dickson, another official, owns a plot of land in the Kubwa District, Abuja, valued at ₦7 million. Obah, the third official, holds multiple plots of land in Abuja and Port Harcourt, including a four-bedroom duplex in Karsana South District, Abuja, valued at ₦60 million. He also owns plots of land in Rivers State, including properties in Umuodili Odubo Community, Olipobo Rumuekini Layout, and Livingstone Estate, valued at millions of naira.
In July, The PUNCH reported that the Federal Government’s anti-corruption drive was zeroing in on ‘super rich’ civil servants with multiple properties suspected to have been acquired through corrupt practices. Civil servants in possession of questionable properties in the Federal Capital Territory were a major focus of the investigation.
The ICPC’s Assets Tracing, Recovery, and Management Unit (ATRMU) has been strengthened with additional personnel to assist in tracing, interrogating, and recovering ill-gotten assets.
Additionally, on Wednesday, the Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr. Samuel Ukura, called for the recovery of ₦183 billion that had been diverted from funds allocated for Niger Delta development. This figure was uncovered during periodic audits of the Niger Delta Development Commission’s activities from 2008 to 2012. Ukura’s report revealed that ₦70.4 billion had been paid to contractors who failed to commence work, and ₦90.4 billion was spent without proper approval. Further discrepancies included unremitted tax deductions of ₦10 billion, payments for incomplete or abandoned projects amounting to ₦5.8 billion, and ₦1.2 billion in undeducted taxes from contractors.
Ukura also reported that ₦785 million, intended for school furniture in Delta State, had been diverted, with no evidence of any furniture being delivered.
Source: The PUNCH
