Embezzlement, Money Laundering: Lawyers Ask EFCC To Investigate Former NBA President Austin Alegeh #ontopnigeria
Group of lawyers, under the umbrella of "Lawyers for
Justice" has demanded an immediate investigation into
the tenure of Mr. Austin Alegeh (SAN), immediate past
president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The
group's demand was contained in a petition addressed to
the EFCC Chairman, exclusively obtained by
SaharaReporters
Jointly signed by Seth Amaefule, second Vice Chairman of
the Lagos branch of the NBA, and Dotun Hassan, Assistant
Secretary of the Epe branch of the Association, the
petitioners based their demand on suspicions of a number
of illegal deeds, including money laundering and corrupt
enrichment by Alegeh while he served as NBA President.
On August 25, alleged the petitioners, Mr. Alegeh informed
the NBA Annual General Meeting that he left N200million in
the association's account. However, the new
officers only found N20million.
"Not being prepared to render a satisfactory account of the
association's funds and donations, investigations into those
activities bordering on illegality and criminality ought to be
uncovered by our law enforcement agents with a view to
bringing culprits to book," the group stated in its petition.
The petitioners also alleged that before Alegeh became the
NBA President, he lived at 11 Ladipo Bateye Street, GRA,
Ikeja, Lagos. This address, they claimed served as
his residence, law firm and the office of Tratrix Engineering
Limited, a company in which he holds majority shares as
Chairman/CEO. The former NBA President, added the
petitioners, also had offices in Benin and Asaba.
After becoming NBA President, Mr. Alegeh moved from his
Ikeja home to 24 Ilabere Avenue in the upscale Ikoyi area of
Lagos and acquired a fleet of exotic cars. This, Lawyers for
Justice reckoned, is enough ground for suspicion, given that
the NBA is a non-profit organization, whose officers are not
allowed personal benefits, salaries, bribes and other forms
of income from corrupt streams.
Also while serving an NBA President, Lawyers for Justice
added, Mr. Alegeh moved from his rented office at 48 Lobito
Crescent, Wuse 2 in Abuja, to a considerably swankier office
at 22 Ziguinchor Street, Wuse 4. The property is believed to
be owned by him.
"It is a matter of general knowledge amongst lawyers that
Mr. Augustine Alegeh (SAN) spent a humongous sum of
money prosecuting his campaign for the office of the
President of the Nigerian Bar Association 2014, which he
eventually won in July 2014 against four others, and which
would naturally have depleted his resources. He appears to
have stupendously, illegally recouped his pocket, as
President who abused the office of the NBA President,"
wrote Lawyers for Justice.
The group equally alleged that Mr. Alegeh personally
showed his friends around his estate at Ilebare Street, Off
Macpherson Street, Ikoyi, after a church service to mark his
exit from office on August 28 2016. He is also said to own a
stupendous, though yet to be completed, home in Benin,
where he hosted some lawyers who attended the June 2016
NBA National Executive Council Meeting in Benin.
Another allegation leveled against the former NBA President
carried the whiff of contractual fraud. According to the
petitioners, before Mr. Alegeh took office in August 2014, the
NBA had awarded an N2.5billion contract for the
construction of the 11-floor NBA House at Plot 1101,
Cadastral Zone A00 in Abuja's Central Business District to
Schaums Nigeria Limited. The contractor, noted the
petitioners, was still building the first floor when Mr. Alegeh,
using his office, decided that the building must be
completed by direct labour despite the fact that the contract
was not terminated. He was said to have approved and paid
money to Tratrix Engineering Limited, where he is
Chairman/ CEO, via proxies.
"Against ethical and lawful conduct, he retained his position
as Chairman/CEO of Tratrix Engineering Limited during his
NBA Presidency from August 2014 – August 2016. Mr. Alegeh
sought and received colossal sums as donations for the
building project. It remains to be investigated suspicious
activities of diversion of funds by Mr. Augustine Alegeh (SAN)
for personal use," the petitioners noted.
Also during his tenure as NBA President, Mr. Alegeh, alleged
Lawyers for Justice, organized six National Executive
Committee Meetings and two Annual General Conferences
of the Bar. These entailed the donation of huge sums of
money by individuals, corporate organizations, governors
and other political office holders.
The former NBA President, it was further alleged, entered an
arrangement with Access Bank Plc to warehouse all NBA
accounts in return for the bank sponsoring NBA NEC
Meetings and Conferences with approximately N250million
yearly and created a system that made lawyers pay
extortionate registration fees to attend the Annual General
Conferences 2015 and 2016.
Despite the huge registration fees paid by lawyers and hefty
donations from other sources, the Annual General
Conferences in Abuja and Port Harcourt in August 2015 and
2016 respectively were parodies, as conference bags and
materials were barely distributed to conferees.
"The Annual General Conference, Port Harcourt, which
concluded on Friday, August 26th 2016 was dubbed by
some senior lawyers as "a scam and a sham." Despite large
sums of money, it generated little value. At the conference,
not only did many lawyers not receive conference bags,
others got very low-quality bags without conference
programs, papers, and proceedings. The Annual Reports
2016, which included NBA Treasurer and General Secretary's
reports, were scarcely distributed to NBA members," wrote
the petitioners.
Lawyers for Justice also claimed that Mr. Alegeh received the
dollar equivalent of N250million from Governor Nyesom
Wike of Rivers State as a gesture of appreciation for bringing
the 2016 Bar Conference to Port Harcourt. This sum, which
the group said belonged to the NBA, was allegedly diverted,
converted and shared by a few national officers, notably Mr.
Alegeh, and immediate past General Secretary Mr. Afam
Osigwe.
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