Halliburton scandal: Jonathan orders AGF Adoke to locate $26.5m plea bargain money

President Goodluck Jonathan has
ordered the attorney-general of the
federation and minister of justice,
Mohammed Bello Adoke, to locate the
whereabouts of the $26.5m plea
bargain money paid by the
construction company, Julius Berger,
and returned to the police by next
week.
It was gathered that there were
conflicting signals coming out from
Julius Berger, office of the accountant
general of the federation and the
Police investigators on the true
position and location of the said
money.
Some say the money was in the
custody of the accountant general’s
office, while other accounts indicate
the money is in safekeeping at the
AGF’s office, with the police appearing
not to have an idea of how the money
‘migrated’.
Julius Berger one of the companies
indicted in the Halliburton $180
million bribery scandal had opted for
a plea bargain in order to be spared
the prosecution process following the
conclusion of the 5-man inter-agency
investigation panel headed by the
Inspector General of Police.
Some analysts are of the view that
claims of payment of the plea-bargain
money by Julius Berger might be a
mirage after-all citing previous
experiences of similar underhand
deals between influential business
concerns and corrupt government
officials.
Of all the major suspects indicted in
the Police investigation reports, only
the former Special Assistant on
Domestic Affairs to former President
Obasanjo who admitted to collecting
$6million from former GMD of NNPC,
Chief Jackson Gaius Obaseki was
charged to court and since 2010, the
trial has been ongoing.
The case was said to have been
reopened due to the insistence of the
United States government that the
government of Nigeria must as a
matter of urgency prosecute those
found to be indicted in the alleged
bribery scandal. The US reportedly
refused to the release the balance of
the money which is said to have been
lodged in an American bank.
The US government had implied that
the Nigerian government has been
paying lip service to fighting
corruption indicating it was not
serious in its fight.
The only condition given to release
the money was the immediate
prosecution of all those top shots
including Julius Berger that were
indicted in the bribery scandal.

Ynaija