Justice Umar Sadiq of FCT High Court was on Thursday, January 14, 2010, told by a witness, Mr. Nnamdi Nwafor Udoh, Director, Safety Electronics and Engineering Services, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, that the documents and his purported signature used for the N6. 5 billion Safe Tower Project of the Aviation ministry under Prof. Babalola Borishade as minister were all forged.
At the hearing of the matter on Wednesday, EFCC witness, Husseini Kazeem, had also told the court how three hundred and fifteen thousand Euros bribe money was distributed between former Aviation Minister, Babalola Borishade and eleven others while on a trip to Austria.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is prosecuting the former minister and three others over the N6.5billion Safe Tower Project, awarded by his ministry when he served as minister.
The Director who was testifying in the aviation contract scam said as at the time in question, February 25, 2008, as the General Manager, Surveillance and Risk Management, he was not in a position to sign such documents.
Udoh who was being examined by the prosecution counsel, Barrister Serbastine Hon, SAN, also told the court that he was shocked when documents, exhibit E7-8, were showed to him where he saw his name and signature appended on one of the documents. "I immediately alerted the EFCC operatives that someone has made effort to forge my signature", he stressed.
When showed and asked to verify exhibit E7-8, he said the document ought not be signed by him but the MD as it was a Consent and Policy document addressed to the minister.
He also told the court that when he assumed duty as director, there were no inherited files on Safe Tower Project. He further explained that he had to make his own file on the Safe Tower Project. In his created files, he said he never had the controversial documents.
He was asked to sign a specimen signature to compare with the alleged forged signature. He did and it was tendered before the court as exhibit AQ. He was also asked if there was any other Nnamdi Udoh in NAMA, he said to the best of his knowledge, there is no other Nnamdi Udoh apart from him.
He was also showed exhibit E281-E284 which are documents containing the tabulation of result of the evaluation of the project which bears his name. But he said he was never in any committee, whether collation or evaluation committee. He also confessed that he had never met with Gbenga Obadina who was the Chairman of the Committee.
While being cross examined on Wednesday by the defence counsel, Olumuyiwa D.B. Akinboro, representing Rowland Iyayi, former Director General, Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, EFCC Witness, Kazeem, said that in the course of investigation the 4th accused person, George Eider, told him that he gave the minister and his twelve man committee the sum of three hundred thousand Euros for their trip to Austria.
However, counsel to the 3rd accused person, Awomolo SAN, was quick to tell the witness to take a look at exhibit AN, saying that the money was meant for training of the staff of NAMA, NIMET, and Ministry of Aviation.
But Kazeem, who was not deterred by Awomolo's position, said that the honorable minister travelled to Austria with his committee and were given the money by the 4th accused person, George Eider, in Austria to share among themselves, and another fifteen thousand Euros as "personal package" for the minister's upkeep in Austria, as confessed by the 4th accused in his statement during interrogation.
Prosecution counsel went further to tender some relevant documents before the court. The documents include:
* Nigeria Airspace Management Agency letter with reference Nam/MD/MC/003B/1/382, dated August 4, 2008 and addressed to the Executive Chairman, EFCC and signed by Captain Agbo Sanusi
" Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, internal memo dated August 1, 2008 signed by Dr. Mrs. WG Ankemi.
" EFCC letter with reference CR-3000/EFCC/Abj/ASO/TM3/Volume 6/651, dated July 24, 2008 addressed to MD, NAMA
* Nigeria Airspace Management Agency internal memo dated January 24, 2007 and signed by NN Udoh
* 2 Letters addressed to MD, FCAA dated July 20, 1990 and November 15 1990 signed by NN Udoh. All documents were duly certified.
Komolafe who raised objection to the tendering of the documents said he will reserve his comments to a latter date when the documents will be in use. All other lawyers aligned with Komolafe. All the documents were admitted in evidence by the judge.
The presiding judge, Justice Umar Sadiq after hearing the heated argument from both counsel adjourned the case till the February 1, 2 and 3, 2010, for further cross examination and continuation of hearing.
The EFCC had on Wednesday July 2, 2008 first arraigned the trio of Professor Babalola Borishade the erstwhile Minister of Aviation, his predecessor Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, and the former Director General of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Mr. Roland Iyayi before Chief Magistrate, Kabir Lamido of an Abuja Magistrate Court at Life Camp.



......And Reps Canvass Support For EFCC
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Drugs, Narcotics, and
Financial Crimes, Hon. Rabe Nasir, has called on all well-meaning Nigerians to lend
their support to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to enable it
achieve its mandate of ridding the country of all forms ofcorruption.
Nasir made appeal during the 2010 budget defence by the Chairman of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, Mrs Farida Waziri.
According to him, "It is the responsibility of the National Assembly to accord all
institutions, ministries and agencies of government the desired support and
co-oporation in other to meet the yearnings and aspiration of all Nigerians. The
EFCC activities in this country are not only inevitable but it (EFCC) is necessarily
the catalyst towards ridding this country of corruption and all forms of economic
and financial crimes.
"The EFCC has done a lot and is still doing a lot. I feel this committee has a
responsibility of providing the necessary impetus for the Commission to impart more
positively on Nigeria and Nigerians. Like I said, which I repeat today, the task of
fighting corruption as carried out by institutions in this country especially the
EFCC is one that we can either make or mar and is one that attracts the contribution
and cooperation of all Nigerians. It is not only the responsibility of government to
fight for us. Every citizen of this country has a responsibility to fight
corruption. We all have the civil responsibility to help the government to help the
people and that is why it is not a matter of leadership or personality working in an
institution like the EFCC. It is about the vision and mission of the institution of
the EFCC and the need of Nigerians to be served through the instrumentality of this
very important commission in order for Nigerians to
live happily and be more recognized internationally".
"The Commission has come a long way. In a span of about only six years, the
Commission has recorded tremendous achievements which must be commended and that is
why we believe that Nigeria should still offer understanding and prayers to the
management of the EFCC so that we could all benefit from what they can do," he
stated further.
While stressing that the agency is too strategic to be ignored,Hon.Rabe dismissed
insinuations that there was any friction between the Committee and the EFCC.
In her own remarks, Mrs Waziri thanked the lawmaker for calling on all Nigerians to
take up the gauntlet in the fight against corruption. She said the crusade should
not be left for EFCC as the Commission alone cannot eradicate corruption from
Nigeria . " Nigeria needs all patriotic Nigerians in the fight against corruption."
She enjoined all well meaning Nigerians to team up with the Commission in its desire
to eradicate corruption.
After giving a detailed account of the 2009 budget performance of the Commission, a
presentation that was adopted and commended by members of the committee, Waziri
later presented a budget proposal of N7.6 billion for 2010. She thereafter fielded
questions from the lawmakers who later adjourned the sitting to review the request.