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Alleged N304.1m Fraud: More trouble for ex-NIMASA DG as court admits more evidence

Haura Jauro, ex NIMASA DG
Owolola Adebola

Justice Tijani Ringim of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, admitted in evidence several documents tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), against a former acting Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Haruna Baba Jauro, and two others.

Jauro alongside Dr. Dauda Bitrus Bawa and a company, Thlumbau Enterprises Limited, is being prosecuted on a 19-count charge bordering on stealing and money laundering to the tune of N304, 118, 500( Three Hundred and Four Million One Hundred and Eighteen Thousand Five Hundred Naira).

At the resumed sitting,  the prosecution presented its third prosecution witness, PW3, Orji Chukwuma, an investigator with the Commission.

Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, Chukwuma, of the Chairman Monitoring Unit, EFCC, Abuja, told the court that he was Head, of Special Task Force Unit 3, Lagos Zonal Command, at the time of the investigation of the alleged fraud.

When asked if he knew the defendants and the company, Thlumbau Enterprises Limited, the PW3, whose team was tasked with investigating money laundering and other financial crimes, stated that he came across all the defendants in the course of his investigation, upon receipt of intelligence reports against the management of NIMASA.

 According to him, in the course of investigations, various inquiries were made to banks and staff of NIMASA and interviews were also conducted on staff, banks’ employees, contractors to NIMASA, corporate organizations, individuals who made payments into the 3rd and 1st defendants’ accounts as well as some beneficiaries of the proceeds made by them.
Investigations revealed that the 3rd defendant was incorporated by the 1st  defendant, using his children, while the 2nd defendant operated the account of the 3rd defendant.

“Further investigation revealed that proceeds of unlawful activities of the 1st defendant, while he was the Executive Director of Finance and Administration in NIMASA, was concealed and laundered for his benefit through the 3rd defendant.

 The proceeds were used to acquire a property in Abuja,” he said.

In his further testimony, Chukwuma told the court that funds co-mingled with loans taken from Aso Savings Limited to also acquire two other houses in Lagos.

Asked if he could identify both Exhibits AI and A2, which are the 3rd defendant’s statement of account containing the proceeds of the inquiries and investigations he carried out, the PW3  identified exhibit A series as the 3rd defendant’s mandate and statement of accounts, responses to the EFCC’s inquiries as well as the instruments used to move money out of the 3rd defendant’s account.
Giving evidence about Exhibit A1 and the share structures of the 3rd  defendant, the PW3 told the court that one Samuel Haruna Baba had 500,000( Five Hundred Thousand) ordinary units; one Salome Haruna Baba owned 250,000( Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand) ordinary shares and one Ila Haruna owned 200,000( Two Hundred Thousand) ordinary shares.

He also stated that the names mentioned are children and relations of the 1st defendant and that their addresses are the same as his.

 When asked if he could identify the inquiries he recovered while conducting investigations in NIMASA, the PW3 did, adding that they were documents from NIMASA to banks to effect payments.
The prosecution sought to tender a copy of the internal memo of NIMASA dated July 8, 2014, and two letters of instructions to Access Bank from NIMASA dated January 3, 2014.

They were all admitted and marked as exhibits B, B1 and B2 by the court. During the proceedings, the prosecution counsel also asked the witness if there was an exchange of correspondence regarding the Aso Savings loans he earlier talked about, to which he answered in the affirmative, adding that it contained the mandate, statement of account, certificate of identification and mortgage correspondence of the first defendant.

The prosecution counsel also sought to tender the letter dated February 10, 2016, from Aso Savings and Loans Plc to the EFCC with its attachments, and they were all admitted in evidence and marked as exhibit C.

While giving further testimony about exhibit A and some entries made on January 6,,2014, Chukwuma explained that there was an inflow of N15m ( Fifteen Million Naira) that came from the Committee of Intelligence belonging to NIMASA.

He said: “The Committee is set up and funded by NIMASA for specific purposes related to security.

“Investigations showed, from the account statement of January 23, 2014, that the sum of N12m (Twelve Million Naira) out of the N15m (Fifteen Million) was transferred to the account of the first defendant in Aso Savings to manage the loans he took to buy property.

“On July 10, 2014, another sum of N20m (Twenty Million Naira) was also paid into the account of the third defendant.

“Subsequently, the 2nd defendant also benefited the sum of N1, 470,000(One million Four Hundred and Seventy Thousand Naira), which was later returned to the Commission in a draft.”

When he was shown copies of the draft by the prosecution counsel, he identified them as the statement of one Ishaq Banabas, who returned the total sum of N35m (Thirty-five Million Naira) through five different bank drafts to the EFCC Draft Registration Form Receipt.

The drafts as well as the EFCC   Draft Registration Form receipt were admitted in evidence and marked as exhibits D and D1, respectively.

The PW3, in his further testimony, told the court that the sum of N20m( Twenty Million Naira) was transferred by Kishini Nigeria Limited and another N5m( Five Million Naira) was paid to the third defendant by Eminent Consult.

The 3rd defendant’s account, according to him, was co-mingled and aggregated to the sum of N52m (Fifty-two Million Naira) paid to one Helen Mbonu, who used it to purchase a house for the first defendant.

When asked about the various entries in the exhibit A series, the PW3 told the Court that there were several inflows from various individuals and companies into the 3rd defendant’s accounts, including Sulaiman Mohammed, Komas Mega BDC, Dan Asabe, Mustapha Buka,  Dulbangon Enterprise, Kostam Mega Concept, Kolomi Mohammed, Abubakar Mansur, Mukaila Jubrila, Alkawali Nigerian Enterprise and Hassan.

Asked if the third defendant rendered any services that led to the various cash payments totaling N120m, the witness told the court that the 3rd defendant never rendered any services, adding that “the payments are proceeds of unlawful activities.”

The case was adjourned till March for the continuation of trial.

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Analyses

The invisible toll gates:Why National Single Window is Nigeria’s ultimate economic battleground

Monday Discourse with  Ibrahim Nasiru
Walk into any market in Nigeria today, from the commercial hubs of Lagos to the roadside stalls in Yola, and ask why a bag of rice or an imported spare part costs three times what it did last year.
The typical public commentator will blame global inflation, floating currencies, or macro-economic shocks.
But those who understand logistics know the real truth lies buried under layers of paper, manual stamps, and artificial delays at our seaports.
Nigeria’s international trade is suffocating not from a lack of deep water, but from a deliberate design of convenience.
The recent operational rollout of the National Single Window (NSW) has triggered behind-the-scenes panic among Port cartels, and for good reason.
For decades, keeping our clearing processes fragmented, manual, and dependent on desk-to-desk human interaction was the perfect business model for syndicates.
When cargo dwell times drag on for 21 days, those delays are money in the pockets of the gatekeepers and a death sentence for local businesses.
Let us look at the raw field realities. The push by the Nigeria Customs Service to aggressively crash clearance times down to global 48-hour standards is meeting fierce internal resistance.
Why? Because a unified digital ecosystem means you cannot easily manipulate documentation, hide illicit cargo, or demand “mobilization fees” before signing off a container.
The outcry and protests from certain freight-forwarding syndicates aren’t about technical glitches; they are about the sudden closure of invisible toll gates.
This is exactly why governance at our national gateways can no longer be left to the mercy of transactional bureaucratic habits.
Building deep-sea infrastructure like Lekki Port is a massive physical achievement, but concrete and cranes are useless if the administrative processes at the gate remain backward.
 Real structural reform requires turning our Ports into automated, friction-free pipelines that prioritize production over rent-seeking.
If Nigeria wants to survive this fiscal squeeze, the National Single Window cannot just be treated as another glossy IT project launched in Abuja.
 It requires unyielding administrative enforcement to completely dismantle the corrupt cartels managing the manual desk chains.
The invisible toll gates at our Ports must be completely demolished, and that exact same structural discipline must be scaled across our border stations and trade corridors.
The era of managing international trade with 20th-century paper trails is dying. The future belongs to the builders of automated, transparent systems.
Chief Ibrahim Nasiru, a public affairs analyst,  writes from Abuja 
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Headlines

NANTA Exco embarks on seven-day Ghana retreat, fam trip to deepen regional tourism partnership

Gloria Odion, Reporter

The National Executive Council (NEC) of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) has commenced a seven-day executive retreat and familiarisation (fam) trip to Ghana, hosted by Safari World, as part of efforts to strengthen regional tourism partnerships and expand cross-border travel opportunities.

The NANTA delegation was received at Safari World Homes in Accra by the Chairman of the Safari World Group, Mr. Ernest Gyekye, who expressed delight at hosting the Nigerian travel trade leaders.

He assured the delegation of a memorable experience throughout their week-long stay.

Speaking on the significance of the visit, NANTA President, Mr. Yinka Folami, described the retreat and familiarisation tour as a strategic initiative aimed at fostering stronger business relationships and promoting collaborative tourism development across Africa.

“This mission is not a leisure trip,” Folami said. “It is a deliberate step to implement and expand our association’s marketing advocacy for Nigerian brands across borders.”

He noted that Nigeria and Ghana share deep historical, cultural and commercial ties that should be leveraged to drive tourism growth on the continent.

“Nigeria and Ghana share history, culture, trade and people. The future of our tourism cannot be built in silos,” he said.

“This retreat is about moving from policy to practice—creating real products, real partnerships and real movement of travellers between Accra and Lagos.”

As part of the programme, the NANTA executives will engage in strategic business-to-business (B2B) meetings with their Ghanaian counterparts, tour key tourism destinations under the Safari World brand, and participate in cultural exchange activities designed to promote stronger bilateral tourism cooperation.

The itinerary spans Safari World’s three flagship destinations, including Safari Homes in Accra, the Aqua Safari riverfront experience, Safari Island Cruise, Safari Nautica, and Safari Recreation and Sports facilities in Ada, as well as the Safari Valley Eco Resort and Safari Eco Park in Dawu.

Operating under the brand promise, “One World, Three Destinations, Over 20 Unique Experiences,” Safari World is leveraging the visit to strengthen its footprint in the Nigerian travel market while positioning Ghana as a premier destination for leisure tourism, conferences, group travel, family holidays and premium tourism experiences.

A major highlight of the visit will be the Executive Dinner scheduled for July 21 at the Safari Valley Eco Resort, where key stakeholders from Nigeria and Ghana’s tourism industries will deliberate on strategies for deepening travel trade and advancing regional tourism development.

The familiarisation tour is expected to provide NANTA’s leadership with first-hand knowledge of Safari World’s tourism offerings, paving the way for the development of attractive travel packages and stronger business partnerships that will benefit Nigerian travellers and the wider West African tourism industry.

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Customs

Ogun Customs spurns claims of Smugglers’ takeover of Idiroko–Sango Ota trading Route

Funso OLOJO, Editor

The Ogun I Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has dismissed as false reports alleging that smugglers had taken over the Idiroko–Sango Ota trading route in Ogun State, describing the claims as a deliberate misrepresentation of a traffic incident.
In a statement issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Superintendent of Customs (SC) Chado, the Command clarified that the traffic gridlock on the route resulted from the breakdown of an articulated commercial trailer after it fell into a badly deteriorated section of Atan Road, temporarily obstructing the free flow of traffic.
According to the Command, the vehicles caught in the ensuing congestion were legitimate commercial trucks transporting red palm oil to various local markets and had no connection whatsoever with smuggling activities.
It explained that the large number of heavy-duty trucks trapped in the gridlock may have led some members of the public to wrongly conclude that smugglers had taken over the road.
“The reports that smugglers blocked the road are inaccurate. The disruption resulted from a road accident and poor road conditions. The vehicles involved were lawful commercial vehicles transporting red palm oil for legitimate trade,” Chado stated.
The Command urged journalists, social media users and the general public to verify information before disseminating reports capable of creating unnecessary panic or undermining public confidence in security agencies.
Observers within the border trade sector noted that the allegation does not reflect the prevailing security situation within the Ogun I Area Command, where anti-smuggling operations have been intensified under the leadership of the Acting Customs Area Controller, Comptroller O.O. Afeni.
Since assuming office, Comptroller Afeni has strengthened intelligence-driven surveillance, enhanced collaboration with other security agencies and host communities, and sustained pressure on economic saboteurs operating along the Ogun border corridors.
These measures, according to stakeholders, have resulted in significant seizures of prohibited goods and reinforced the Command’s resolve to safeguard Nigeria’s economy and territorial integrity.
Maritime and border trade stakeholders also cautioned against the spread of unverified information capable of undermining the efforts of security personnel or creating a false impression of lawlessness in border communities.
They stressed that while combating smuggling remains an ongoing responsibility, responsible and accurate reporting is equally critical to ensuring that operational achievements are not overshadowed by misinformation.
The Ogun I Area Command reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining its anti-smuggling campaign while facilitating legitimate cross-border trade in line with the statutory mandate of the Nigeria Customs Service.

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