Andrew Agbese
2 November 2008
Jos — Within a spate of three months, the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, in Kuru, Jos, has had its leadership changed three times as Dr. Yakubu Sankey, for a long time, Secretary and director of administration of the institute, bowed out in controversial circumstances on October 17 2008.
The first change occurred in July when the three-year tenure of Prof. Akin Akindoyeni, who had served as the Director General of the institute since 2005, expired, and failing to secure a second term was asked to handover to the next senior person in the institute, which saw the emergence of Dr. Sankey as acting DG from that period till that Friday when a fresh wave of controversy also blew away Sankey, as he was suspended from his position as acting DG and James Opadiran, who is the next most senior person after Sankey, was asked to take over.
Both the coming and exit of Sankey were marked by controversies as his predecessor, Prof. Akindoyeni, was said to have been reluctant to hand over to him and preferred that a new substantive DG be appointed instead. In the end, the professor lost out and Sankey was asked to mount the saddle.
But barely three months after assuming duty, Sankey, whose long experience at the institute should have served him in good stead, got his fingers burnt all too quickly in the high wired politics of the NIPSS. His expectation that he would be succeeded by a substantive DG was cut short just a month to the passing out of the current course participants in November. What happened?
The immediate cause of Sankey's fall had to do with a case of theft involving a staff member of the institute. Before Sankey took over from Akindoyeni, there had been a case of theft involving one of the course participants, Mr. Dienbo Allen Briggs, who was allegedly caught with a stolen camera while he and his co-participants were on a study tour of China .
Brigss was said to have denied any knowledge of the camera when an alarm was raised about the missing item until the CCTV camera at the hotel where the participants were lodged was played and it revealed Brigs removing the camera from the bag of his co-course participant.
The Nigerian embassy in China was said to have intervened and Briggs was spared being handed over to the police on that account. But on getting back to Nigeria, the NIPSS immediately set up a committee to investigate the matter which had by then leaked to the press.
A report written by the NIPSS on the matter, which was made available to our correspondent, said as soon as the allegations of the stolen camera matter during the SEC 30 study tour of China were reported the then Director-General, Prof Akin Akindoyeni, OFR, requested the ag. Director of Studies, Mr. James Opadiran, as the leader of the group involved to submit a formal report on the matter to him.
"The report was submitted on Wednesday, 11 June 2008 ...the Director-General, on receipt of the report, ordered issuance of query to Mr. D.A. Briggs to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against him.
"On receipt of answer to the query, the Director-General constituted an investigative panel vide a letter NI/DG/35 dated 16 June, 2008 headed by AVM A. R. Okanlawon.
"In the same directive, he instructed the SEC/Director of Administration to convene the investigative panel which was done through the SEC/Director of Administration's letter.
"While the investigation was going on, Mr. Briggs was interdicted in line with the provisions of the Public Service Rules (PSR).
"On receipt of the investigative panel's report on the 23 June, 2008, the Director-General instructed the SEC/Director of Administration (SDA) to treat following due process, that is to convene the Senior Staff Appointments, Promotion and Disciplinary Committee in line with the PSR, to consider the Panel's Report and to report to him on completion of the exercise with the recommendations of the committee.
"The DG on the receipt of the report directed that the report and its recommendations be put before the management for consideration. In its meeting on Monday 7th, July 2008; the management considered the report and upheld all the recommendations of the AP&DC with only minor amendments in some aspects.
"On Thursday 10th July, 2008, the SDA, as Secretary to the Management committee took steps to implement management's decisions reached at its meeting of Monday, 7 July 2008 as follows".
Following the report, Mr. Briggs was said to have been withdrawn from participating in the course through "a letter Ref. No. NI/PER/115/A.85 dated 10 July 2008. NIPSS later wrote to the vice president in a letter informing him of management's decisions to suspend Brigs while seeking his approval..
According to the letter sent to the office of the vice president the institute was said to have been careful in handling the matter bearing in mind its sensitive nature and the implications on both the country and the NIPSS and especially Nigeria's diplomatic relations with China where the alleged theft was said to have been committed.
"That in the absence of a Board of Governors, Your Excellency's approval should be sought for the termination of Mr. D.A. Briggs' appointment as Senior Fellow with the National Institute.
"That having established the case of gross misconduct, i.e., theft, approval be sought from Your Excellency to hand over the matter to the Attorney General of the federation for appropriate action.
"In view of the fact that there is no sitting Board of Governors, Mr. Vice President is kindly requested to approve that the appointment of Mr. D.A.Briggs as Senior Fellow of the National Institute be terminated forthwith", the institute prayed.
The management of the NIPSS was said to have been communicated immediately with a reply from the office of the vice president directing that all actions taken against Briggs be reverted to status quo ante.
In the letter SH/VP/SEC/54 signed by one Barrister A.A. Gulak, Senior Special Assistant to the vice president, Goodluck Jonathan on constitutional matters, on Re: Alleged Theft of Camera by Mr. D.A.Briggs: A NIPSS Senior Executive Course 30 Participant and given to NIPSS DG dated 16 July 2008, Barrister Gulak drew attention of Dr. Sankey on the following:
"That theft, the offence, alleged to have been committed by Mr. D.A.Briggs is an offence under section 286 and punishable under section 287 of the Panel Code Law (cap. 89 Laws of Northern Nigeria) applicable to Plateau state; where NIPSS is sited.
"That the offence of theft can only be tried by a court of Law; and in this case by at least a Magistrate Grade 3 as stipulated in Appendix A to the Criminal Procedure Code Act.
"That since only a court of law and not an administrative panel or committee can try offenders and punish same on conviction, any action taken against any person on the recommendations of the administrative panel will be ultra vires, null and void.
"That the investigation of criminal offence is the duty of the police under the Police Act. After investigation and the police is satisfied of commission of an offence by the suspect, he police may then arraign the suspect before a court of law whose duty it is to try and pronounce a suspect guilty and punish him accordingly.
"That it is after conviction by a court of law that an administrative panel can treat a staff as a convict and thereafter can take all steps necessary in accordance with the extant laws and regulations.
"That, in the light of the foregoing, no court of law has pronounced Mr. D.A.Briggs guilty of offence of theft and any action taken against him on the basis of the findings and pronouncements of an administrative panel will be ultra vires, null and void.
"I am to further inform you of His Excellency, the vice president's commitment to the administration's stand on the Rule of Law and due process. This is more so when there are already decided cases on the matter.
The letter concludes by telling the NIPSS management "that the Vice President is of the opinion that the status quo ante be maintained and that any action taken against Briggs was wrong and that the NIPSS should wait further advise from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation.
Since July when the NIPSS management was communicated by the office of the vice president on the Briggs matter, it took the office of the attorney general three months to respond to the criminal case hanging on the neck of Briggs.
On the 16 September 2008, a letter emanated from the office of the attorney general to the office of the vice president with reference no. HAGF/SH/VP/2008/Vol.1 on the subject matter Re: Alleged Theft of Camera by Mr. D.A.Briggs: A National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies Senior Executive Course 30 Participant.
He said that having carefully examined the issues involved and perused the accompanying documents, "I respectfully agree with your determination of the matter as it accords with the position of the law set down in very many cases from the court of appeal to the supreme court of Nigeria.
"It is my advice that the Director General, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies be directed to refer the matter to the police for investigation and await the outcome before any administrative action can be taken.
The intervention of the Vice President rather than calm frayed nerves was to heighten tension at the institute when the former chairman of the EFCC, Malam Nuhu Ribadu was demoted to the rank of an AIG and it was not clear whether to withdraw Ribadu or not.
As this issue lingered, it sparked a fresh round of crisis form the participants who silently rallied round Ribadu with the aim of defending him if authorities insist on removing him and bring the issue of Briggs debt into perspective saying they see no reason they should support Ribadu's withdrawal; when a participant who was caught stealing had been left to continue the course.
Due to the power tussle between Briggs and Sankey, the latter was said to have refrained from initiating the processes that would have kick started the process for the withdrawal of Ribadu
The Vice President then responded promptly describing the comments by Sankey as an act of insubordination, explaining that the matter was still under investigation and that Sankey had no right to have taken the action he took by suspending Briggs in the first place.
Sankey had since then kept mute over the matter as the implication of what could result from his continuous insistence on the matter dawned on him when the vice president took that position.
The management of the institute, to douse the tension, issued a press statement trying to absolve Briggs.
"Management of NIPSS has read the interview granted by the Ag. Director General of the NIPSS, Dr. Yakubu Sankey, published on pages 26 and 27 of Saturday Tribune of 27th September 2008. It is shocking to discover that Dr. Yakubu Sankey was largely quoted out of context.
"The Office of the Vice President is highly esteemed by the acting Director General and he will not for any reason whatsoever, willfully or otherwise, either by design or default denigrate the Office or the Person of the Vice President.
"It is therefore incorrect and unimaginable for Dr. Sankey to have been quoted as saying that the Vice President sabotaged the autonomy of the NIPSS, as the Ag. DG could not have questioned the authority of the Vice President on the affairs of the Institute, knowing that the Office of the VP is the Supervisory Office over the NIPSS.
Our correspondent confirmed that several meetings were also scheduled by the NIPSS management to appease the Vice President to over look the comments by Sankey to no avail.
The worst that the management was trying to avoid happened recently when Sankey was summoned to the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation asking him to proceed on suspension, while his alleged insubordination to the President is investigated. Our correspondent confirmed that Opadiran has since taken over as the acting DG of the institute.
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