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A former aide to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, construction giant Julius Berger and other suspects are due to appear in court today in Abuja to answer allegations of taking bribes from the American oil construction company Halliburton.
Eighteen individuals and entities will be standing trial in the corruption scandal, in which Nigerian officials allegedly received around $180 million in bribes to facilitate liquefied natural gas contracts for Halliburton in 1995-2005.
The Federal Government will today arraign some of the suspects before the Federal High Court, Abuja, court officials told Daily Trust yesterday.
But the entire trial has been divided into two, where some suspects would be charged at the Federal High Court while others would face the FCT High Court.
Court papers show that those to face criminal charges are Adeyanju Bodunde, a former personal assistant to ex-President Obasanjo, former federal permanent secretary Ibrahim Aliyu, Julius Berger Nigeria, AVM Abdullahi Dominic Bello, Mohammed Gidado Bakare, Urban Shelter Limited, Intercellular Nigeria, Sherwood Petroleum Limited, Tri-Star Investment Limited, TSKJ Nigeria Limited, Technip S.A., Snamprogetti Netherlands, KBR, Japan Gasoline Corporation of Japan, George Mark, Hans George Christ, Heinrich J. Stockhausen and Bilfinger Berger GMBH.
The law firms of J.B. Daudu, G. O. Obla and E. C. Ukala, along with the Director of Public Prosecution, would be prosecuting the case.
The $180million bribery scandal involved Halliburton subsidiary, Kellogg, Brown and Root, in respect of the Bonny LNG projects.
Albert J. Stanley admitted before a Houston court in the US on September 4, 2008 that he funneled $180million in bribes to senior Nigerian government officials.
Stanley alleged that the bribes were channeled through Briton Jeffery Tesler in four installments of $60million, $32.5 million, $51 million and $23 million.
The Federal Government plans to ask the UK Government to extradite Tesler to hasten the trial of the suspects, sources told Daily Trust.
The courts are on a long vacation, but sources told our reporter that the suspects would be arraigned before a vacation judge today.
A source told Daily Trust that the file containing the criminal charges had been sent to Justice David Okorowo, who will preside over the matter.
The charges being preferred against the suspects border on breach of the money laundering laws.
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This is an opportunity for Nigeria to end corruption, if found guilty they should be subject to death sentences, anything less, investor's should boycott Nigeria and invest nothing in that garbage field. These people have gotten so bad no one want to sit beside them at the air ports. People from nigeria are now saying they are from canada, because if they say Nigeria people walk away. Kill them and band haliburton and all it's subsidaries from doing busines in all of africa. Also demand the United States investigate them and verify none of these payments were deducted from their tax returns.
afamerican " .. This is an opportunity for Nigeria to end corruption .."
AHEM.
@afamerican, Let us get a perspective here. Is there any "corruption" in USA? UK?
[Or rather, let us ask this way: Are you aware that the amount of "corruption" in several sectors of USA's economy surpasses by far any amount of 'corruption' you may generously peg on any, or ALL the countries, of Africa?] .
" ... if found guilty they should be subject to death sentences, anything less .."
Are those found guilty of "corruption" in USA put to death?
[Start here: ENRON. Is that too far back? Current: Consider how the people's tax revenue is squandered on (bailing out) the wealthy ruling elite .. and how the government enables the wealthy to victimize the poor. ]