Whistleblower fired after accusing CAF president of corruption

African football’s ruling body, the Confederation of African
Football (CAF), has fired a senior official after he made
corruption accusations against the organisation’s president, Ahmad
Ahmad.

The development is a potential blow to world governing body
FIFA’s efforts to clean up the game after a raft of scandals
worldwide.

CAF sacked general secretary Amr Fahmy after the Egyptian
accused Ahmad of bribes and misuse of hundreds of thousands of
dollars, according to officials and an internal document.

The document, sent on March 31 by Fahmy to a FIFA body which
investigates alleged ethics breaches, was seen by Reuters.

It accuses Ahmad of ordering his secretary-general to pay 20,000
dollars (about N7 million or 15,256 pounds) bribes into accounts of
African football association (FA) presidents.

They included FA presidents of Cape Verde and Tanzania.

The document also accused Ahmad of costing CAF an extra 830,000
dollars (about N298.8 million) by ordering equipment via a French
intermediary company called Tactical Steel.

Furthermore, it accuses him of harassing four female CAF staff,
whom it did not name, and violating statutes to increase Moroccan
representation within the organization.

He was also accused of over-spending more than 400,000 dollars
(about N140 million) of CAF money on cars in Egypt and Madagascar,
where a satellite office has been set up for him.

Senior CAF officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said
Fahmy was fired after compiling the document with the allegations
against Ahmad who took the top African football post two years
ago.

CAF confirmed to Reuters that Fahmy lost his job at an executive
committee meeting in Cairo on Thursday, prior to the draw for the
2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals.

It however declined to give more details about the reason for
his dismissal.

“There’s no explanation. It’s the Executive Committee decision,”
communications director Nathalie Rabe said in an email exchange
with Reuters on Sunday.

Ahmad, who is also a vice-president of world governing body
FIFA, did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations
against him.

Requests for comment to the football presidents and authorities
of Cape Verde and Tanzania, and to Tactical Steel in France, were
also not immediately answered.

Fahmy was replaced by Mouad Hajji, from Morocco.

The allegations against Ahmad follow a string of scandals
related to FIFA’s practices in Latin America and Asia in recent
years.

These have led to the indictment and jailing of numerous senior
football administrators.

The corruption scandals first broke in 2015.

The CAF case is potentially problematic for FIFA president
Gianni Infantino —- set to be re-elected unopposed in June for a
four-year term —- as Ahmad is one of his deputies.

FIFA declined comment.

“The Ethics Committee does not comment on potential ongoing
proceedings nor on whether or not investigations are underway into
alleged ethics cases,” a spokesperson said.

Ahmad, 59, served as Minister of Fisheries in Madagascar and in
the country’s senate before a quick rise to the CAF presidency.

His accuser Fahmy, 35, was appointed as general secretary in
late 2017, keeping up a family tradition that stretches across
three generations.(Reuters/NAN)

Abuja Civil Servant Forfeits Cars, Houses over
Corruption

A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, sitting in Zuba,
has ordered the final forfeiture of properties worth N124.5 million
illegally acquired by a Principal Accountant in the Finance and
Accounts Department of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Daniel
Obah, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Mr. Obah, who was charged before Justice E. O. Ebong, by the
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission
(ICPC), was accused of fraudulently acquiring a four-bedroom duplex
in Abuja and plots of land in Rivers State.

Counsel to ICPC, John-Paul Okwor, told the court that the
Commission was relying on Section 48 (2) (3) of the Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, which gives it the
power to obtain a ruling of forfeiture seized assets acquired by
individuals through corrupt means.

The Commission had argued before the court that Obah and two
other staff of the Ministry, Poloma Kabiru Nuhu and Mangset Longyl
Dickson allegedly carried out a coordinated fraud within the
Ministry resulting in the withdrawal of N605 million from its 2014
Constituency Projects account with the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN).

The assets forfeited by Obah which also include a Toyota Camry
car and a 2013 Honda Accord were ascertained to be from the
proceeds of the fraud.

The landed properties: one 4-bedroom duplex at Janew Home, Plot
No.3 Cadastral zone D02, Karsana South District, Abuja, valued at
N60 million and a plot of land at Ohia Ngbakiri, Ozuoba, Port
Harcourt, Rivers State valued at N30 million.

Others include plots of land at Oliopobo, Rumuekini New Layout,
Obio Akpor L.G.A. of Rivers State valued at N18 million, Umuodili
Odubo, Abe Ndoni Community, valued at N16. 5 million and
Livingstone Estate Umuogodo, Igbo- Etche, Obio Akpor L.G.A. Rivers
State.

However, Obah argued for the four-bedroom duplex to be left out
of the properties to be forfeited because according to him, it was
acquired with his legitimate income.

Unfortunately for him, the trial judge dismissed his plea for
failing to convince the court with proof. He therefore ruled that
all the seven properties listed by ICPC be forfeited to the federal
government.

Signed:
Mrs. Rasheedat A. Okoduwa, mni
Spokesperson for the Commission