On Friday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
arraigned Grace Taiga, a former director in the ministry of
petroleum resources, for alleged corruption in the gas supply and
processing agreement (GSPA) between the federal government and
P&ID.
A high court of the federal capital territory (FCT) remanded her
in prison in Suleja, Niger state, after she pleaded not guilty to
an eight-count charge levelled against her by the EFCC.
She is to remain in custody until September 25 when her bail
application will be heard.
On the charge sheet seen by TheCable, Taiga is not the only one
being accused of financial impropriety in the P&ID deal.
Michael Quinn, founder of P&ID; Neil Hitchcock, managing
director of Addax Petroleum; and Rilwan Lukman (pictured), a former
minister of petroleum resources — all deceased — were named in the
charge sheet.
P&ID, Quinn, Brendan Cahill, Hitchcock, Lukmanu and Taiga
were all mentioned in count one.
Lukman was mentioned in counts two, three, seven and eight.
The company’s name was later taken out of the charge sheet after
it was amended by the prosecution.
P&ID claims that it entered a contract to build a gas
processing plant in Calabar, Cross River state, with the Nigerian
government and the deal collapsed because the government did not
fulfil its own end of the bargain.
It then sued Nigeria and secured a $9.6 billion
judgement(including interest) in its favour.
The company’s name was later taken out of the charge sheet after
it was amended by the prosecution.
P&ID claims that it entered a contract to build a gas
processing plant in Calabar, Cross River state, with the Nigerian
government and the deal collapsed because the government did not
fulfil its own end of the bargain.
It then sued Nigeria and secured a $9.6 billion
judgement(including interest) in its favour.
COUNT ONE
That you, PROCESS AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENTS LlMiTED being a
company incorporated in the British Virgin Island (convicted),
MICHAEL QUINN (deceased), BRENDAN CAHILL (at large), NEIL HITCHCOCK
(deceased), and GRACE TAIGA on or about the 11th January, 2010 in
Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent
to defraud made a false statement in paragraph 8 (g) of the GAS
SUPPLY AND PROCESSING AGREEMENT (“GSPA”) to wit: the parties are
aware that the 24inch Adanga pipeline presently under construction
from the Addax operated OML 123 directly to Calabar and due for
completion in 2010 which part of the said agreement you knew to be
false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 362
(a) of the Penal Code Law and punishable under section 364 of the
same law
COUNT TWO
That you, GRACE TAIGA AND DR. RILWAN LUKMAN (deceased) being public
officers on or about the 11th January 2010 in Abuja within the
jurisdiction of this Honourable Court signed a contract titled Gas
Supply and Processing Agreement between the Ministry of Petroleum
Resources of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and PROCESS AND
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT LIMITED a corporation organized and existing
under the laws of the British Virgin Island without any cash
backing and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and
punishable under section 22(4) of the Corrupt Practices and other
Related Offences act, 2000.
COUNT THREE
That you, GRACE TAIGA AND DR. RILWAN LUKMAN (deceased) being public
officers on or about the 11th January 2010 in Abuja within the
jurisdiction of this Honourable Court signed a contract titled Gas
Supply and Processing Agreement between the Ministry of Petroleum
Resources of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and PROCESS AND
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT LIMITED a corporation organized and existing
under the laws of the British Virgin Island without obtaining the
requisite statutory approvals of the Federal Executive Council
pursuant to section 2 (1) end (2) of the Infrastructure Concession
Regulatory Comm15510n (Establishment, ETC),2005 and you thereby
committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 22(4)
of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences act, 2000.
COUNT FOUR
That you, GRACE TAIGA (former Director of Legal Services in the
Ministry of Petroleum Resources) on or about the 14th of September,
2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court
corruptly received the sum of $1,000 (One thousand United States
Dollars) from Eastwise Trading Limited through the Zenith Bank
offshore Account No. 5070369868 operated by you on account of the
favour you showed to PROCESS AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT LIMITED
which led to the definitive agreement entered into between the
company incorporated in the British Virgin Island and the Ministry
of Petroleum Resources in 2010 and you thereby committed an offence
contrary to section 8(1)(a) of the Corrupt Practices and other
Related Offences act, 2000.
COUNT FIVE
That you, GRACE TAIGA (former Director of Legal Services in the
Ministry of Petroleum Resources) on or about the 18th of December,
2017 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court
corruptly received the sum of $10,000 (ten thousand United States
dollars) from Industrial Consultants International through your
Zenith Bank offshore Account No. 5070369868 on account of the
favour you already showed to PROCESS AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
LIMITED which led to the execution of the definitive agreement
entered into between the said company incorporated and existing
under the laws of the British Virgin Island and the Ministry of
Petroleum Resources on the 11th of January, 2010 and you thereby
committed an offence contrary to section 8(1) (a) of the Corrupt
Practices and other Related Offences act, 2000.
COUNT SIX
That you, GRACE TAIGA (former Director of Legal Services in the
Ministry of Petroleum Resources) on or about the 27th of June, 2018
in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court corruptly
received the sum of $10, 000 (ten thousand United States dollars)
from Industrial Consultants international through your Zenith Bank
offshore Account No 5070369868 on account of the favour you already
showed to PROCESS AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT LIMITED which led to
the execution of the definitive agreement entered into between the
said company incorporated and existing under the laws of the
British Virgin Island and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in
2010 and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section
8(1)(a) of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences act,
2000.
COUNT SEVEN
That you, GRACE TAIGA AND RILWAN LUKMAN (deceased) being public
officers in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources on or about the
11th of January, 2010 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this
Honourable Court knowingly disobeyed the direction contained in
section 2 of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission
(Establishment, ETC) Act which required the approval of the Federal
Executive Council prior to the entering into such contract
contained in the Gas Supply and Processing Agreement between the
Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Process and Industrial
Development Ltd signed by you and you thereby committed an offence
contrary to section 123 of the Penal Code law.
COUNT EIGHT
That you, GRACE TAIGA AND RILWAN LUKMAN (deceased) being public
officers in the Ministry of Petroleum resources on or about the
11th of January, 2010 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this
Honourable Court knowingly disobeyed the direction contained in
sections 15 and 16 of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 which
required the issuance of a “Certificate of No Objection to award of
Contract” by the Bureau of Public Procurement prior to entering
into such contract contained in the Gas Supply and Processing
Agreement between the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Process
and Industrial Development Ltd signed by you and you thereby
committed an offence contrary to section 123.
Culled from TheCable
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Flood
NAF Provides Medical Services for Flood Victims in
Jigawa
Barely 2 days after rendering humanitarian assistance to victims
of flood disaster that ravaged some parts of Adamawa State, a Team
of Medical personnel from Headquarters Nigerian Air Force (HQ NAF)
today, 20 September 2019, commenced another 3 days medical outreach
in Dantsa Community, Buji Local Government Area (LGA) of Jigawa
State. The medical outreach, which was at the instance of the Chief
of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, was
necessitated by the recent flood disaster that displaced thousands
of villagers and submerged houses and farm lands in the State.
Medical services provided on the first day of the outreach included
free consultations and dispensing of prescription medications;
visual acuity checks along with the provision of prescription
eyeglasses; deworming and immunization of children as well as the
treatment of malaria, typhoid and diarrhea and conduct of minor
surgeries. In addition, the NAF Medical Team distributed
insecticide-treated mosquito nets to members of the Community and
also donated relief materials, including drinking water, food,
toiletries and clothing items, to the flood victims.
While flagging-off the medical outreach, the Leader of the NAF
Medical Team, who is also the Director, Public Health and
Humanitarian Services, HQ NAF, Group Captain Ali Tanko, stated that
the medical outreach was being conducted pursuant to the CAS’
directive to complement the efforts of the Jigawa State Government
in providing free healthcare and relief materials to victims of the
recent flood in the State. According to him, the medical outreach
was part of the NAF’s civil-military relations and corporate social
responsibility efforts to mitigate the suffering of the displaced
persons.
In his remarks, the Chairman of Buji LGA, Alhaji Ahmad Zubairu,
applauded the good initiative and kind gesture of the NAF, which,
he said, would further alleviate the sufferings of his people. The
District Head of Dantsa Community, Alhaji Sabo Mohammed, also
thanked the NAF for its humanitarian gesture and for remembering
them in their time of need. Other dignitaries present at the
flag-off ceremony were the Commander 465 NAF Hospital Kano as well
as representatives of the Jigawa State Commissioner of Police and
Heads of other Paramilitary and Security Agencies in the State.
IBIKUNLE DARAMOLA
Air Commodore
Director of Public Relations and Information
Nigerian Air Force