A Nation Reels Under Smuggled $9.3m

Nigerians are still rankled by the recent seizure of $9.3 million by South African authorities from two Nigerians and an Israeli on 5 September in South Africa. Nigerian authorities claimed the money was for arms purchase and the fact that it was surreptitiously smuggled into South Africa on a private jet owned by CAN President, Ayo Oritsejafor, suggested that it was a shady transaction. On Tuesday there was uproar in the House of Representatives when the issue came up for deliberation and opposition lawmakers had to stage a walkout when it appeared they won’t be allowed by PDP lawmakers to air their views on the burning issue.

By all standards the act contravenes laws guiding money transfer across international borders. And it was not a surprise that the South African Revenue Service seized the amount after the two Nigerians and an Israeli were arrested at Lanseria Airport, North-West of Johannesburg. The Nigerian government had explained that the said amount was meant for the purchase of arms for the prosecution of the ongoing war against terror. The excuse has been rejected by South Africa’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) and the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa (NPA). According to the agencies, the act negates laws that deal with the transfer of foreign exchange of such proportion. The money (about N1 billion), is being held at the Central Bank in South Africa while investigation is ongoing.

The controversy surrounding the seized money has thrown up several questions which are begging for quick explanation from all relevant authorities and the Nigerian government. Why was the money in question not disclosed to customs or declared as stipulated in the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011? Knowing full well that there is a prescribed legal limit for the amount of cash that may be taken into South Africa, why will any Nigerian authority/agency sanction such a mission?

The National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa, NPA, investigation showed that Tier One Services Group, the firm the Nigerian government claimed it wanted to procure the arms from, is not authorised to sell or rent military hardware. According to the NPA , Tier One is not registered with the National Conventional Arms Control Committee and is thus not authorised to enter into any agreements regarding the sale and/or renting of military equipment. Tier One is reported to have issued an invoice to a Cyprus-based company, ESD International Group Ltd, in respect of the procurement of armaments and helicopters to be delivered to Nigeria.

If the involvement of a Cyprus-based company- allegedly reputable for shady banking deals and the discrepancy in the time when the invoice was prepared and the time the money was brought in, as claimed by South African prosecuting authority, are to go by,  then the embarrassment Nigeria is facing now is self-inflicted.

Apart from making a statement, it is pertinent for the Nigerian government to conduct a thorough investigation to clear the air. The Senate has summoned the National Security Adviser (NSA) Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh and Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah over the smuggled $9.3 million cash. In Nigeria cases like this are swept under the carpet but the Senate committee owes a duty to Nigerians in ensuring this investigation is not aborted. All those involved in this monumental scandal should be exposed and brought to justice because we believe this is money laundering in disguise.