N14.5B Pension Scam: Lawmakers, Auditor-General, Accountant-General Fingered

Embattled Director, Police Pension Fund, Mr. Esai Dangabar who is standing trial along with five others for complicity in the N14.5 billion Police Pension fraud, pointed at the Auditor General and Accountant General of the Federation as beneficiaries in the scam.

In some statements made to operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in the course of investigations in the fraud, dated 14 February, 2012, Dangabar said that part of N8.9 billion withdrawn between 5 January and 23 December 2009, was used to settle members of the Police Pension Committee of the National Assembly to get the Police Pension Fund’s Budget passed by the lawmakers.

He also corroborated another statement made by one of the accomplices, Mr. John Yusuf Yakubu who was an Accountant at the Police Pension office, by stating that certain people in the Auditor-General’s office, the Accountant- General’ office and the National Assembly benefited from the loot.

According to Dangabar in his statement, “I was shown summary of cheque withdrawals dated between 5th January 2009 and 23rd of December 2009 totalling N8,920,371,822.24. The said sums of money mentioned above were used for the payment of police retirees.

However some amount were also used for public relations to members of the Police Pension Committee of the National Assembly. The public relations monies were made as condition precedent before the budgets of the office were passed.”

In an another statement he made on February 16th, 2012 Dangabar said that the beneficiaries included the Offices of the Accountant General and Auditor General.

He said: “I was shown a copy of John Yusuf Yakubu’s statement of 14 February, 2012, where he mentioned various beneficiaries of the funds released to police pensions namely National Assembly, Accountant General Office, Auditor General Office, but all through when I was in office as Director I could not remember anything given to the Force Headquarters.”

Others standing trial with Dangabar are the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar Kigo; Alhaji Ahmed Inuwa Wada, John Yakuku Yusufu, Mrs. Veronica Ulonma Onyegbula and Alhaji Habila Zira.