By Richard Akinnola
When General Murtala Mohammed took over as the military Head of State on July 29, 1975, one of his main tasks was to probe cases of corruption in the overthrown General Yakubu Gowon’s regime. He subsequently, on September 16, 1975, set up a Federal Assets Investigation Panel, a panel with indicted ten out of the twelve military Governors and a couple of Gowon’s ministers. One of those so indicted was Chief Anthony Enahoro, who was a minister under Gowon.
Many property of those indicted by the panel were confiscated, including Enahoro’s. I’m aware that Enahoro kicked against the confiscation of his property, which he said were acquired in the 50s, before Nigeria gained independence. Hence, he argued that it was wrong for the panel to have so indicted him and seized his property which were acquired before he became a minister. According to him, he could not have corruptly enriched himself as a minister when he acquired the property before his assumption of office.
However, on August 23, 1993, three days before he “stepped aside” as military president, General Ibrahim Babangida came out with a Gazette – Forfeiture of Assets (Release of certain forfeited properties etc) Decree No. 54 of 1993 which released the property of some people seized by the Murtala Mohammed regime.
The beneficiaries were Chief Samuel Ogbemudia, Alhaji Audu Bako, Mr Ukpabi Asika and Chief E. K. Clark.
These are the property released as listed in the Gazette:
They are: Mr. S. O. Ogbemudia, (Bendel State Governor):
• Palm Royal Hotel, Benin City.
• 27B, Eguadase Street, Benin City.
• Ogbeide Ward 17/11 G.R.A., benin City.
• 200 Acres Model Poultry Farm at Iguovbiobo.
• 15.9 Acre Farm at Ekse.
• 278.5 Acres partially of poultry oil palms and Palm-Royal Motel at Isiohor.
• 3.6 Acres poultry farm and feeds mills farm at Okhoro.
• 11.5 Acres poultry farm at iguosa.
• 6.1 Acres farm at Nsukwa.
* 7 Acres Rubber and cicia farm at Iguosa
*628 Acres farm at Nsukwa.
*Alhaji Audu Bako (Kano State Governor):*
• 14A, Ahmadu Bello Way, Kano.
• 2 Houses at Hadejia/Yusuf Road, Kano (KN 505 and 508).
• 17 Aliyu Manana Road, Kaduna.
• 1, Doka Crescent, Kaduna.
• 6, Aliyu Makana Road, Kaduna
• Durbin Katsina Road. Kano.
• 1,118 Acres Mixed Farm at Tiga.
• 14B, Ahmadu Bello Way, Kano (KN 1049)
• 11 Bompai Road, Kano.
• 12, Bompai Road, Kano.
• 2, Magajin Rumfa Road, Kano.
• Commercial Property along Club Road, Kano (KN 1049).
• Commercial Property behind Flour Mills, Kano (KN 1466).
• Industrial Plots 2 and 3 Bompai Road, Kano (KN 1685 and 1686)
• Mariri Mixed Farm, Kano (KN 401).
• A bungalow at Argungu.
• 17C, Hadeija Road, Kano (River Basin House)
• 2,000 Shares of N20 each in Baltimore Trading Company.
• 20,000 Shares of N2 each in Northern Steel Works Ltd.
• 2,000 Shares of N20 each in Steel Construction Company Ltd.
• 5,120 Shares N1 each in Kano Textile Mills.
• 2,000 Shares of N2 each in Arewa Metal Construction Limited.
• Developed portion of the Mixed farm at Bukuru which is approximately 500 acres.
*Mr. Ukpabi Asika (East Central State Administrator):*
• Bladi Court, Warri
• Plot R, G.R.A , Onitsha.
• 6, Mhoyaung Road, G.R.A , Kano.
• 75,000 Shares in Glaxo Nigeria Ltd.
• 2,500 Shares in Mid-Diversified investments Ltd.
*Mr. E.K. Clark (a Minister):*
•2, Ihama Street, Benin City.
•135, Warri-Sapele Road, Warri.
•Olympia Cinema, Sapele
•1, Swamp Road, Warri.
•Leventis Stores Supermarket, Effunrun.
•Plot 206, Victoria Island, Lagos.
•Plaza Cinema, Lagos, (comprising 3 properties).
•Roxy Cinema, Apapa
•Central Cinema, Ebute-Metta
•Odion Cinema, Ebute-Metta.
•Idera Cinema, Mushin.
•Odion Cinema, Ibadan.
•Scala Cinema, Ibadan.
•3 Acre Undeveloped Plot at Ijora Causeway.
•1 Acre Plot at Surulere.
•11 Acre Plot at Idi-Oro
Chief Enahoro whose property were similarly seized, did not benefit from this largese. While we await the Federal Government’s reason for granting pardon to Chief Enahoro, it would be a misnomer if it was predicated on this indictment because the government can only grant him a reprieve by returning his seized assets but not a pardon. Pardon presupposes that someone had been tried and convicted of a criminal offence, which was not the case in this instance, as envisaged by section 175(1) of the 1999 constitution, as amended, under prerogative of mercy.
Section 175(1)(a): “The president may grant any person concerned with or convicted of any offence created by an Act of the National Assembly, a pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions”.
To me, an indictment by an investigative panel, cannot amount to a conviction. If the Federal government wants to redress what it perceives or convinced was an unfair confiscation of Enahoro’s property by the Murtala regime, it could return the property through the normal legal instrument but certainly not by way of pardon.
However, we await the Federal Government to clarify this.
*Richard Akinnola writes from Lagos
