With the exception of a lone strike against the cub of Nigeria's corruption monarch - The House of Babangida - the EFCC has largely left General Ibrahim Babangida alone, confirming the larger-than-life profile of the dictator. Well, except the EFCC is truly executing selective investigations, there is an abundance of leads with which to hang the Evil Genius. These are some:
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BiWater ShellaBear Nigeria Limited:
The EFCC should check the history of the foray of this UK company, operating from Suleja, into Nigeria. The ease with which this water treatment company gained access without any promotion and the colossal sums in water supply contracts it has been able to amass is deserving of attention. The company got easy but fat contracts in Kwara and Niger states, and smaller jobs across the nation. Contracts awarded to Bi-Water were actually to Babangida, who brought in Biwater, surreptitiously so as to enable him keep his accruing commission in the United Kingdom without attracting attention.
Biwater is known to have corruptly enriched public officials in other countries, including Malaysia.
The company's first Chairman, the late Alhaji Muhammadu Bako Kontagora, the Garkuwan Kontagora, was a complete illiterate, yet he was able to bring a UK-based firm to Nigeria to negotiate multi-million pound contracts. He is a front. Our sources confirm Bako was used through a proxy, British gentleman friend of IBB, who connected Biwater to Bako Kontagora. Bako Kontagora was only used to create easy access for the company during the Shagari administration, even as Babangida indirectly intervened to pave the way.
A World Bank report said: “Biwater’s operations in Malaysia and Nigeria have been the subject of disputes over satisfactory completion.” Yet, the company continues to win contracts in Nigeria. The contract for the re-design, expansion and refurbishment of Asa Dam Water Treatment plant in Kwara State was recently awarded to BIWATER at a cost of N928.7million by governor Bukola Saraki.
Immediately Bako Kontagora died, Alhaji Idris Ibrahim, the Matawallin Minna, was quickly made the Chairman. You can see the Minna connection. Ibrahim is a close friend of IBB, another proxy who might not be able to explain how he was made a board member in the first instance.
After he seized power, Biwater was given additional contracts in Niger and other states by Babangida.
Babangida has a pattern of arranging for people he could remotely control to assume leadership in companies without them knowing, at times, how they got in the boat. He is a careful architect who uses his influence to remotely amass wealth that might not be easily traced, except by a careful and meticulous investigator.
The EFCC needs to trace the history of Biwater, where its profits are destined, its past and present board’s members, and their relationship to IBB.
The Aliyu Dasuki Connection:
The late Aliyu Dasuki is the most prominent, if any, of Babangida's fronts. The billionaire laundered money for both IBB and, subsequently, Sani Abacha. The amiable Sokoto prince was a cousin to the former Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki, who was an IBB confidant. Aliyu is believed to have been killed by the duo when they discovered that Aliyu Dasuki was skimming funds in his custody. Dasuki was a glorified defence contractor, who on his death bed was visited by both generals. We learned through good sources that the details of how Dasuki's wealth was shared from his accounts can be explained by the sacked National Security Adviser, Aliyu Gusau, who was forced to marry Dasuki's wife to cover the atrocities of the two, and take over the the vast Dasuki estate.
The Vanguard wrote about Aliyu Dasuki’s burial: “It was in 1992 at the funeral rites for the amiable Aliyu Dasuki, cousin to the former Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki. For the mourners at the burial ceremony, it was a roll call of the who is who in Nigeria. It had virtually all of Nigeria’s men and women of the moment. - ministers, business moguls top military officers and the like. There were also wives of army generals. In fact, because of the relationship between the first family of that time and the deceased Dasuki who died in Europe, the first family was also visibly grieved. Sympathisers wept at the grave side of Aliyu Dasuki. As the body was being lowered into the earth, another round of uncontrollable wailing rented the air. It was at this point that an army colonel who had served as military governor and administrator of a government parastatal whispered into the ear of another military officer: ‘You would think all the wailing is borne out of the fact that the man died. There is more to it than that.’”
His death was riddled in controversy. That was in 1992. Babangida was then in power.
We urge the EFCC to seek a private audience with the wife of the late Dasuki to hear her revelations. But since even Babangida’s son was released to Gusau by the EFCC without providing satisfactory answers on corruption charges, that may be an Herculean task for the anti-corruption body.
The Aliyu Muhammed Kafanchane Connection:
Aliyu Muhammed Kafanchane too was thoroughly used as a conduit and died. There are documents in Babangida's own writing associated with Kafanchane. Those documents, which should not be too difficult for the EFCC to obtain, detail how IBB was dictating how various sums should be disbursed. There is a wealth of information which Nuhu Ribadu can act upon if the war on corruption will be given any meaning. The late Aliyu Kafanchan too was in no position to have had such huge amounts credited to him. The source of his wealth, if unraveled, will have the paws of Babangida all over it. Unfortunately when he was killed, his family had to share a fortune, the source of which was unknown, to the dislike of IBB. Babangida was in the middle of the inheritance sharing at which he presented documents inferring that Kafanchane was owing him some substantial sums of money. How did he owe IBB?
While a lot of companies in Nigeria are running through rough weather, Babangida’s proxiy companies continue to do well. Firms such as Julius Berger, Dantata & Sawoe, PW, Bougyes, Globacom, MTN, Intercity Bank, FMB, Amni, ConOil, BiWater, Peugeot, Pan Ocean Oil, among many others he has used as fronts are doing really well.
The EFCC has only worked on Globacom, where 38 per cent of its funding could not be accounted for, and its supposed owner, Mr. Mike Adenuga, is now a fugitive because he just doesn’t know who has that substantial interest. Mohammed Babangida has been linked to Globacom, but is that all? The EFCC and President Olusegun Obasanjo can no longer tell Nigerians to come up with information they can work on to arrest Babangida. We have just provided some, and will provide even more, if just one of the leads is followed.
Againstbabangida urges Nigerians who may have any facts about Ibrahim Babangida's businesses, deals or fraudulent activities to send them in to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and copy the EFCC at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We wil publish any such information, so that the EFCC would no longer be able to pretend it was oblivious of his crimes.
