Posted by From JAMES OJO, Abuja on
Tempers reached boiling point on Wednesday at public hearing of the House of Representatives on Police Equipment Fund (PEF), following which Mr. Mike Ozekhome, counsel to the national coordinator of the fund, Kenny Martins, as well as Tunji Abayomi of the Presidential Committee on Police Equipment Foundation walked out on the lawmakers.
Tempers reached boiling point on Wednesday at public hearing of the House of Representatives on Police Equipment Fund (PEF), following which Mr. Mike Ozekhome, counsel to the national coordinator of the fund, Kenny Martins, as well as Tunji Abayomi of the Presidential Committee on Police Equipment Foundation walked out on the lawmakers.
Abayomi, at a point, took off his jacket and called the chairman of the committee, Hon Cyril Maduabum names. He asked the lawmaker to jail him if he could, before he joined Ozekhome to storm out of the venue.
The lawyer had engaged the committee chairman in a shouting match that lasted for more than 20 minutes on argument over the powers of the House to conduct the hearing on the Police Equipment Fund.
Ozekhome had set the tone of disagreement, when he said that the House was not the proper forum to hear the petition. He said that the National Assembly lacked the power to invite a company registered to do business legally.
The lawyer said: 'PEF was not set up by the President. It only got the consent of the President and the Attorney General of the Federation. Section 88 of the Constitution gives you the power and Section 89 tells you who you can investigate.
'The company in which Kenny Martins is the national coordinator is Police Equipment Foundation. It is registered under Part C of the Companies and Allied Act of the Federation. It is like inviting Dunlop to come and give account of its operations."
He warned the committee that whatever decision arrived at would be pre-empting the court judgment, while accusing the chairman of intimidating him.
Abayomi took off from where Ozehkome stopped by pointing finger at the chairman, accusing him of prejudice in the matter.
The lawyer flared up when the chairman warned that the committee had the powers to charge anyone with unruly behaviour for contempt.
Abayomi retorted: 'Send us to jail. Send us to jail. I am ready. I will take off my jacket now. I am ready for jail. I have been to jail three times. The last was in Jos prison. How can you say you will send me to jail because I am fighting for democracy, liberty and rule of law? I have been through that road many times.
'Did you fight for democracy? Were you in the streets? Did you fight for it? Did you lose your family? Did you lose your job? I lost everything. Go and read my detention memoirs. I am arguing law to you. Did that make sense? It makes sense to everyone." He then packed his books and walked out, closely followed by Ozekhome.
In his testimony, counsel to Dr Godson Ewulum, the petitioner, Festus Keyamo, traced the history of the Fund to 2004 when Evangelist Joseph Agahrite, Ibrahim Dumuje and the petitioner mooted the idea to raise funds for the police.
The three men floated a company by name NIGERSTALG and met with the then Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun, through the present IGP, Mike Okiro.
'It was then that Dr Ewulum invited Kenny Martins, an in-law to the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo. He was invited as a facilitator to introduce the upgraded proposal to Obasanjo for approval," he argued.
One of the promoters, Joseph Agharite died in the October 2005 Bellview crash, but the process of getting the approval of the president continued. The private sector was given the responsibility to source money for government's use after its inauguration, from which local governments in the country coughed out N7.74bilion, a loan of N50million from First Inland Bank, proceeds from tickets issued by Ekeson Motors, Chisco Motors, huge contribution from oil companies and government agencies.
The petitioner alleged that it was at the point that the money started to roll in that 'Kenny Martins went ahead to incorporate a new private body known as the Police Equipment Foundation and transferred all the assets of the Presidential Committee to this foundation, thereby effectively cutting off all sub-committee members, who sweated to raise mony for the committee."
Keyamo tasked the House to ask why cars were not only bought indiscriminately without input from the police, but allocated to agencies other than the police that the fund was meant to equip.
For instance, he said cars were bought for the State Security Services (SSS), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Directorate of Military Intelligence, Nigerian Customs, Nigeria Civil Defence Corps, Nigerian Immigration and Nigeria Intelligence Agency, with dates of delivery.
'The Police were given its first batch of luxury cars in June 2007. From the list above, is it not absurd that the EFCC and the SSS were the first to benefit from police funds, even before the police themselves?" he queried.
Keyamo submitted 18 exhibits to support his petitions.
Maduabum gave assurance that the committee would examine the submissions of all the parties involved in the fund.
Meanwhile, the committee has summoned the Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, Chief Kenny Martins and Oceanic Bank to appear before it. No date has been fixed.
All the banks that testified at the public hearing admitted that an account for Presidential Committee on Police Fund was opened and operated till date.
The banks are Zenith Bank, Diamond Bank, GTB, FirstInland Bank, Ecobank, Wema, Equitorial Bank, FCMB, Spring Bank, Access Bank and Intercontinental Bank. They admitted receiving an advance notice to change the name of the account to Police Welfare Committee.