GUARDIAN
Thursday, September 12 2002
Senate quashes Kuta's report, others
ALL past reports which indicted members of the Senate have been nullified"
especially the Idris Kuta Report and Victor Oyofo committee.
The nullification was done yesterday amidst what was called a spirit of
reconciliation.
Enveloped by emotions following serial embraces and exchange of banters
among major actors in the cases, the Senate also shelved plans to investigate
officials allegedly said to have collected bribes from the Presidency to stop the
processes of overriding the President's veto of the Electoral Bill 2002. Two
Senators, Ifeanyi Ararume and Akpanudoudoehe, who were suspended for two
weeks few weeks ago were also pardoned.
The Kuta Committee report, it will be recalled, had led to the removal of Senators
Chuba Okadigbo and Haruna Abubakar, as president and deputy president of the
upper chamber respectively. Other senators were also affected in what was an
aftermath of the Senate investigative panel on contract awards in the upper
house from May 1999 to June 2000.
The panel had come up with a report indicting the leadership, including Senators
Roland Owie, Gbenga Aluko, Ifeanyi Ararume, Haruna Ababakar, Florence ItaGiwa, among others. The development generated so much bad blood among the
legislators that many were not on greeting terms.
In setting the stage for the erasure of the turbulent past, Aluko came through a
motion pursuant to order 14 of the Senate house rules. He said: "When this
Senate was inaugurated in June 1999, we all came here with great enthusiasm
and unmistakable streak of patriotism and nationalism to help unite our nation
through the passage of bills, adoption of resolutions and provision of advice that
would help the Executive Arm of Government in the collective efforts of giving our
people whose mandate we are custodians, democracy dividend."
Aluko, who represents Ekiti South contituency continued: "However, from the
election of the first Senate President of the Fourth Republic, the policy of divideand-rule was applied, and deep lines of division were created. It suited the
purpose of hoodwinking the Senate and, by extension, the National Assembly.
We have gone through it all, and we are now conquering.
"In the course of the various acrimonies that arose, distinguished Senators were
indicted one way or the other, the highlight being the Kuta Panel and Oyofo
Harmonisation Committee reports.
"Distinguished Senators, we are about six months to go. There is need for us to
leave the Senate at least the way we came, preferably better. We all would have
come here without any criminal record or even an indictment of any magnitude
whatsoever.
"With respect, Distinguished Senators, it would be unfair to condemn certain
Senators to perpetual indictment, as no set of Senators after us, would be in any
better position to revisit the matter.
"I plead that we do not get into circumstance and situation that led to both
reports; however, this is not the time for details. However, let us re-visit the
indictments in the reports, and review it. We all expect to have three friends from
each state of this Federation and one from FCT, made in the course of this 4
Fourth Republic Senate. No. Senator should leave the Senate with the feeling
that any Senator or group of Senators plotted his or her downfall. There should
be global forgiveness amongst us and for the remaining six months let us
collectively move this Senate forward.
"Consequently, I move as follows:
1. That the Senate do hereby re-visit the reports of Senator Idris Kuta and
Senator Victor Oyofo Committees respectively and
2. That in the spirit of reconciliation that currently exists in the Senate, the Senate
duly absolves all Senators indicted in both reports."
His prayers were granted after Senator Arthur Nzeribe seconded his motion,
before senators contributed with enthusiasm to the proposal.
Prominent senators indicted both by the Kuta Report and the Victor Oyofo
Review Panel who included Chuka Okadigbo approached the Senate President's
bench to embrace him. The same went for Senators Idris Kuta and Rowland
Owei, Idris Kuta and Chuba Okadigbo, Stella Omu and the Senate President.
However, the lawmakers did not fail to deliberate on the last Sunday Times
edition where it was reported that the Presidency had released N1.6 billion to the
Senate and that each Senator would go away to his constituencies with five
million naira for the implementation of constituency projects.
The Senate after a, lengthy debate, mandated its spokesperson Jonathan
Zwingina to write the Presidency to rebuff the statement and also invite the editor
of the media house for dialogue.
Similarly, the Roland Owei Committee investigating the one million naira scandal
against 15 memberss who were accused of exchanging monies for the purpose
of thwarting the two-third votes against the 2002 Electoral Bill was also disolved.
Reacting to the Senate decision to dump his report on the indicted senators, Idris
Kuta who said that he was neither happy nor sad over the action explained that
"it took the Senate a very long time to accept the recommendation of my
committee and it has to set up another committee headed by Senator Victor
Oyofo to review the report. The Oyofo Committee upheld my report, which was
done to the best of my ability, and inflicted stricter penalty against the erring
senators. Though attempts were made to rubbish the report, all was concerned
about till today is that nobody should, in trying to clear some individuals, now
sacrifice my own reputation because I am not trying to please somebody. The
case was that I said the indicted Senate must agree that they did wrong and
wanted the Senate to pardon them and that was what exactly they did."
On the anti-corruption crusade, Kuta said it is only posterity that can vindicate
him even as the Senate dumps his report.
His words: "People like us should be there guiding the Senate, but we cannot
however say that because of the forgiveness of the senators, Senators Chuba
Okadigbo and Haruna Abubakar should be reinstated as the Senate President
and Deputy Senate President respectively.
"I have always said that my report should not be used for the purpose of
blackmail. I've always stood firm on this." Kuta said.
However, Lekan Balogun has pleaded with the National Assembly to tread
carefully on the impeachment plot against President Olusegun Obasanjo.
According to him: "It looks to me that we are getting to a defining moment where
the image of the National Assembly in all respects must be respected. The
National Assembly must tread with caution on the impeachment exercise."
He added: "Impeachment is hardly the weapon for resolution as our argument
above seems to have buttressed. Often they are resolved by dialogue explanation from the executive to the legislature or sometimes by retroactive
legislative redress."
GUARDIAN
Friday, March 28 2003
Court quashes Kuta panel report on Okadigbo, others
From Emmanuel Onwubiko, Abuja
ABOUT three years after he was indicted by the Senate, over an alleged
financial indiscretion, former Senate President, Senator Chuba Okadigbo,
yesterday got a legal reprieve from the Federal High Court Abuja, which quashed
the basis of the indictment.
The Upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly, had on July 18, 2000
wielded the big stick against Okadigbo and 11 others by raising the Senator Idris
Kuta-led panel which investigated a litany of allegations levelled against
Okadigbo and the senators.
The then Senate leadership was alleged to have indulged in mind boggling
financial malpractices, running into several millions of naira, through the award of
contracts and other sharp practices.
The verdict of the panel, which was submitted to the Senate on August 1, 2000
swept Okadigbo and his deputy, Haruna Abubakar, out of power on August 10,
2000.
But in September 2000, Okadigbo headed for the court and through his lawyers,
led by Chief Jude Okeke, challenged the Kuta panel report at the Federal High
Court Abuja.
In his judgment, delivered yesterday by Justice Egbo Egbo, the judge who
handled the matter, Justice Okechukwu Okeke faulted the removal of Okadigbo
from the position of President of the Senate on the basis of the Kuta report and
the harmonisation panel headed by Senator Victor Oyofo.
The judge held that: "The panel's report contains certain sanctions because
Senator Chuba Okadigbo was told to resign his appointment and refund some
money.
Section 36 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, clearly
makes provision for fair hearing. The applicants were not given fair hearing by
the Senate's ad-hoc panel."
He added: "The applicants were not afforded the chance of cross-examining their
accusers before the panel and even the harmonisation committee did not also
give them fair hearing.
"I hereby quash both the ad-hoc committee report and the Oyofo harmonisation
report."
The judge also granted the applicants all their prayers as contained in the motion
on notice.
Other Senators who would also enjoy the legal reprieve are Rowland Owie, Bala
Adamu, Gbenga Aluko and Abubakar Girei.
Reacting to the court's judgment, counsel to the Senate, Mr. Ikechukwu
Ezechukwu, told the court its client, the Upper House, had already quashed the
report.
Also, the lawyer from the office of the Attorney-General, Emmanuel Omonuwa,
did not give indication whether government would appeal against the judgment or
not.
Okadigbo and other Senators" Rowland Owie, Bala Adamu, Gbenga Aluko and
Abubakar Girei" had gone to court in September 2000, challenging the Kuta
report and seeking its nullification.
Joined as defendants in the suit were the Kuta panel, the Senate, Federal
Attorney-General and Inspector-General of Police.
He argued that he was not given a fair hearing, which is against the constitution.
His prayers included orders to:

quash volume II of the ad-hoc committee on investigation of Senate
contracts report titled: "Findings, Conclusions and Recommendation" as
known as Kuta's Report as they relate to Senator Okadigbo and others;

quash the report of the harmonisation committee of the Senate of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria known as "Oyofo Report," and

A perpetual order of injunction restraining the Federal Attorney-General
and the Inspector-General of Police by themselves of their agents from
initiating criminal prosecution of Senator Okadigbo.
It would be recalled that the Kuta Panel was mandated by the Senate, to
probe all the contracts awarded by the Upper House from its inception up
to July 2000.
The members of the panel comprised Senators Idris Kuta (chairman),
Senator Tunde Ogheha, Arthur Nzeribe, Oserama Osunbor, Abdul
Yandoma, Dalhatu Sangari and Femi Okurounmu.
The panel held a two-week public sitting, during which chilling details of
alleged misdeeds were revealed and subsequent event culminated in
Okadigbo's exit from power.
Then came later the Oyofo harmonisation panel, which comprised senator
Victor Oyofo, Idris Abubakar, Seye Ogunleye, Silas Janfa, Bob Nwanunu,
Danso Bodangi and Danladi Bamaiyi, was raised to harmonise the report
of the Kuta panel.
The panel submitted its report and on April 10, 2001 the senate by an
unanimous voice, adopted it.
The Oyofo panel's report indicted Senators Chuba Okadigbo, Evan
Enwerem, Abubakar Girei, Rowland Owie, Florence Ita-Giwa, Samaila
Mamman, Haruna Abubakar, Muktar Aruwa and Gbenga Aluko.
Among others, it recommended that "the criminal aspect of the report of
the Kuta Penal be passed to the appropriate Federal agencies for further
action."
It also recommended that "the senators indicted and found capable,
should be banned from holding any sensitive Senate positions, including
the chairmanship of senate standing committees"
Commenting on the alleged wrong doing of the Okadigbo leadership, it
declared: "Wrong doings were not just the use of anticipatory approval, but
a violation of procedure whereby the anticipatory approvals were also
accompanied by approvals for the contract sum payment of 50 to 100 per
cent cut of the contract sum, before seeking ratification of the approval;
contrary to a maximum of 25 per cent which the regulation allowed."
It stated further: "Any Chief executive who do this will be guilty of collusion
to subvert due process and a partner in fraud if such is proven to exist,"
Oyofo had said