Thursday, 17 July 2014
On 12:02:00 pm by Unknown 1 comment
Facts have
emerged that the erstwhile Governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu may
have been involved in a white heroin trafficking network which operated in
Chicago and some parts of Indiana and led by one Adegboyega Mueez Akande
between 1988 and 1993. The source of the
white heroine was identified as one Mr.
Lee Andrew Edwards who was incarcerated for attempting to murder a
federal agent while the agent was executing a search warrant on him.
According to
the Verified Complaint for forfeiture in case No. 93 C 4483 Obtained by SaharaReporters,
which was filed on July 26, 1993 before the Hon. Judge Nordberg of the United
States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the United States
Government urged the Court to order the forfeiture of funds
in accounts Nos. 263226700 held by First Heritage Bank in the name of
Bola Tinubu, funds in accounts 39483134, 39483396, 4650279566, 00400220,
39936404 and 39936383 held by Citibank N.A in the name of Bola Tinubu and funds
in accounts 52050-89451952,52050-89451952, 52050-89451953 held by Citibank in
the name of Bola Tinubu because there was probable cause to believe that the
funds in Tinubu’s bank accounts represented proceeds of narcotics trafficking
or were monies involved in financial transactions in violations of 18 U.S.C, sections
1956 and 1957 and therefore, was forfeitable to the U.S Government.
However, in a
tacit defense of the ownership of the funds, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu averred in
Court that the funds belonged to himself, his wife, K.O Tinubu and his
surrogate mother, Alhaja Mogaji and warranted that they had exclusive right,
title and interest to the funds.
In an
affidavit sworn to by Kevin Moss, a Special Agent with the United States
Internal Revenue Service, criminal investigation division in support of the
verified complaint for forfeiture of Bola Tinubu’s moneys held in various Bank
accounts, the agent gave a vivid account of how he came to the conclusion that
the funds were proceeds of narcotics transaction in violation of the U.S law.
Mr. Moss
averred that prior to and during 1988; the government became involved in the
investigation of a white heroin trafficking network operating in Chicago,
Illinois and Hammond, Indiana. The investigation disclosed that an individual
known as Lee Andrew Edwards was a source of white heroin. The government
sources provided information about Lee Andrew Edwards including the identity of
a telephone number which activated in electronic pager. This pager according to
him was to be called to place an order for white heroin. According to Mr. Moss, this pager was
subscribed to by one Adegboyega Mueez Akande who at that time was a resident of
Chicago.
Mr. Moss
further averred that during February 1988, an individual named Abiodun Agbele arrived in the U.S from Nigeria and
during investigation by the government, Agbele disclosed that Akande was his
uncle who provided him an apartment in Hammond, Indiana.
According to
Agbele, Mr. Akande returned to Nigeria in1990; however, before he left, he
instructed Agbale to serve as a source of white heroin for Mr. Lee Andrew
Edwards as a result of which Agbele sold white heroin for Lee Andrew Edwards on
numerous occasions. Following a tip off, Agbele sold one ounce of white heroin
to a law enforcement agent undercover on November 28, 1990 for $7,000 and was
subsequently arrested. After his arrest, Agbele agreed to cooperate with the
law enforcement agents regarding the white heroin distribution and network of
Akande.
According to
Agbele, Akande controlled the operation of white heroin from Nigeria in
conjunction with other individuals in Nigeria and the U.S. One other individual
who worked with Akande according to the affidavit was identified as Bola Tinubu
who later became the governor of Lagos state from 1999 to 2007.
The
investigation also revealed that in December 1989, Akande took Bola Tinubu to
First Heritage bank where Bola Tinubu opened an individual money market. In the account opening application, Tinubu,
gave his address as 7504 South Stewart, Chicago, the same address used
previously by Akande and his company, Globe-Link. This is the same address used as the drop-off point for
packages from Nigeria that contained the white heroin. According to bank
records, Bola Tinubu also opened a joint checking account in his name and the
name of his wife, Oluremi Tinubu. Mrs. Tinubu had previously opened a joint
Bank account also in the same bank with Abdrey Akande, the wife of the heroin
kingpin, Adegboyega Mueez Akande.
Upon opening the account, Tinubu deposited the
sum of $1,000 in traveler’s check. However, five days after opening the
account, specifically, on January 4, 1990, Tinubu deposited the sum of $80,000
into the account.
According to
the federal agent, in a credit application dated January 6, 1990, Bola Tinubu
disclosed that he resided at 7504 South Stewart and that Mueez A. Akande was
his cousin. Tinubu further stated that he was an employee of Mobil Oil Nigeria
Limited, Fairfax, Virginia and his take home pay was $2,400 per month.
Additionally, Tinubu stated on the application that he had no other sources of
income and listed his wife, Oluremi Tinubu as co-applicant for the application
for automobile loan. The loan was secured with the certificate of deposit in
the amount of $10,000 which Tinubu had purchased with a withdrawal from the
$80,000 deposit in his checking account.
According to
the federal agent, Bank records from First heritage Bank disclosed that in 1990
alone, Bola Tinubu deposited $661,000 into his individual money market account
and in 1993; he deposited the sum of $1,216,500 into the same money market
account. The agent further avers that in 1991, Tinubu began opening accounts at
Citibank in the section known as the world-wide personal banking unit where he
transferred the sum of $560,000 from his money market account at the First
Heritage Bank.
This
development prompted the Federal agents to interview representatives from Mobil
Oil regarding Tinubu’s employment status and his take-home pay. The Mobil Oil representatives confirmed to
the investigators that Tinubu was employed by the Mobil Oil as a treasurer.
Mobil Oil further told the federal agents that this position did not involve
the transfer of large amounts of money between banking institutions. Mobil oil
representatives also stated that under no circumstance would Tinubu be
permitted to retain money belonging to Mobil Oil in accounts bearing Tinubu’s
name. Finally, Mobil Oil confirmed that the corporation never had any accounts
in banks in the southern suburbs of Chicago.
On January 10,
1992, the federal agents obtained a court Order freezing Tinubu’s accounts at
First Heritage Bank and Citibank respectively. Thereafter, Tinubu contacted the
First Heritage Bank to transfer money from his accounts and was advised that
the accounts had been seized by the U.S Treasury.
On January 13,
1992, Mr. Moss, the Federal agent contacted Bola Tinubu
in Nigeria by phone using a number provided to the First Heritage Bank
by Tinubu himself. Mr. Moss averred that during the course of the interview,
Bola Tinubu confirmed that he knew Mueez Adegboyega Akande. Tinubu further
admitted during the interview with the federal agent that he had wire
transferred $100,000 to Akande’s bank account in Houston and that the
$80,000.00 of the funds used to open the account at First Heritage Bank had
come from Akande. Tinubu further admitted that he had other accounts in
Fairfax, Virginia and London.
Concluding his
affidavit evidence, Mr. Moss stated that with all these evidence, there was
probable cause to believe that the funds in the accounts held by First Heritage
Bank and Citibank, N.A in the name of Bola Tinubu represented property that was
involved in narcotics transaction in violation of the U.S law. He therefore,
urged the Court to issue an order of forfeiture of the funds.
After a
protracted litigation in which Bola Tinubu claimed that the monies legitimately
belonged to him, his wife, Oluremi Tinubu and his surrogate mother, one Alhaja
Mogaji, Bola Tinubu finally opted for a stipulated settlement with the U.S
government. According to the settlement Order dated September 15, 1993; Hon.
Judge John A Nordberg ordered that the sum of $460,000 held by Bola Tinubu in
The First Heritage Bank account be forfeited to the United States Government.
The Court also ordered the release of the funds held in the Citibank account
and any money held in excess of $460,000 at the First Heritage account to Bola
Tinubu in line with the agreement and stipulation reached by Tinubu with the
federal agents.
Ironically,
this case came up at the peak of the struggle against the annulment of the June
12, 1993 presidential election by the Gen. Babagida-led military junta during
which time Tinubu as a member and one of the leading financiers of the National
democratic Coalition (NADECO) made several “pro-democracy” trips to the U.S
ostensibly to press for U.S sanctions against the Nigerian junta. It is
therefore doubtful whether most of those trips were actually connected with the
June 12, struggle after all.
Additional
SaharaReporters
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Search
Followers
ad
Popular Posts
-
Fast rising movie star, Miram “Mimi” Orjiekwe has won the award for the best new face in Nollywood at the annual African Film Developme...
-
Shan George recently posted on her facebook wall that armed robbers visited her and practically tore her car apart. ''Robbers...
-
So many thing people can do for power. The heaps of lies piled up by a rumoured anointed governorship aspirant on the platform of the A...
-
For Advert Inquiries T:07011228625 E:shybellmedia@gmail.com For News/Tip Off E:shybellmedia@gmail.com Quick updates: add bbm: 7CA...
-
Only God knows where this world is heading to! After viewing this interview video with Nigerians girls, can’t hesitate but share the ...
-
Comes October 4 2014, Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi will bestow on four Nollywood Thespians, a special recognition award for their i...
Recent Posts
ad
Sample Text
Blog Archive
Powered by Blogger.
Popular Posts
-
Information reaching shybellmediaonline.blogspot has is that they were allegedly nabbed during an operation in Port Harcout. However, t...
-
So many thing people can do for power. The heaps of lies piled up by a rumoured anointed governorship aspirant on the platform of the A...
-
Video and pictures of a 100-Level Covenant University student, Bisi has allegedly hits the social media, however, this act has cost her ...
-
Omotunde Ogundimu a.k.a Ayinke is suffering from fibroid and need half a million Naira for a surgical operation in Nigeria. After my ...
-
Information reaching shybellmedia.com has it that that one of the sons of the Ibadan Political maharishi, Chief Lamidi Adedibu, Teslim...
-
Lexi and Mandla, known as Mandlexi are the hottest couple in the on-going Big Brother Mzansi in South Africa. Twitter blew up on 13th...
Is Nigerias Internal Revenue Service only there to harass and extort money from salary earners and traders? Why can't they ask people like Tinubu to explain where these huge sums of money come from? If legitimate, where are the tax receipts? Let these money bags prove they paid taxes on such money instead of disgracing Nigeria worldwide.
ReplyDelete