ON MAY 4, 2024, Inyang Ekwo, a justice of the Federal High Court, Abuja, issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Usman Jibrin, a retired vice admiral and former Chief of Naval Staff; Ishaya Gamgum Bauka, a retired brigadier general, and Adam Imam Yusuf, a retired deputy commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Kogi State.

The warrant followed money laundering charges brought against them by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), after investigating a petition against them from a whistleblower.

Over five months later, the retired officers have remained defiant and have been evading arrest and failed to appear in court to face trial, raising questions as to whether they are above the law.

The ICPC said its inability to arrest the accused was because “they have gone into hiding.”

The court issued the arrest warrant after hearing a motion exparte filed by the commission, which submitted that Jibrin, Yusuf and Bauka were investigated for money laundering allegations and making false statements regarding the diversion of funds in their respective military and paramilitary institutions, into companies in which they allegedly had stakes.

The anti-graft agency stated that at the commencement of the investigation, the defendants were released on administrative bail on self-recognition because of their status as serving and former public figures but had since then refused to show up for possible arraignment in court.

The commission, therefore, prayed the court to issue a bench warrant for their arrest to face trial in the suit pending before the court.

The charges

Court documents seen by The ICIR indicate that while the ex-naval chief, Jibrin, is standing trial on a 10-count charge of money laundering, Yusuf and Bauka are being respectively prosecuted on a two-count charge over the same offence.

Also listed in the suit as defendants are companies allegedly involved in the laundering activities. They are Lahab Integrated and Multi-Services Ltd, Gate Coast Properties International Services Ltd, and Ummays Hummayd Energy Ltd.

The ICIR reports that over five months after the arrest warrant was issued following their failure to appear in court to defend themselves, the accused persons have been evading arrest, thereby stalling the money laundering case against them.

Several attempts by the ICPC to effect their arrest have been rebuffed as the ex-military officers and the NSCDC commandant were said to be taking advantage of the security protection around them to resist arrest.

Whistle-blower’s alarm

Findings indicate that the ICPC had launched an investigation into an alleged money laundering syndicate following a petition from a whistleblower dated December 11, 2020.

A copy of the whistleblower’s petition seen by The ICIR alleges that Jibrin, who became the Chief of Naval Staff in 2014 and retired in 2015, had allegedly used Adam Yusuf Imam, a deputy commandant with the NSCDC, and Ishaya Gamgum Bauka, a retired brigadier general, as fronts to amass illicit wealth within and outside Nigeria.

The whistleblower listed some companies used by the accused to perpetrate their alleged money laundering activities to include: Ummay’s Hummayd Energy Limited located at Kasuwandere Road, Gwagwalada Abuja; Ummay’s Hummayd Energy Limited, located opposite the Area Council Secretariat Gwagwlada Abuja, and Gamgum Nigeria Limited.

According to the petition, they also allegedly acquired houses located in Dubai and other properties within and outside Nigeria.

Also listed were cars allegedly acquired by Yusuf which include a Toyota Camry 2020, Toyota Hilux 2019, Mercedes Benz ML350, Toyota Avalon 2019, Mercedes Benz G-wagon 2016, Toyota Prado 2018, three Tippers, and nine fuel tankers.

The whistleblower sought a full-scale investigation by the anti-corruption agency to bring the perpetrators to book.

ICPC launches investigation

The ICIR gathered that on the strength of the petition, the ICPC launched an investigation into the money laundering allegations and eventually charged the suspects in court in 2023. However, despite the bench warrant issued against them in May this year after failing to appear for prosecution, the accused are yet to be arraigned.

During the investigation, the ICPC dispatched invitation letters to the accused and requested relevant documents from financial and non-financial institutions, ministries and departments and agencies of government. The trio had also been invited by the investigating team of the ICPC and released on administrative bail after writing their extra-judicial statements.

It was gathered that among the institutions the commission wrote to during its investigations are the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), and the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), which were said to have availed the ICPC the relevant documents to aid its investigation.

A source at the ICPC privy to the investigation, who would not want to be named due to the sensitive nature of the matter told The ICIR, “After analysing extra-judicial statements, bank account statements and other relevant documents recovered in the course of the investigation, we found out certain unlawful dealings by the defendants and other persons now at large…”

The ICIR was also informed that following its investigations, the ICPC came up with “damning evidence” which indicated that Jibrin, Bauka, Yusuf and their accomplices illegally acquired properties through money laundering activities, using companies in which they had stakes.

Startling evidence

Among others, the ICPC’s investigation threw up evidence on how the ex-Naval chief impersonated his wife, Lami Idum.

Exhibits attached to the money laundering charge seen by The ICIR indicate that he impersonated Lami Idum (his wife), by signing his own signature against her name and passport photograph to open accounts for and on behalf of two companies – Lahab Integrated & Multi Services Limited and Gate Coast Properties International Limited.

Bank statements attached to the referenced charge showed that in June 2014, while still serving as the Chief of Naval Staff, Jibrin received N19,200,000.00 (N19.2 million) which was deposited by Sequential Resources into the Zenith Bank account belonging to Lahab Integrated & Multi Services Limited.

Curiously, the company’s account – Lahab Integrated & Multi-Services Limited – bears his (Jibrin’s) signature although it has the name and passport photograph of Lami Idum (his wife) as the sole signatory.

The funds, according to the first count in the money laundering case brought against the ex-Naval officer “formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act to wit: fraud, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.”

In another transaction carried out in July 2024, Jibrin took possession of N28 million deposited by Errostier Property Ltd into the same Zenith Bank account belonging to Lahab Integrated & Services Limited.

In August 2024, yet another sum of N48 million was deposited by a company named BCO Track Resources Limited into the same Zenith Bank account owned by Lahab Integrated & Multi-Services Limited.

Similarly, court documents sighted by The ICIR indicate that in April 2014, N35 million was deposited in the same account by BCO Track Resources Ltd while earlier in March 2015, another N35 million was deposited by Geocrat INV Ltd into another Zenith Bank account bearing Gate Coast Properties International Ltd. The account also bears Jibrin’s signature but has the name and passport photograph of his wife.

Another sum of N22 million had earlier been deposited into the same bank account belonging to Gate Coast Properties Ltd in March 2015 by a company called Sand Prop Ltd.

False information

Investigations also revealed that in March 2015, while registering Lahab Integrated & Multi-Services Ltd at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the retired naval chief signed his signature against his wife’s name as a director and shareholder. He also did the same in March 2013 while registering another company called Gate Coast Properties International Ltd.

On his part, Adam Imam Yusuf, former deputy commandant of the NSCDC, in June 2020, received N410 million as a deposit into his Zenith account number. Bank statements seen by The ICIR indicate that the deposit was made by a company called Gate Coast Properties International Ltd, believed to be owned by Jibrin.

Similarly, in January 2020, another N150 million, suspected to be proceeds of money laundering, was deposited into the same Zenith Bank account by Lahab Integrated & Multi-Services Ltd.

Further findings show that Ishaya Gamgum Bauka, a retired brigadier general, also linked to the alleged money laundering syndicate, in January 2020 took possession of properties described as Houses 21 and 23 at Second Avenue, Paradies Hills Estate, Guzape Abuja.

Documents seen by The ICIR indicate that N98 million, suspected to be proceeds of crime, was paid for the properties. In his extrajudicial statements to the ICPC team of investigators, Bauka claimed that the said sum (N98 million) being part payment for the purchase of properties in question was made through the Federal Housing Authority (FHA)/ENL-Consortium Ltd. by one Sayeed Shuaibu Muhammad, a business colleague.

However, Muhammad, an engineer, who was then working with a federal government parastatal, told the ICPC that Imam Yusuf (the retired NSCDC chief among the accused), who is married to his niece had credited his account with the said amount in two tranches without his knowledge and thereafter asked him to transfer the funds to another account.

In his statement to the ICPC, Muhammad said: “Imam Yusuf is an in-law married to my niece. On January 17, 2020, he called to reconfirm my First Bank account details after which he credited it with the sum of N38, 400,000.00.

“Out of surprise, I called him to confirm what that huge amount of money was meant for, but he said I should wait for an explanation later. On January 20, 2020, I received another credit alert of N60,000,000.00 from him again.

“I then briefed my account officer and on the same day, Imam Yusuf later called me and instructed me to pay the monies in four tranches into the Federal Housing Account in favour of Gamgum Nigeria Ltd. He claimed it was meant for the purchase of four houses for his boss, the former chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Usman Jibrin (Retd).

“After a while, Adam Imam Yusuf provided me with Ademu Lawal’s First Bank account details to credit N9,000,000.00 which I did on 21st January 2020.”

Muhammad revealed that Adam Yusuf owns Ummays Hummayd Energy Ltd with a total of three filling stations with about eleven trucks attached to them.

However, when called on November 13, 2024, by The ICIR to explain his relationship with Ishaya Bauka and his role in the matter, Yusuf declined to speak.

“Don’t call my line again on this matter,” he said and ended the call.

A peek further into ICPC’s investigation

Details of the ICPC investigation show that Adam Imam Yusuf, in active connivance with the former chief of Naval Staff (Jibrin) defrauded the federal government by indulging in questionable financial transactions through suspicious individuals and corporate entities.

Yusuf, according to the ICPC investigation, was used by Jibrin as a front to carry out financial transactions for the purchase of moveable and immovable assets worth billions of naira.

He was also alleged to have bought several other immovable assets outside Nigeria, including Dubai, through proxies and held the same in trust for Jibrin.

About 13 companies were said to be involved in laundering money through the purchase of properties for Jibrin. One of them, Bushi & Bushi Law Firm, was part of companies used as proxies to either receive money or buy properties for Jibrin as revealed in the ICPC’s investigation.

Findings also show that Bauka, the retired brigadier general, who hails from Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State, is a managing partner in the Bushi & Bushi law firm and an ally of Jibrin. He is also the owner of Gamgum Nigeria Limited, Beinkein Concepts and Joseph Hospitality Court. These companies are allegedly linked to the money laundering scheme.

It was further revealed that Bauka made a part payment on behalf of Jibrin for the properties described as House 21, & 23, 2nd 2 Avenue, Paradise Hills Estate, Guzape, Abuja sometime in 2012.

The ICIR gathered that Jibrin was invited to appear before the ICPC to defend the allegation of the properties linked to him, but he failed to do so. Rather, he wrote through his lawyers seeking time to enable him to honour the invitation.

“Despite the said letters on his behalf requesting for an extension of the date of the invitation at his convenience, he has failed or neglected to appear till date,” a source at the ICPC privy to the matter said.

Ex-Naval chief threatens The ICIR reporter

On Thursday, October 10, 2024, The ICIR reached out to the ex-Naval chief to get his response to the money laundering and evading arrest allegations by the ICPC, including his refusal to appear in court to defend himself.

However, when our reporter introduced himself and stated his mission, Jibrin fumed, questioning why the reporter was interested in the case involving him.

An attempt to explain that he was being given the opportunity to respond to the money laundering charges brought against him was rebuffed by the ex-naval chief.

Asked if he had gone to court to defend the charges, he snapped, “My friend, who are you to tell me whether or not to appear in court? Are you a policeman?

“Why can’t you go and investigate the cause of fuel price hike and what Nigerians are going through? The issue of giving palliatives, is that not enough for you to investigate?”

When the reporter insisted that he was doing his job, Jibrin threatened him, saying: “If you continue like this, I will come after you…

“Don’t ever try calling me again. If you want any details, go to court; find a way of getting in touch with me through the Nigerian Navy or the courts,” he fumed.

He added, “I am not a democrat; you can write any rubbish you like, and I will look for you. Tell whoever sent you to go to hell. Print it like that; investigative journalism my foot.”

The ICIR made several calls to the mobile number of Bauka, but they were unanswered.

He also did not respond to a text message sent to him on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, seeking his response to the allegations.

The text message which indicated delivered read: “Good day sir! I am a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Abuja. I am reaching out to you regarding a money laundering charge brought against you by the ICPC at the Federal High Court, Abuja. Can you kindly let us know your level of involvement or otherwise in this matter? Thanks!”

In his extra-judicial statements to the ICPC dated August 23, 2021, Bauka admitted that Jibrin was his coursemate at the Nigerian Defense Academy (NDA).

“I have known him since 1978 when we all reported to the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) as members of Course 24.”

He said he was commissioned into the Nigeria Army in 1981 and retired in 2011 to go into business and legal practice.

“I do real estate as well as contracts and buying and selling of anything that is legal. I have companies registered with the CAC, namely: Beinkein Multi-Concepts Ltd; Joseph Court Hospitality and my law firm, Bushi and Bushi law firm. Beinkein does any form of legal contracts, Joseph Court does hospitality business and any legal contract too.”

He also told the ICPC investigators that he is the owner of two properties located within the Federal Housing Authority Estate in Guzape, Abuja. “I bought two units of four-bedroom duplex at N70,500,000 each,” he said.

Similarly, attempts to speak with Adam Imam were unsuccessful as his mobile phone line was unreachable.

They have gone into hiding – ICPC

The ICPC confirmed its investigation into the money laundering petition against the three accused persons, but said it was yet to effect their arrest because they had gone into hiding.

The spokesperson of the anti-graft commission, Demola Bakare, said: “The current situation is the commission’s inability to arrest the defendants because they have gone into hiding.

“Efforts were made to do this through their superior authorities, but to no avail, and efforts are still being made to see that they are arraigned.”

ICPC made futile efforts to arrest Jibrin

Sources inside the ICPC told The ICIR that several attempts to arrest the retired vice admiral following the bench warrant issued by the Federal High Court in Abuja had been rebuffed by his security details who resisted attempts by operatives to enter his house.

During one of the attempts, ICPC officials were said to have made a fruitless effort to arrest him at his house in Abuja.

“As we approached the gate, we were met by a team of heavily armed security details, sporting dark glasses. The team, comprising ex-servicemen, formed a human barricade, blocking us,” said a source privy to the operation.

According to the source, the stand-off continued for several hours with the ex-naval chief’s security personnel sneering: “You are not taking our boss anywhere.”

Navy, Army keep mum

The ICIR reached out to the Nigerian Navy and the Army over the money laundering charges filed against their retired officers at the Abuja Federal High Court. They failed to comment on the matter.

The Navy spokesperson, Aiwuyor Adams-Aliu, a commodore, was contacted on Saturday, November 23, 2024. Although he initially requested that the reporter send his response through a text message, he failed to respond after receiving our message detailing the inquiry.

Similarly, the spokesperson of the Army, Onyama Nwachukwa, a brigadier general, did not respond to inquiries made on Saturday, November 23.

Subsequent attempts to reach him via phone calls, WhatsApp, and SMS, were unsuccessful as he remained unreachable.

Fidelis Mac-Leva

Fidelis Mac-Leva is the Deputy Editor of The ICIR/Head of Investigation. He has previously worked with several media outfits in Nigeria, including DAILY TIMES and DAILY TRUST. A compellingly readable Features writer, his forte is Public Interest Journalism which enables him to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted..." He can be reached via fmacleva@icirnigeria.org, @FidelisLeva on X