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The Nigeria Police Force has said it will arraign a former aide of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr. Bodunde Adeyanju, before a Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday (today) for his alleged involvement in the $180m Halliburton bribery scam.
Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, who confirmed this in an SMS to THE PUNCH on Tuesday, said Adeyanju was the first among six other accused persons to be arraigned in connection with the case. He said this was because the police had established a prima facie case against all the accused persons.
Ojukwu said Bodunde would be arraigned for his acceptance of several cash payments totalling about $5m from Halliburton officials. He is likely to be prosecuted by a team of lawyers led by the President of the Nigeria Bar Association, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN).
The co-accused include George Mark, Hans George Christ, Heinrich J. Stockhausen, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and Bilfinger Berger GMBH.
The three-count charge against the former presidential aide are as follows: “That you, Adeyanju Bodunde, sometime between 2002 and 2003, did accept several cash payments in the sum of $5m ($1m in five tranches) from George Mark, Hans George Christ, Heinrich J. Stockhausen, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Bilfinger Berger GMBH and thereby committed an offence contrary to sections 1 and 15(d) of the Money Laundering Act 1995 (as saved by Section 23(2) of the Money Laundering Act 2004) and punishable under Section 15(2) and (3) of the Money Laundering Act 1995(as saved by Section 23(2) of the Money Laundering Act, 2004);
“That you, Adeyanju Bodunde, sometime between 2002 and 2003 while being a public official and in your capacity as the Personal Assistant to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, corruptly asked for and received several cash payments in the sum of $5m from one George Mark, Hans George Christ, Heinrich J. Stockhausen, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Bilfinger Berger GMBH for and on behalf of one Jeffrey Tesler (now at large) thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 98B of the criminal Code CAP C38 LFN, 2004.
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