The German police as well as US authorities are undertaking the huge investigation, which has begun against Julius Berger’s parent company, Bilfiger Berger, in Germany, United Kingdom and the United States. It is large enough to consume the construction company that has at the center of its patronage policy the building of houses for Nigerian officials who awarded contracts to it or helped it “win” contracts. Saharareporters was first to alert the reading public in 2007 that Julius Berger, as its officials got wind of the investigations, was transporting its computers to a West African country believed to be Ivory Coast, with a view to getting rid of the damaging information they contained.
The investigations would also affect the current Nigerian "President" Umaru Yar'Adua, who has been connected with receiving huge amount of bribes from Julius Berger in terms of medical fees arranged by Julius Berger's VP, Hans Witman. It would be recalled that in early 2007, Obasanjo ordered Yar’Adua’s transportation to a German hospital in Wiesbaden when the presidential candidate suddenly collapsed in the heat of the general election campaigns. He was flown to Germany in a Julius Berger air Ambulance and all medical expenses were paid by Julius Berger.
Yesterday, Obasanjo was sighted at the Helmsley New York Hotel in Manhattan where he reportedly held meetings with his former business associates in the Sullivan Summit to discuss approaches to be taken to deal with the impending investigations. His private assistant, Bodunde Adeyanju has remained in detention for 16 days in Abuja where he reportedly confessed to receiving $6 million from Halliburton officials and passing them on to the former president as well as the People's Democratic Party officials led by Anthony Anenih. The then VP, Abubakar Atiku, reportedly received $2.4 million. Mr. Adeyanju, who featured prominently in the multi-million dollar Petroleum Trust Fund Development (PTDF) scandal in 2006, was Obasanjo's aide for several years before Obasanjo became president in 1999. The bribes funneled to Abdusalam Abubakar have been traced to real estate developments in the UK that are reportedly being managed by an as yet unidentified woman.
But if Yar'Adua hoped to wriggle out of the Halliburton scandal, he would be shocked by revelations coming from Obasanjo in New York. An Obasanjo aide who spoke to Saharareporters today disclosed authoritatively that the $6 million Bodunde received was for the People Democratic Party (PDP) elections in 2003. According to Obasanjo, Gauis Obaseki, who was the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), was the recipient of the $6 million that he (Obasanjo) believed came from different sources which include Halliburton, through Jeffrey Tessler.
The aide said that Adeyanju collected $50,000 of the bribe money for himself without Obasanjo’s knowledge and passed the rest to Lawal Batagarawa and Anthony Anenih. Batagarawa, who was Obasanjo's Minister of State for Defence, was Umaru Yar’Adua's classmate at Barewa College. According to the story told from the Obasanjo side, Umaru Yar’Adua's election in Katsina in 2003 became very costly because he was grossly unpopular, and was losing the contest. Batagarawa therefore reportedly moved into Katsina with a large chunk of the $6 million that Bodunde got from Obaseki, to fund Yar'adua's re-election in 2003.
The aide further told Saharareporters today that Yar'Adua remains one of the major beneficiaries of the Gauis Obaseki's slush fund and challenged him to disprove it to Nigerians. Batagarawa, the source said, worked with Obasanjo to replace the police commissioner in Katsina State one week before the 2003 gubernatorial elections because the incumbent commissioner was loyal to Muhammad Buhari and his ANPP party
Obasanjo has reportedly denied any personal involvement in the Halliburton bribe scandal and has threatened to sue Dele Olojede's 234NEXT newspaper for libel as soon as he returns to Nigeria because the paper mentioned his name as a bribe recipient.
Other persons named in the ongoing investigations include former deputy senate president, Ibrahim Mantu; former Inspector General of police, MD Yusuf; Funso Kupolokun, former GMD of the NNPC; and Ibrahim Aliyu, who reportedly took $30 million on behalf of the former head of state Abdusalam Abubakar A part of the Halliburton money is said to be frozen in Switzerland
CATHERINE ZETA JONES
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