Wikileaks On Obasanjo: "Even More Than The Abacha Days, Corruption Under Obasanjo's Eight Years Was Far Worse" , Says Ribadu

At a meeting with the US Ambassador Robin Sanders to discuss his removal from the EFCC, Ribadu told the US ambassador that Obasanjo was good at covering his tracks. He admitted that corruption was worse under Obasanjo. Quoting Ribadu, On former president Obasanjo, the Commissioner said, he really knew how to play the game. Although he created the  EFCC and understood its importance for him with the  international community, Ribadu explained, that by far and even  more than the Abacha days where he was the sole thief,  corruption under Obasanjo,s eight years was far worse,  because everyone stole, no doubt he did as well. 8  However,
he added, Oba was a political machine and knew how to play  the game for the international community, cover his tracks  and for good or bad &got it8as regards to what the EFCC's
role was and should be."
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Reference ID     Created     Released     Classification     Origin
07ABUJA2627     2007-12-31 11:55     2011-08-30 01:44     SECRET     Embassy Abuja

VZCZCXRO7703
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHUJA #2627/01 3651155
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 311155Z DEC 07 ZDK FOR USMISSION UNVIE
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1728
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS 8471
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0024
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 ABUJA 002627


SIPDIS


SIPDIS


STATE FOR AF A/S FRAZER, AF/W
PASS NSC BOBBY PITTMAN


E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2017
TAGS: PGOV EFIN ECON NI
SUBJECT: RIBADU: DISCUSSES MOVE ON HIM, YAR,ADUA, IBORI AND
OBASANJO


REF: (A) ABUJA 2618 (B) SANDERS-SILSKI 12-28 EMAILS
     (C) SANDERS-GON FONMIN 12/28 TELECON


ABUJA 00002627  001.2 OF 004




Classified By: Ambassador Robin Sanders for Reasons 1.4 (b, c, & d).


¶1. (S) Summary: Ambassador had 4-hour private discussion with
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Chairman (EFCC)
Mallam Nuhu Ribadu on the evening of December 28 at her
residence to hear his views on the recent announcement that
he will be transferred from the EFCC to the country,s
leadership school, the National Institute for Policy and
Strategic Studies (NIPSS).  Ribadu took the opportunity to
cover not only the politics behind this move, but also spent
several hours discussing a range of EFCC pending cases that
he wanted to share, including his personal views on
Yar,Adua, former President Obasanjo, recently indicted
former Delta State Governor Ibori, and the illicit enrichment
open cases on the Police Inspector General Mike Okiro and
Attorney General Aondoakaa.  It seemed that he wanted someone
outside of the EFCC to know the details of active
investigations as a possible failsafe given the current
negative political climate surrounding his pending transfer.
Ribadu also said he planned to show up to his office on
December 31, 2007, as usual and would continue to do so )-
unless he was physically blocked -- until the effective date
of his transfer (February 2008).  Ribadu said, &without a
doubt, yes,8 the warrant on Ibori was the seminal action
that made Yar,Adua support the transfer.  He added that he
worried that Yar,Adua was not &strong enough8 to balance
the pressures on him from his inner circle -- many he had
already blocked from illicit enrichment such as his Chief
Economic Advisor Tanimu Yakabu Kursi and Mrs. Yar,Adua.  The
Ambassador expressed to him the U.S.,s strong concerns over
the tenor of events and how unsettling this is given what
appears to be a reversal of Yar,Adua,s strong
anti-corruption messages while in Washington.  Coming on the
heels of the U.S. visit, this action has hurt our initial
sense of his commitment on these key democracy pillars.  The
EFCC Chair was pleased to hear of the international interest
in the situation and added that &anything8 is still
possible in terms of a reversal as Yar,Adua tends to respond
to the last person who speaks with him.  He thought pressure
from the international community could be useful.  Ribadu
said if the transfer prevails then his Lagos deputy, Lamorde,
would likely be brought up to serve as Acting.  He then
praised the USG training provided by Treasury,s FinCen, and
said whether he was at the EFCC or not, the USG should
continue its efforts to help as &his team8 was dedicated
and committed.  Ribadu said that the EFCC needed a few more
concrete tools such as a Crime Center, housing a data base on
all criminal activity, and hoped the U.S. would help on this.
 Ambassador provided the EFCC Chair with all her contact
information, noted she had a pending weekend response call
from the President, and told him that he had active
supporters who would be following this issue, notwithstanding
the Ambassador.


¶2. (S) Following Yar,Adua,s positive U.S. trip, fairly
upbeat sentiments by Nigerians at year,s end on his tenure,
and his own end of year national address calling on adherence
to transparency, not only do we need to be concerned about
this action, but also what appears to be other steps against
the EFCC.  Even if Ribadu is gone or if ours or other efforts
prevail, there are potentially other possible actions on the
horizon to reduce the EFCC,s prowess by such as removing
others on Ribadu,s team, and merging it with other less
focused and effective entities such as the Independent
Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).  Whatever his motives,
Yar,Adua has made a major political misstep as his tribunal
results loom near. End Summary


Ribadu: Discusses the Run-up to his Transfer:
--------------------------------------------


¶3. (S) The Ambassador had a 4-hour discussion (8pm-midnight)
at her residence December 29 with about-to-be transferred
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chair Mallam
Nuhu Ribadu.  Rumors began on the move late December 27,
followed up by an official press announcement by Police
Inspector General Mike Okiro December 28.  Ribadu was
seconded from the police senior leadership in April 2003 to
lead the then newly created EFCC by former President
Obasanjo.  Ribadu is officially being transferred to the
country,s National Institute for Policy and Strategic
Studies (NIPSS) in February 2008.  Ribadu told Ambassador
that the transfer was not only official, but had been
approved by President Yar,Adua.  The Ambassador asked
Nigeria,s anti-corruption czar if he thought that there


ABUJA 00002627  002 OF 004




could be a reversal of the pending transfer if there was
significant outcry.  Ribadu said in his dealings to date with
the President, that he did not view him as a &strong man8
(said in both the sense of not only his health, but his style
and demeanor), and that he is easily swayed by the last
person that speaks with him.  He added that he did not see
Yar,Adua as corrupt and was a &nice guy,8 but said quite
frankly that he thought he was &weak,8 as a result of his
low key personality, his lack of international exposure, and
his lack of a political base.  Ribadu said Yar,Adua is very
&worried8 about his election being overturned and is
getting advice from &some whose hands are tarnished with
illicit enrichment8 on how to secure a positive outcome of
the pending February or March 2008 tribunal decision.  The
EFCC czar then commented that despite his overall problems
with the judiciary as &judges were always being bribed, it
had held up democracy more than some of the other government
branches.8  &The judiciary and judges here are very
corruptible and this corruption has played a role in some of
the tribunal cases to date,8 he commented.  &Nigeria needs
something in its constitution to put a check and balance on
the judiciary.8


¶4. (S) The Ambassador then asked whether the warrant on the
former Delta State Governor Ibori was the trigger on his
ouster now, given that pressure to remove him was not new.
Ribadu said without a doubt &yes.8  He added that Ibori had
promised to help Yar,Adua several weeks ago (prior to the
latter,s Washington trip) with the tribunal if he got the
EFCC Chair off his back.  Yar,Adua had resisted to date, but
as his tribunal results loom near in early February or March
2008, the President has a sense that the verdict could go
either way (ref a).  He is very unsettled about his
prospects, Ribadu noted.  Without direct reference to the
Foreign Minister, who mentioned this issue in a December 28
telecon, the Ambassador asked Ribadu what his relationship
had been with the President up to this point (ref C).  Ribadu
then described in detail his last meetings with both the
President and separately with Ibori.


¶5. (S) The EFCC chief noted that the President had always
wanted him to &cool down8 a bit as he thought he could do
things more &quietly.8  But despite this, he was always
able to reach the President and they never had cross words.
However, he added he felt that the support he would need to
bring in some of the bigger political fish was not there
)primarily because &the President does not have his own
political soldiers within the PDP, the media, or among
Nigeria,s novo rich power brokers, nor his own thugs or the
overall clout of former President Obasanjo.8  Ribadu said
that Ibori had also tried to bribe him to drop the
investigation, coming to him with a box that contained $ 15
million (USD) in cash as an offering to leave him alone.
Ribadu laughing said, &can you imagine $15 million in cash
in a box; this will be used against him in the trial.  We
have it locked up as evidence.8  He added that they have
thus far found only $300 million (USD) that Ibori has stolen,
but knows that he stole much more, estimating that during his
eight years in office he took roughly 60 per cent of the
Delta State treasury for his own use, including buying three
planes and ownership in several public and private
corporations.


¶6. (S) Turning back to President Yar,Adua, the Ambassador
asked who the bad apples around Yar,Adua were and was there
anyone in his inner circle that he would deem not only
credible but also incorruptible.  Ribadu said without a doubt
the most corruptible person near the President, and one of
his own biggest nemeses, was Chief Economic Advisor Tanimu
Yakubu Kursi.  The anti-graft czar said he had already
blocked several attempts by Yakubu to enrich himself from
government coffers, and had not only blocked him but also
Mrs. Yar,Adua.  (Note: neither name as far as we know as
come up before in this light, but Ribadu was vehement on
Yakubu, saying in many ways he was worse than the Attorney
General, and after being pressed a bit on who the other
person was, he gave up the name of Mrs. Yar,Adua as the
other person in the inner circle he had blocked once).
&Yakubu is smart, but corrupt, and played a key role in this
transfer issue,8 he added. Continuing, the Ambassador asked
if there are any good guys in the Villa? He said the only
person who was truly respectable, honest and trying always to
do the right thing was the President,s Chief of Staff, Maj.
Gen. Abdullahi Mohammed, but he likes to stay away from both
policy and politics.


Pending Investigations: A Who,s Who of Criminal Activity
--------------------------------------------- -----------


ABUJA 00002627  003.2 OF 004






¶7. (S) Ribadu, seeming to be in an environment where he felt
comfortable and relaxed, told the Ambassador he wanted to
share some more of what is really going on.  He began with a
list of pending investigations.  At the top of the list were
both Attorney General (AG) Aondoakaa and Police Inspector
General Mike Okiro.  Of note, the EFCC chairman said that,
&we came very close to catching Okiro in the act in a parked
car receiving several million dollars from Ibori in cash,8
but he added, &we were not able to close the deal as could
not catch the actual handover, and my investigators feared
getting any closer to the cars.8  On the AG, Ribadu
continued, &we have a dossier on him and his illegal money
dealings, including getting money from Ibori, but we need to
catch him, and we will.  He takes money from everyone, all
the time, anytime.  He is just a first class thief.8  In
addition, Ribadu said the EFCC has criminal investigations
open on 100 Nigeria individuals (mostly government officials
from the Obasanjo era) and is following roughly 200 Nigerian
criminal organizations.  This is why &my next step is to
create a &Crime Center,8 which would have a data base that
all law enforcement agencies could access.8  The EFCC Chief
stated that the USG had played an enormous role in the
capacity building, expertise and integrity of the EFCC, as
the U.S. set the best example on these issues. He knew that
his team was dedicated, honest and committed as they all want
to see a better Nigeria and improve Nigeria,s image around
the world.  &Whether I am at the EFCC or not, whatever the
U.S. can do to continue to improve the Commission,s capacity
would be welcomed,8 he commented. Ambassador said she would
discuss not only the Crime Center idea he had with her team
and Washington, but also ensure that Treasury was aware of
the importance of continuing overall technical assistance
when possible to the EFCC. She added though, if his transfer
prevailed despite her efforts and others, we would be as
active as possible to encourage any new EFCC leadership to
continue on the same path.


On Obasanjo and his daughter Iyabo:
-----------------------------------


¶8. (S) Ambassador asked about Obasanjo and his daughter,
National Assembly Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, who is
currently being investigated over contracts to an Austrian
company. Ribadu said that the EFCC had called her in on
December 27 and questioned her for hours. They also had
documents on the transactions and questioned the head of the
Austrian company. In the end, he added, we determined that
there was no illicit enrichment of state funds, but a
business deal gone badly between two parties, where promises
were made and not kept, and one party getting mad at the
other.  On former president Obasanjo, the Commissioner said,
he really knew how to play the game. Although he created the
EFCC and understood its importance for him with the
international community, Ribadu explained, that by far &even
more than the Abacha days where he was the sole thief,
corruption under Obasanjo,s eight years was far worse,
because everyone stole, no doubt he did as well.8  However,
he added, &Oba was a political machine and knew how to play
the game for the international community, cover his tracks
and for good or bad &got it8 as regards to what the EFCC,s
role was and should be."


Yar,Adua,s Health Issues:
------------------------


¶9. (S) In wrapping up, Ambassador asked about the
President,s health.  Ribadu agreed that Yar,Adua had a weak
constitution, but was not on &death,s door,8 as everyone
seems to speculate. He has to rest a lot and sleeps at odd
hours of the day, does not like to talk on the phone, and
never returns phone calls. He recounted examples of when he
was with the President for a 4-5 hour period where he
received calls from other African Heads of State. Yar,Adua
just refused to return their calls, noting that he hated
telephones and did not use them much.  Ambassador noted that
this was not a good thing, but that she had received two
calls that evening from the President,s Aide de Camp,
Colonel Mustapha Onoyiveta, as well as the Villa noting that
Yar,Adua was still resting but would return the call over
the course of the weekend December 28-30. But, the President
was traveling to Kano to attend National Security Advisor
Muktar,s daughter,s wedding in Kano.  In concluding, Ribadu
said that he did not think that Yar'Adua did daily dialysis
and asked if I had noticed his left hand; I said I did. The
Commissioner said the large brown mass was the result of the
skin graft from his left leg because the top of his left hand
had been destroyed because of the extensive dialysis.  &He
 is physically weak, but I do not see any imminent danger
there, and like many with kidney issues he will probably
survive for quite some time,8 he summed up.


¶10. (S) Comment: Ribadu was tired and exhausted upon arrival
to the residence, but after eating a bit and relaxing he
seemed to really want to unload, and discuss the dirty
laundry.  His picture of the President is not pretty.
Although corruption is not the issue there, if he can be
swayed that easily or is willing to give up his convictions
because he is worried about his election being overturned in
the tribunal, then we need to be very concerned as this could
portend for Nigeria more of the same bad practices of the
past. Regardless, removing Ribadu is a major political
blunder, and we will see how and if he takes a second look at
this decision.  Ribadu's comments about Economic Advisor
Yakabu and Mrs. Yar,Adua are also worrisome, not only
because we had not heard them before, but history on the
Continent, in Nigeria, and elsewhere has shown how close
relations and inner circle personalities such as these can
become huge liabilities for those in power. Yakubu was
finance commissioner of Katsina state 1999-2003, when he was
made the head of the Federal Mortgage Bank.  OPIC and others
in the Mission are engaged with him.  He became Yar,Adua,s
Chief Economic Advisor in late summer 2007.


¶10. (S) In addition, as of early morning news on December 31,
more of Ribadu,s top aides are being transferred out for
study tours, including Lamorde who Ribadu hoped would take
his place as acting.There is a lot in what Ribadu reported
and we will have to take into account whether everything said
is valid given that with his transfer pending there is always
the possibility of hyperbole, but we do not think so.  We of
course knew of the corruption allegations against the AG,
Police Inspector General, and of course Ibori, but the
details are useful.  Septel will follow on Presidential call
if it occurs over the weekend. Meanwhile, Ambassador has
already set the stage for an audience with Yar,Adua, but
will continue to push the envelope on both the call and also
seek an earlier meeting.
SANDERS

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