Fayose revives President wife’s role in Jefferson bribery scandal, documents, links given.
EFCC ex-boss says, alleged Aisha Buhari not President Buhari's wife !
Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, on Monday was reported to have relived a controversy surrounding the role played by one Aisha Buhari who was believed, according to Premium Times to be the President Muhammadu Buhari’s wife, in the messy bribery scandal involving U.S. Congressman, Williams Jefferson.
The publication has it that Mr. Fayose distributed a link to the U.S. Department of Justice website holding court documents where Mrs. Buhari was alleged to have transferred suspicious funds to a convicted former American congressman, Williams Jefferson.
In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Mr. Fayose said President Buhari was far from being a clean man.
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| Aisha Buhari, wife of the Nigerian President |
“Even the President cannot claim to be an angel,” the governor said, in reaction to the freezing of his Zenith Bank account by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
“The estate he built in Abuja is known to us. His wife was indicted over the Halliburton Scandal (sic). When that American, Jefferson, was being sentenced, the President’s wife was mentioned as having wired $170,000 to Jefferson. Her name was on page 25 of the sentencing of Jefferson. We can serialize the judgment for people to see and read.”
The governor’s Special Assistant on New Media, Lere Olayinka, later circulated links to and copies of the court document detailing Mrs Buhari’s mention in the scandal.
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| President's wife in London ; Photo file: NUJ Europe |
The documents showed that in some of the exhibits tendered in convicting Mr. Jefferson of bribery, and one named Aisha Buhari was mentioned as transferring $170,000 to the American politician using a firm as proxy.
“Government Exhibits 36-87 (6/26/02 $170,000 wire transfer from account in Nigeria in the name of Aisha Buhari to an account in the name of The ANJ Group, LLC, identifying “William Jefferson” as Beneficiary),” the U.S. Government Sentencing Memorandum said on page 22.
Mrs. Buhari, the wife of the Nigerian President could not be reached for comments as at the entry time of the published story. And Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, declined comments, saying he would need to check the documents himself before issuing an official statement.
Mr. Fayose’s comment sparked a recollection of how Mr. Jefferson, between 2000 and 2005, used his position as member of the U.S. House of Representatives to offer illegal services to private companies for cash rewards.
Mr. Jefferson and his family, according to U.S. authorities, received about $367,500 through through his firm, ANJ Group, for services rendered to iGate, an American broadband technology provider.
An indigenous firm, Netlink Digital Television, had signed a joint venture with iGate to set up digital satellite TV and broadband Internet services in the country. NDTV was owned by Oyewole Fasawe, a PDP chieftain at the time.
Mr. Jefferson was contracted to help promote iGate and NDTV partnership in Nigeria.
Mr. Jefferson was contracted to help promote iGate and NDTV partnership in Nigeria.
Following a lengthy trial, Mr. Jefferson was convicted in 2009 and sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Although Mr. Fasawe was arrested in 2005 by the EFCC, he was never convicted.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar were also said to be a person of interest in the allegations.
A final report released by the EFCC on June 22, 2006, the online news portal reported about the bribery scandal also contained Mrs. Buhari’s Citizens Bank account statements and how she transferred funds to Mr. Jefferson.
The grey area of the story in the publication was: '' A 2007 New York Times’ article detailed how Mrs. Buhari told an acquaintance in Washington that she was a daughter of a former Nigerian head of state and a friend of Mr. Jefferson.
“As the pair struck up a conversation and subsequently became friends, Mr. Assiba, then a security guard, said she told him that her father was the former military ruler of Nigeria, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and that her American friends included politicians like Mr. Jefferson of Louisiana.”
Here is the LINK showing the involvement of President Buhari’s wife, Aisha in the Halliburton Scam.
$170,000 was transferred from her account to an account belonging to The ANJ Group, LLC, Identifying WILLIAMS JEFFERSON as beneficiary.
Open this LINK and download GOVERNMENT'S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM. See Page 22 for where Aisha Buhari was mentioned.
https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/case/united-states-v-william-j-jefferson-district-court-docket-no-07-cr-209-tse-court
Meanwhile, the EFCC former boss Mr Lamorde has refuted the claim that President'wife, was the same Aisha Buhari named in the infamous bribery that sent Williams Jefferson to prison.
Read Also: Aisha Buhari in Jefferson bribery scandal not President Buhari’s wife — Ex-EFCC boss, Lamorde
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"I was the director of operations at the EFCC at the time so I know about the case very well. I can tell you that it is not her (President Buhari's wife). That much we established," -- Lamorde
See more on Premium Times : http://wp.me/p2LdGt-RuU
Premium Times' reporting on Gov. Ayo Fayose's allegation against Wife of the President Aisha Buhari is reckless, factually inaccurate, and libelous all rolled into one.This is particularly disquieting because thousands, perhaps millions, of Nigerians on social media are ignorantly spreading a malicious falsehood against an innocent woman. Read the original New York Times story published on April 29, 2007 (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/business/yourmoney/29lobby.html?_r=0) to know that the "Aisha Buhari" mentioned in the corruption scandal ISN'T the president's wife.
In the New York Times story, "Aisha Buhari" identified herself as the "daughter” of “General Muhammadu Buhari," not his wife. Of course, President Muhammadu Buhari has no daughter by that name. The said "Aisha Buhari" is obviously a criminal impostor who has not the remotest relationship with President Buhari either by marriage or by blood. Take a look at her picture, which I downloaded from the New York Times website, and tell me if she bears even the slightest resemblance to Mrs. Aisha Buhari or any of the president's daughters. This lady is a major-league scammer who has refused to reveal her real identity, and Premium Times failed to do basic fact-checking to confirm this. It took me less 2 minutes to find this out.
In case you're not able to read the full story from the New York Times, here are excerpts that conclusively show that the "Aisha Buhari" mentioned in the story is neither the president's wife nor any of his daughters. If the real Mrs. Aisha Buhari decides to sue Premium Times (and Ayo Fayose), predicting her success against them in the court is a slam dunk, as Americans say.
"As for Ms. Buhari, who is living in Virginia, it’s not clear who she really is. For one, she is under investigation in Nigeria by its Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, said its head, Nuhu Ribadu.
"Mr. Ribadu said he is uncertain if her name is Aisha Buhari, but he added that she is not a daughter of General Buhari. The former Nigerian ruler agrees.
"'I don’t have any relationship with that Aisha Buhari,' Mr. Buhari said. 'I don’t have any daughter called Aisha Buhari living outside this country. She is not my daughter.'
"Mr. Ribadu’s agency has asked American authorities to arrest Ms. Buhari. That has not happened, but the Justice Department has an interest in her. Last summer, she testified before a grand jury investigating Mr. Jefferson, the congressman, who is suspected of soliciting bribes from American companies seeking business in Nigeria."
I won't hesitate to criticize Buhari (and his wife) if and when they err, but I won't tolerate irresponsible and malevolent smears on people's reputation.
Here is the LINK showing the involvement of President Buhari’s wife, Aisha in the Halliburton Scam.
$170,000 was transferred from her account to an account belonging to The ANJ Group, LLC, Identifying WILLIAMS JEFFERSON as beneficiary.
Open this LINK and download GOVERNMENT'S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM. See Page 22 for where Aisha Buhari was mentioned.
https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/case/united-states-v-william-j-jefferson-district-court-docket-no-07-cr-209-tse-court
Meanwhile, the EFCC former boss Mr Lamorde has refuted the claim that President'wife, was the same Aisha Buhari named in the infamous bribery that sent Williams Jefferson to prison.
Read Also: Aisha Buhari in Jefferson bribery scandal not President Buhari’s wife — Ex-EFCC boss, Lamorde
------------
"I was the director of operations at the EFCC at the time so I know about the case very well. I can tell you that it is not her (President Buhari's wife). That much we established," -- Lamorde
See more on Premium Times : http://wp.me/p2LdGt-RuU
ANALYSIS By Farooq Kperogi
Premium Times' reporting on Gov. Ayo Fayose's allegation against Wife of the President Aisha Buhari is reckless, factually inaccurate, and libelous all rolled into one.This is particularly disquieting because thousands, perhaps millions, of Nigerians on social media are ignorantly spreading a malicious falsehood against an innocent woman. Read the original New York Times story published on April 29, 2007 (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/business/yourmoney/29lobby.html?_r=0) to know that the "Aisha Buhari" mentioned in the corruption scandal ISN'T the president's wife.
In the New York Times story, "Aisha Buhari" identified herself as the "daughter” of “General Muhammadu Buhari," not his wife. Of course, President Muhammadu Buhari has no daughter by that name. The said "Aisha Buhari" is obviously a criminal impostor who has not the remotest relationship with President Buhari either by marriage or by blood. Take a look at her picture, which I downloaded from the New York Times website, and tell me if she bears even the slightest resemblance to Mrs. Aisha Buhari or any of the president's daughters. This lady is a major-league scammer who has refused to reveal her real identity, and Premium Times failed to do basic fact-checking to confirm this. It took me less 2 minutes to find this out.
In case you're not able to read the full story from the New York Times, here are excerpts that conclusively show that the "Aisha Buhari" mentioned in the story is neither the president's wife nor any of his daughters. If the real Mrs. Aisha Buhari decides to sue Premium Times (and Ayo Fayose), predicting her success against them in the court is a slam dunk, as Americans say.
"As for Ms. Buhari, who is living in Virginia, it’s not clear who she really is. For one, she is under investigation in Nigeria by its Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, said its head, Nuhu Ribadu.
"Mr. Ribadu said he is uncertain if her name is Aisha Buhari, but he added that she is not a daughter of General Buhari. The former Nigerian ruler agrees.
"'I don’t have any relationship with that Aisha Buhari,' Mr. Buhari said. 'I don’t have any daughter called Aisha Buhari living outside this country. She is not my daughter.'
"Mr. Ribadu’s agency has asked American authorities to arrest Ms. Buhari. That has not happened, but the Justice Department has an interest in her. Last summer, she testified before a grand jury investigating Mr. Jefferson, the congressman, who is suspected of soliciting bribes from American companies seeking business in Nigeria."
I won't hesitate to criticize Buhari (and his wife) if and when they err, but I won't tolerate irresponsible and malevolent smears on people's reputation.
Additional report from Premium Times, Farouq Kperogi.
Repackaged by Lashley Oladigbolu.
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Repackaged by Lashley Oladigbolu.
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