GEJ, DASUKI ILLEGALLY WITHDREW $600M FROM CBN IN 4WKS FOR ELECTIONS. SARAKI TOOK ADVANTAGE TO BLACKMAIL THEM FOR A SHARE OF THE PIE TO KEEP MUM.

AXIS OF EVIL

SaharaReporters has learned that Senate President Bukola Saraki blackmailed officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to hand him N250 million as “hush” funds after the senator had found out that ex-President Goodluck Jonathan had illicitly approved N60 billion for the former National Security Advisor (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, to purchase “arms.” A source, who is a senior CBN official, disclosed that bank officials paid the sum to Mr. Saraki, who was not the Senate President at the time, to ensure that he and other senators kept silent about the irregular withdrawals by the NSA and the Jonathan administration. 

Our source also revealed that some officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria had quietly resisted several attempts by officials of the Jonathan administration to carry out large-scale theft of funds from the national treasury in the name of fighting Islamist insurgent group, Boko Haram insurgents.

A CBN whistleblower made available to our correspondent a hurriedly typewritten document that detailed how ex-NSA, Mr. Dasuki, requested tranches of dollars from the bank after obtaining approval from former President Jonathan between February and March this year. 

According to the document, in third week of February 2015 the former NSA requested for $250 million from the CBN, but got $200 million. In the fourth week of February, the NSA put in a request for $150 million but received $125 million.

Godwin Emefiele

In the first week of March 2015, with Nigeria’s postponed elections a few weeks away, the NSA made a request for another $250 million, but only got $204 million. In the second week of March, Mr. Dasuki again called for $250 million, but the CBN provided $104 million and N3 billion.

According to the whistleblower, Abbas Umar Masanawa who was appointed as the Executive Director in charge of Finance and Strategy at the Nigerian Minting Company by the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele as soon as he resumed as CBN governor in 2014 played a major role. Our source said Mr. Abbas then oversaw “the printing of an unprecedented amount of naira by the Mint,” adding “the printed cash was passed on to President Jonathan.”  Masanawa was key aide of Mr. Emefiele while he was the MD of Zenith Bank before he got appointed to the Mint.

The source told SaharaReporters that Mr. Jonathan and former NSA Dasuki withdrew close to $600 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria within a period of three to four weeks. He said the funds were mostly used for election purposes.

Yesterday, a news website, TheCable, published details of the illegal withdrawal of N60 billion from the CBN as well as the theft of public funds from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). TheCable alleged that a Nigerian senator, on learning about the illegal withdrawals, threatened CBN officials that he would reveal the questionable payments unless they gave him N5 billion. The site, which did not name the senator in question, stated that he was now a principal officer of the Senate.

But a source at the Nigerian Presidency told SaharaReporters that the person in question was then Senator Bukola Saraki, who is now Senate President. Although TheCable did not disclose if the senator got paid the hush funds or not, SaharaReporters learned that, as recently as May 2015, Mr. Saraki received N250 million from CBN officials. The cash transfer was deemed part of the hush payment to ensure that Mr. Saraki keep quiet about the questionable withdrawals ostensibly meant for arms purchases.