EFCC probes Supreme Court secretary Gambo Saleh over N10 billion loot, federal racketeering
The
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has launched a probe into the
alleged racketeering by Supreme Court chief registrar Ahmed Gambo Saleh,
said to have gobbled up over N10 billion in bribes from court
contractors and other persons with criminal cases with the judiciary.
According
to sources familiar with the matter who spoke with Peoples Gazette, the
probe was prompted by the tip-off from a whistleblower who petitioned
EFCC to look into the activities of Mr Saleh, accused of feeding fat on
the court’s funds, leaving vital projects to suffer neglect.
Mr
Saleh had been accused of conniving with Surajo Muhammad, son of the
immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria Muhammad Tanko, to embezzle
public funds.
Despite
lacking in qualifications and competence to handle judicial matters, Mr
Muhammad (Jnr) managed affairs of the apex court and wielded his
father’s position as a tool to carry out backroom deals.
“Today
(June 1), Surajo could be said to be a de facto head of the SCN as his
father seems to have relinquished the administration of the court to
him, even when he is not a staff,” the petition noted.
Citing
instances of their brazen underhand dealings, the petition said the duo
sold off the residence of a Supreme Court justice without the knowledge
of Mr Tanko, who was CJN at the time.
“It
will interest you to know that a residence of a justice of the Supreme
Court located in the villa, Abuja was sold by Gambo and Surajo recently.
The underhand dealings between Gambo, Surajo and the agency so pissed
the CJN that he ordered the reversal of the transaction,” added the
petition with no. EFCC/PET/HQR/1817/2022, dated June 1 and seen by The
Gazette.
However,
the building was demolished before the situation could be remedied,
rendering the justice who should have been assigned the residence
homeless.
Colluding
with Mr Muhammad, Mr Saleh allegedly withheld the funds meant for
purchasing exotic vehicles usually assigned to newly sworn-in justices,
said the petition.
“Under
Gambo and Surajo’s shenanigans, they, JSC were given only a Land
Cruiser, albeit refurbished. A Hilux was added after one year, and to
date, the Mercedes Benz is still being awaited by the justices,” the
petition further disclosed.
Eight
justices sworn in since November 2020 have yet to be properly
accommodated and receive the Benz even though the projects were captured
in the capital budget for the 2020 fiscal year.
Mr
Saleh, not a stranger to fraud allegations, was charged with diverting
N2.2 billion in 2017, a matter later withdrawn by the attorney general
of the federation, citing a plea bargain.
Amid
the damning fraud charges hanging on Mr Saleh’s head, he got appointed
as the secretary of the National Judicial Council, a body responsible
for the appointment, promotion and discipline of judicial officers.
A spokesman for the NJC declined comments on the matter.
Before
the withdrawal, he was charged with diverting the Supreme Court’s N2.2
billion to his personal bank account at the United Bank for Africa PLC,
account number: 2027642863.
Although
Mr Saleh then confessed the money belonged to him as it was a
collection of cash gifted to him by friends, further investigations
revealed the money was “bribes collected from various court contractors
who ended up executing shoddy jobs or outright abandonment,” the
petition stressed.
He
was also charged with obtaining N21 million gratification from MBA
Computes Ltd, N16 million from Dean Musa Nigeria Ltd, N10 million from
Willysdave Limited, N2.4million gratification from Welcon Nigeria Ltd,
all contractors of the Supreme Court.
The
petition also claimed that the court registrar, a public servant, was
worth over N10 billion. Mr Saleh did not return a request for comment on
the allegations.
Also, the spokesman for the EFCC did not immediately provide updates about the investigation.
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