As President Muhammadu Buhari travels to the United States today for discussions with President Barack Obama on economic, security, financial, and anti-corruption matters, it has emerged that he has ordered the preparation of a case file to prosecute those indicted in the $182 million Halliburton bribery scandal.
Sources reveal to Vanguard that President Buhari’s directive follows a requirement from the U.S. government for concrete evidence of Nigeria’s commitment to prosecuting the suspects involved in the bribery scandal.
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This evidence is a prerequisite for the U.S. and European countries to release $141 million allegedly looted from Nigeria and currently held in various overseas banks.
Top security sources indicate that Buhari, based on findings from the panel investigating the scandal, plans to inform U.S. officials during his visit that all those indicted, including former Heads of State, a former Vice President, and two former Group Managing Directors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), will face prosecution to defend themselves.
To assure U.S. officials that the flawed trial during the Jonathan administration will not recur—where a former Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs to the President was arraigned and subsequently released due to alleged connivance with certain government institutions—Buhari will emphasize that private legal practitioners, untainted by previous government patronage, will handle the case.
The President’s recent directive to reopen the Halliburton bribery case led to the discovery that the $26.5 million plea bargain money released by the oil servicing firm, as part of efforts to avoid prosecution, is not present in any government account.
