*As Investigation Reveals $100 Million Diverted Through Shell Companies And $52 Million Handed To Former Commissioner In Cash
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The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has confirmed that $350 million was paid out of the $637.6 million awarded to Linas International Limited a company owned by Senator Ned Nwoko in connection with the Paris Club loan refunds, even as a fresh request for $396 million in additional payments has emerged under the Tinubu administration, directly contradicting a Buhari-era directive that the earlier payment should be treated as “full and final settlement” with no further claims entertained.,according to saharareporters report.
The EFCC’s disclosures, contained in a letter dated August 14, 2024, addressed to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, also reveal that $100 million allocated to the Nigerian Governors Forum from the Paris Club funds was “questionably” diverted through two shell companies that “never executed any consulting job” with $52 million in cash ultimately handed to a former Zamfara State Commissioner of Finance while $9 million was “curiously” allocated to the Federal Ministry of Justice by then-AGF Abubakar Malami, who is currently standing trial for corruption and money laundering.
The revelations have reignited one of Nigeria’s most enduring financial scandals, raising fundamental questions about duplicate payments, contradictory government directives, the role of political actors in facilitating questionable disbursements, and whether public funds are being systematically looted under the cover of legitimate court judgments.
The Paris Club refund controversy traces back to claims that the Federal Government over-deducted funds from states and local governments between 1995 and 2002 in servicing Paris Club loans. Senator Nwoko, through Linas International Limited, acted as lead consultant for states and local governments in recovering the over-deducted funds, which totalled approximately $13 billion.
In December 2013, Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered a judgment awarding over $3.1 billion to local governments, with 20 per cent — approximately $637.6 million designated as consultancy fees to Linas International Limited.
The EFCC confirmed that former Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun, serving under the late President Muhammadu Buhari, approved the payment of $350 million from the total sum awarded to Linas International Limited.
“In an effort to comply with the judgment, the FGN paid USD350 million out of the USD637,615,701.192 legal/consultancy fees awarded to Linas International Limited,” Olukoyede stated in his letter to Fagbemi.
The EFCC chairman disclosed that Adeosun directed then-CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele to credit an escrow account with the $350 million to settle the legal and consultancy fees.
Critically, Adeosun recommended that the disbursement be treated as “full and final settlement of all claims relating to the Paris Club Loans,” adding that “no further correspondence relating to Paris Club Loans shall be entertained with any State.”
President Buhari approved the payments on August 29, 2018, directing that the funds be sourced from the Excess Crude Account.
However, the EFCC’s investigation revealed that the $350 million was not disbursed in accordance with the court judgment. Instead, then-AGF Abubakar Malami directed a different distribution.
In a letter dated November 19, 2018, to CBN Governor Emefiele, Malami instructed that the funds be shared as follows: $224 million to Linas International Limited, $17 million to Joe Agi SAN & Associates (legal counsel), $100 million to the Nigerian Governors Forum, and $9 million for “litigation-related expenses incurred by the Federal Government.”
“However, contrary to the judgment, the then Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN directed that the USD350 million be disbursed as follows,” the EFCC stated, listing the breakdown.
The redirection meant Linas International Limited received $224 million rather than the full $350 million approved by the Finance Minister — a $126 million difference that was split between the Governors Forum, Joe Agi’s law firm, and the Justice Ministry.
The EFCC’s investigation found that the $100 million allocated to the Nigerian Governors Forum was channelled through two companies that had no connection to the Paris Club refund process.
“The USD100,000,000.00 questionably apportioned to the Nigerian Governors’ Forum was credited into two separate bank accounts belonging to Bizplus Consulting Limited and GSCL Consulting domiciled in UBA, provided by former Chairman of the NGF Abdulaziz Yari,” Olukoyede disclosed.
Each account received N16.25 billion (equivalent to $50 million each), totalling N32.5 billion.
“These companies never executed any consulting job relating to the subject matter. They were also not engaged by ALGON nor any Local Government and are not among the judgement creditors,” the EFCC chairman stated.
The investigation further revealed that on the instruction of then-Zamfara Governor Yari, the two companies converted N23.772 billion out of the N32.5 billion into US dollars through 313 Trading and Investment Limited and its affiliated companies.
The converted funds approximately $52 million were then handed to Mukhtar Idris Shehu, former Zamfara State Commissioner of Finance under Yari’s administration.
Each of the two shell companies retained approximately N4.389 billion from the original N32.5 billion.
The EFCC also flagged the $9 million allocated to the Federal Ministry of Justice by Malami as suspicious.
The commission revealed that the $9 million was converted to naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria, with N2.925 billion credited to the ministry’s account in November 2018.
The allocation was described as “curious” by the EFCC a carefully chosen word that stops short of declaring it illegal but signals deep concern about its legitimacy.
Malami, who directed both the $100 million NGF allocation and the $9 million Justice Ministry allocation, is currently standing trial alongside his wife and son on charges involving alleged N8.7 billion money laundering. The terrorism financing component of his charges was recently dropped, leaving only firearms possession charges from the DSS, while the EFCC’s money laundering case continues separately.
Despite Adeosun’s explicit directive that the 2018 payment should be treated as “full and final settlement” with no further claims entertained, a fresh request for $396.6 million has emerged under the Tinubu administration.
In a letter dated November 25, 2024, AGF Fagbemi wrote to President Tinubu seeking approval for the payment of $396.6 million to Linas International Limited.
“I write to respectfully draw Your Excellency’s kind attention to a letter dated 2nd July 2024 from the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum which made a case for the payment of outstanding balance of judgment debt in the sum of US$396,615,901 in favour of Linas International Ltd/Senator Ned Nwoko,” Fagbemi wrote.
Fagbemi stated that “a part payment of US$241,000,000.00 was made in 2018 to Linas, thereby leaving an outstanding balance” of the current amount being requested.
The documents reveal an unexplained discrepancy between the figures cited by different government officials.
The EFCC’s letter states that $224 million was paid to Linas International Limited (based on Malami’s redirection of the $350 million). Fagbemi’s letter to Tinubu states that $241 million was paid to Linas.
The $17 million difference between $224 million and $241 million corresponds exactly to the amount Malami directed to Joe Agi SAN & Associates — raising the question of whether the legal fees were subsequently attributed to Linas’s account.
However, separately, there is also a $3 million discrepancy between Fagbemi’s figure of $241 million and what appears to be the EFCC’s adjusted figure of $244 million. The reason for this discrepancy remains unclear.
The most fundamental contradiction in the entire affair is between Adeosun’s 2018 directive and Fagbemi’s 2024 request.
Adeosun explicitly recommended that the $350 million payment be treated as “full and final settlement of all claims relating to the Paris Club Loans” and that “no further correspondence relating to Paris Club Loans shall be entertained with any State.” President Buhari approved this recommendation.
Yet six years later, Fagbemi is requesting approval for an additional $396.6 million characterised not as a new claim but as an “outstanding balance” of the original judgment debt.
If the 2018 payment was “full and final,” there can be no “outstanding balance.” If there is an “outstanding balance,” then the 2018 payment was not “full and final.” The two positions are mutually exclusive, yet both have been advanced by attorneys-general of the federation serving under different presidents.
The documents also reveal that Linas International Limited instituted additional legal actions against federal institutions including the Nigerian Governors Forum, the AGF, the Ministry of Finance, the Accountant General, the CBN, and the EFCC.
This matter was settled out of court, with the court adopting the agreement as a consent judgment. This resulted in the issuance of promissory notes worth $68 million to Linas International Limited and its legal representatives an additional payout on top of the $350 million already disbursed.
The Paris Club refund saga encapsulates many of the systemic governance failures that have defined Nigeria’s public financial management.
A legitimate court judgment for consultancy fees was redirected by a sitting AGF contrary to the court order. $100 million was channelled through shell companies that did no work. $52 million in cash was handed to a former state commissioner of finance. $9 million was “curiously” allocated to the Justice Ministry by the same AGF who redirected the funds. A “full and final settlement” directive was issued and approved by one president, only for a fresh claim for nearly $400 million to emerge under the next president.
And at the centre of it all, the original consultant Senator Ned Nwoko continues to press for payment of what his firm describes as the outstanding balance, through the Nigerian Governors Forum and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Whether the Tinubu administration will approve the fresh $396.6 million payment in the face of the EFCC’s own investigation revealing questionable disbursements, shell company diversions, and a previous “full and final settlement” directive remains to be seen.
The EFCC’s investigation continues, and the commission’s detailed letter to the AGF suggests it has significant concerns about the integrity of the entire disbursement chain.
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