The senior partner of Paul Usoro & Co and President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Paul Usoro, SAN, had as far back as the 5th day of June, 2018, written the head of the Bank Fraud Section of the EFCC on the N1,110,000,000.00 payments made to the firm by the Akwa Ibom State Government between 2015-2016.
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/TheNigerialawyer-WhatsApp-Channel1.jpg")
Replying to the allegation, Mr. Usoro annexed three notes of charges, dated the 6th day of July 2015, the 27th day of November 2015, and the 7th day of January, 20117 as well as a statement on a further payment.
A table which was demonstrative to this effect showed the amount paid on the said dates to be N530,000,000.00, N260,000,000.00, and N280,000,000.00, while the last column for further payment made reads the sum of N40,000,000.00.
According to the Mr. Usoro, the said payments on account were made by the Akwa Ibom State Government in respect of several dispute resolution matters that they his firm handled and are still handling for the state.
Attached to the letter was a list of the said matters with the facts and status thereof.
The President further opined that the list of non-exhaustive dispute does not include transactional matters which they have handled and are still handling for the State Government and its agencies and for which they are yet to pay.
A report published on an online media indicates that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) narrated how the sum of N1.7 billion was withdrawn from the Akwa Ibom state government’s accounts and diverted for personal use, stating that it necessitated the freeze action on the state’s account.
The report shows that in a statement of defense filed in response to the suit instituted by the Attorney General of Akwa Ibom State, against the EFCC, A.G. of the Federal and three Ors, in suit no: FHC/UY/CS/137/18, before the Federal High Court in Uyo on Friday, the commission indicted Emmanuel Udom, Akwa Ibom State Governor, the Accountant General of the state, Uwem Sunday Andrew-Essien, Commissioner of Finance, Nsikan Linus Nkan, one Margeret Thompson Ukpe and a company, and Paul Usoro & Co.
TheNigerialawyer (TNL) recalls that in August 2018, the anti-graft agency had placed a freeze order on all bank accounts controlled by the Akwa Ibom State Government.
This led to a N50 billion law suit filed by the Attorney General of Akwa Ibom State, against the commission claiming that the anti-graft agency does not have the power to freeze the state account.
The attached documents speak for themselves
* Letter To EFCC, The List Of The Matters And The Note Of Charges
* Statement Of Account From Zenith Bank
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