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Ibori: Mystery security paper declares clerk wanted
MALACHY UZENDU,
Abuja
A DOCUMENT
purported to come from a federal and state security agency on the conviction of
one James Onanefe Ibori by the Bwari Upper Area Court in 1995, has injected a
new twist to the saga with the declaration that one Jafaru Waziri, allegedly to
be the court clerk, is wanted by the service.
The document said Waziri is being sought
after so as to ascertain what he knew about the missing pages in the record of
proceedings of the court as at 1995.
The document was made available to newsmen
in Abuja, weekend.
But on a closer examination of the
document, the stamp at the bottom of the three-page document read
"Director-General.
MB 253, Abuja" and certified as a true
copy emanating from the agency by one Erasmus Leo Njor, whose designation was
not included.
Similarly, the document was not on the
popular stationery of the named agency while the designation of the address was
simply put as "DE".
The "report" also stated that "the
director ordered that paragraph seven of the said letter of complaint from Gov.
Ibori be investigated."
Persistent efforts by Daily Champion
to confirm the authenticity of the document from the said security agency saw
our calls go into voice mail consistently.
The so-called security agency, in an
"interim report" on the controversial conviction of the Ibori, said it could
only rely on the evidence of Justice Mohammed Awwal Yusuf, the Upper Area Court
judge, who alleged that the present Delta State governor was the one he
convicted, adding that "the court clerk, as at then, by name Jafaru Waziri has
not reported for work since the inception of this investigation."
Two Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
chieftains, Messrs Goodnews Goodman Agbi and Anthony Alabi had claimed that
Governor Ibori was not fit to be re-elected governor in 2003 because he (Ibori)
was allegedly convicted in 1995 by the Bwari Court.
Following the declaration of the Supreme
Court that from the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Bwari Court judgement
presented in court by the plaintiff (Alabi and Agbi), an Ibori was actually
convicted, but that the true identity of the convict be ascertained, the matter
was re-listed before another Abuja High Court, which is currently handling the
identification trial.
In the alleged "Interim Investigation
Report" by the security agency dated February 10, 2003 from Principal Security
Officer, Surveillance (PSO SURV.) "on a case involving one James Onanefe Ibori,"
the said Waziri "is still to be located and questioned in respect of the missing
pages in the criminal record book."
The agency is equally looking for the
receipts with which the convicted James Onanefe Ibori paid the fine (N500 on
each count) slammed on him by the Bwari Court in 1995 "with a view to having
copies for our records."
The so-called security outfit allegedly
noted that the case by one Shuaibu Anyaebe and Ibori "were similar" both in
terms of charges and sentence, but whereas the Police First Information Report
(FIR) on Anyaebe was traced, that of Ibori "cannot be traced."
The ‘SSS’ also stated that from their
investigation, James Ibori was taken to court in case number CR 81-95.
"The case ran through pages 887, 888 and
889. The sentence is on pages 888 and 889. The case was tried summarily and
convicted," it said.
However, the agency noted that pages 884
and 885 of the record book which had to do with the trial of Anyaebe "have been
removed", but that Justice Yusuf upon interrogation "maintained that both Ibori
and Anyaebe were arraigned before his court and tried on the same date for
similar offence which also received similar sentence and that both of them paid
their fines and were issued with receipts."
At the identification trial, both plaintiff and defence
have been having hectic times presenting their case.
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