A Whistle-Blower, John Okupurhe, has written a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, accusing the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, OAGF, of refusing to pay him commission, after exposing over $1 billion, that is N420 billion, hidden in Unity Bank PLC,
Okpurhe made the allegation in a letter written by his Lawyer, Aliyu Lemu, dated June 22, 2020.
He said that the account was secretly being operated by the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, to illegally collect revenue from vessels.
He stated that upon discovery, he informed the Office of the AGF of the secret account, in line with the Whistle-Blower Policy, and that an agreement was signed.
The agreement stated that Okpurhe would be entitled to a commission, if the information provided turned out credible.
The Whistle-Blower noted that after playing his own part, the AGF’s Office began to play games.
The letter read in part: “Pursuant to the Whistle-Blower Policy of the Federal Government, our Client approached the Office of the AGF, with confidential information in respect of hidden public funds concealed in a commercial bank in Lagos, contrary to the Treasury Single Account Policy, which requires all public revenue or funds to be domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“Our Client presented the Office of the AGF with qualifying information on a cloned account with the Nigerian Ports Authority, which was being used to illegally collect revenue from vessels by the signatories who are no longer in the service of the NPA.
“Upon establishing that our Client’s information qualified under the Whistle-Blower Policy, the Office of the AGF signed a Whistle-Blower agreement with our Client, through his appointed Counsel, Mamman, Maiyaki & Co.
“The information provided by our Client eventually led to the exposure of the hidden/concealed funds in Unity Bank Plc, to the tune of $1,034,515, 000.”
The Whistle-Blower maintained that the Office of the AGF has been making flimsy excuses as to why the commission was not paid.
He said that the Head of Asset Management and Recovery Unit, Mrs. Ladidi Mohammed, informed him that the matter was in court, and that plans had changed.
Okuprhe stated that when he asked who filed the suit, she (Mohammed) could not come up with the answer. Also, she could not disclose in which court the matter was pending.
He added: “On the next day, one Ms. Bunmi, who deputises for Mrs. Mohammed, called our Client and asked him to come alone without a Lawyer. Upon arrival, she informed our Client that there was no pending matter in court on the account.”
The Whistle-Blower noted that he was told that, because the money involved was huge, the Office of the AGF recommended a private firm, with which he should enter into a contract to help him get the funds.
The Whistle-Blower added that upon the insistence of the AGF Office, he was made to sign a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the company, to forfeit 60 percent of his reward.
He said that in a dramatic twist, his Lawyer was attacked by armed Policemen in his office, who robbed him and made away with the original copy of the agreement signed with the AGF.
Okpurhe called on the President to quickly intervene, as failure to pay him could compromise the Whistle-Blower Policy, and affect public trust in the government.
However, a top source at the AGF Office, disclosed that the matter is being investigated by the Department of State Security Services, DSS.
She said: “The AGF has ordered that the case be investigated by the DSS, so we cannot speak on the matter for now. The truth is that the Whistle-Blower’s information was not accurate. He is just going about trying to intimidate us.”
