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The Presidency,
under the late president, Umaru Yar’Adua stopped investigations that
would have exposed the Nigerian beneficiaries of the Siemens bribes,
NEXT has learnt.

A security source
familiar with the exercise explained that the Independent Corrupt
Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) had gone deep
into investigating the Nigerians involved when they were stopped by the
late president. While confirming the report, a senior official of the
ICPC, who pleaded anonymity, said: “We had already gone far into the
Siemens scandal, and already found some top Nigerians culpable when we
received a letter from the Presidency directing us to stop
investigations. They told us it what a financial crime and that we
should hands off it and leave it to the EFCC (Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission). They said it was not our duty.”

Folu Olamiti, the
resident media consultant to the ICPC however declined to comment on
the existence of such a directive. He also said the organisation was
not investigating the bribery scandal. “We are not investigating any of
the Siemens, Halliburton, or other such scandals,” Mr. Olamiti said.
The EFCC, which has been investigating the scandal since 16 months ago,
says its investigations are still ongoing. “We are still on it, it is
an ongoing thing,” Femi Babafemi, the EFCC spokesman, said. However our
source insists that the EFCC might continue its investigations forever
unless President Goodluck Jonathan renewed his desire to prosecute the
bribe beneficiaries. Siemens, the Germany based multinational
engineering firm, admitted, in a German court, in November 2008, of
bribing senior Nigerian government officials with 17.5 million euros to
secure government contracts.

Well-known people

Prominent Nigerians
including three former communication ministers: late Haruna Elewi,
Cornelius Adebayo, and Tajudeen Olanrewaju; and a serving senator,
Jubril Aminu were mentioned as beneficiaries of the 17.5million euros
bribe. Siemens paid 395 million Euro to the German government, and $800
million to the US government for paying the bribes. Following public
outcry, late Mr Yar’Adua ordered the company out of Nigeria and barred
them from getting contracts from Nigeria. He, however, reversed his
decision when he visited Germany. Siemens was later awarded another
multi-billion naira contract by the federal government. While reacting
to the non-prosecution of the Siemens bribe takers, civil rights
lawyer, Charles Musa stated “these people are well known, they are on
the Internet, they are in US court papers, and nothing has happened to
them. It is unfortunate.”