EXCLUSIVE Anti-graft Agency, EFCC Suspends Operative Caught On Audio ‘Lecturing’ Brother Of Nigerian Rear Admiral Wanted For N2billion Fraud

An operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) who was caught on tape giving hints on how to defeat the anti-graft commission at the Court of Appeal to one Abdulbari Yusuf, the younger brother to a former Director of Nigerian Navy Accounts, Rear Admiral Tahir Yusuf (retd.) has been suspended.

 

SaharaReporters had reported that Yusuf is currently being prosecuted by the Nigerian government through the EFCC for stealing N2billion while serving as Director of Nigerian Navy Accounts.

According to a source, the operative, who is a lawyer and policeman, Mohammed Idris, was suspended after a leaked audio conversation he had with Abdulbari was released by SaharaReporters.

“Mohammed Idris has been suspended by the commission over the recent audio. Remember he was detained last year after the first audio went viral, but he was released after that. But immediately this recent audio was released by SaharaReporters, he was suspended by the chairman of the commission while they investigate the audio,” the source told SaharaReporters.

Idris had in a leaked audio conversation with Abdulbari said he was angry when he saw the judgment against the retired naval officer.

He added that the forfeiture case filed against Yusuf at the Federal High Court by his colleague (in the EFCC) was “not strong”, wondering why his lawyer could not defend it.

“But the lawyer that represented at the high court did not do anything. He is a clueless and a useless lawyer. I went to the court, I saw the process and response, they filed forfeiture of his money on non-conviction basis,” he was heard saying.

“Therefore, the lawyer did not do well; he did not demonstrate much to allow the court in Abuja to finally forfeit it; because even the courts in Abuja are not in support of the commission. So if it were in Lagos, it would’ve become something else. But Abuja, he did not put much defence. The defence is not really strong. But like Kabir told me, they employed a Senior Advocate.

“There are so many Senior Advocates that don’t even have understanding of what the EFCC does. If we file an application or charges, we will get away with it because they don’t even know anything in relation to criminal proceedings. The said Ameh is very good.”

When asked about Yusuf’s chances at the appellate court, the EFCC operative had said, “The chances are that first of all, he must show that the properties he acquired were not through the government, he must show that he acquired the properties through other means. If he cannot show that he acquired through other means, that means he cannot claim the money.

“And based on the provision that he has proved to be a public servant and he works with the government of a country and he is still in service and all this money is not his entitlement, he has not acquired them. So if he cannot show that the property or the money was acquired through other means, then he must forfeit the said property.

“Recently, a court of appeal set aside a case of the Executive Director of First Bank, Dauda Lawan. It was set aside recently. Although I and my colleague, we got the settling at the lower court and I later stopped following up on the case. We voluntarily forfeited some of the money, some time. At court of appeal lately, they declared judgment against us because he demonstrated how he got the properties. But if he tries to go ahead to file ordinary brief of argument, we will lose the case again.

“This person that filed this brief of argument against your brother did not file something that is very strong, despite that she got judgment. That really got me angry, when I saw that, immediately the lady went out, I called Kabir and told him everything.

“Walahi, he (lawyer) was so stupid to surrender. He could have fought the case and demonstrated like that of inheritance, if he had fought hard, maybe they wouldn’t have pronounced the judgment by now.”

In 2020, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the permanent forfeiture of about N500million found to be fraudulently amassed by the military officer to the Nigerian government.

The total amount forfeited was N392,695,857.87, including $91,955.38 and the sum of £15,050 held in domiciliary accounts.

Yusuf, previously second-in-command to the Chief of Account and Budget, Naval Headquarters (NHQ), held the cash in seven accounts- both private and corporate in two banks.

The seven accounts were operated under the name of a company, Bitmas Enterprise, in Zenith Bank while two were held in Yusuf’s name in the defunct Skye Bank, now Polaris Bank.

Following the forfeiture, SaharaReporters gathered that Yusuf fled Nigeria to Dubai, United Arab Emirate.

The EFCC and National Intelligence Agency also asked the Nigeria Immigration Service and Interpol to place him on a watch list and have him arrested at the point of entry or exit.

However, Yusuf sneaked back to the country in October 2021 after he illegally obtained an international passport with the help of some corrupt government officials through Niger Republic, a source had told SaharaReporters.

SaharaReporters had reported how Yusuf once boosted of giving money to many EFCC operatives including the commission’s Director of Operations.

The retired military officer had disclosed this to his workers after illegally reopening two of his hotels sealed by the anti-graft agency.

“After EFCC marked Rtd Tahir Yusuf’s hotels in Kaduna and Sokoto, guess what he did, he asked his people to wipe and clean the EFCC markings. This man is so arrogant. As we are talking, business activities are ongoing in the hotels,” a source had told SaharaReporters.

He had said, “One of his staff (members) said he told them not to panic as those who came to seal off the property are fake EFCC operatives.

“He was boasting around that he has reached out to the EFCC through his younger brother, Abdulbari Yusuf, who is a banker with Zenith Bank, Maiduguri branch.

“He said he gave money to many EFCC operatives, including a Director of Operations, so nothing can be done to him again.”