$39m 419 Case Against Nigeria In US Dismissed
LAOLU AKANDE NEW YORK
IN a major 419 suit brought against the federal government in the
United States by six American citizens who contended that agents of the
Nigerian government defrauded them of a sum of $831,179, a US district
court in Virginia has ruled in favour of Nigeria dismissing the
plaintiffs
demand for relief and damages against the federal government totaling
$139,027,000.
The Americans, including a surgeon and businessmen claimed that they
had a pipeline supply contract, which they completed with the NNPC for
which a payment of $35,680,000 was due in 1993. Their company Kemax
apparently unaware that they were dealing paid almost a
million dollars to the people who were posing to be NNPC officials.
But in the defense of the Federal Government and NNPC, their lawyer,
, Mr. Ignatius Chibututu argued before the US court that
not only didn't the defendants supply anything to NNPC, they at no time
dealt with bona fide officials of the NNPC.
Before this case, similar ones had been brought against the FG in the
United States, England, Canada and Switzerland by Americans and
Europeans defrauded by fraudsters. Nigeria is said to have lost some of
such
cases in the past, even though these are based on bogus claims of
contract
with the Federal Government or their agents.
For instance, a similar case brought against Nigeria in Canada was lost
last year, for which Nigeria is currently appealing.
At a 419 seminar in New York attended in September by President Olusegun
Obasanjo and top officials of the NNPC, CBN, NIPC, FBI and the US Dept.
of Justice, the NNPC General
Manager Chief legal Adviser Chief Sena Anthony stressed that it is
important that US courts stop paying attention to such frivolous cases.
He added that they are a brunt on Nigeria's resources, since the FG had
to post a
defense, which will include bringing witnesses from Nigeria and other
legal
fees and charges. If the Federal Government chose not to defend the
cases, the
plaintiffs can win by default and assets and property of Nigeria abroad
could be
seized.
The six Americans who brought the case against Nigeria in Virginia are
Ford Wright, resident of the state of Virginia, Roger A. Flahive, from
Illinois, Charles R. Hewitt, Maryland, J. Kent Holden, Vermont, Douglas
S. Marshall, Virginia and the surgeon Bernard Stopak, MD, from
Maryland. The plaintiffs brought the case in August 2001 and the US
district court Judge who is also the Chief Judge in the eastern
district of Virginia, Claude Hilton dismissed the case August 5 2002.
In their claims the Americans referred to having been exchanging
correspondence from several Federal Government officials at the NNPC,
Finance Ministry, CBN,
believing they were dealing with genuine Federal Government officials.
They claimed
that at a point as early as 11 Jan. 1999, the Finance Ministry asked
them
to open an account at the First Bank which they did and proceeded to
deposit what they called contract funds of $8000 into the account.
All kinds of fees were charged the plaintiffs in the hope that they
would eventually get the close to $40 million contract payment. For
instance in August 8, 2000, the plaintiffs said the fraudsters posing as
NNPC
officials requested an amount of $10,200 from them in travel expenses
for
three officials of the NNPC in order to deliver a bank draft in the
amount of $35 million, from which they-the plaintiffs were get a big
chunk.
Even the office of President Obasanjo was not spared. According to the
Plaintiffs, during September, October and November 2000, the office of
the president requested a total amount of $12, 765 in charges and fees
precedent to transfer of the contract fee of $35, 680,000 to Kemax, the
company of the plaintiffs. Until May 2001, the plaintiffs were
sending all kinds of fees to the fraudsters believing they were dealing
with
bonafide Federal Government officials. In august of the same year they
chose to go to court
now convinced that they were being swindled.
All together the plaintiffs sent $831, 179 to the crooks, hoping to
be paid a contract fee of $35,680,000. They sued the Federal Government
for $38,196,000 in material damages, and $100,000,000 in punitive
damages. They also asked the court to compel Nigeria to pay them a
relief
sum of $831, 179, all totaling $139,027,000. Sued were the Government
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, c/o President Olusegun Obasanjo, the
Federal Ministry of Finance and the NNPC.
After the Nigerian lawyer, Chibututu won a dismissal of the case, he
then proceeded on suing the plaintiffs for cost in a case that is now
pending.
It is the first time the Federal Government decided to use a Nigerian
lawyer to argue
this kind of case and according to NNPC's Chief Sena Anthony, who
championed the use of Nigerian lawyers were believed that Nigerian
lawyers abroad were up to the task. She hired
Chibututu and explained at the 419 seminar in New York in September that
they were vindicated that a Nigerin lawyer abroad was up to the task.
Sources said there has been times when even foreign lawyers has
handled 419 cases but were also tconfused on seeing how real the
documents presented by the 419 cons looked.
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