Agi Faults Report Alleging His Involvement in $1.6bn Judgment Debt

 A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Joe Agi, has expressed displeasure with a report caption: ‘Group Urges EFCC to Investigate Okonjo-Iweala, Adoke, Others for Alleged Diversion of $1.6billion,’ calling on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the activities of a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke (SAN); former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and a lawyer, Mr. Joe Agi (SAN), in an alleged the diversion of $1.6billion judgment debt.

In a letter signed by his lawyer,  Jeph C. Njikonye, Agi said the story was untrue.
He stated that having built his reputation over the years, the story had embarrassed him.
A civil society organisation, Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), had urged the EFCC to investigate what it described as a fraudulent judgment obtained by the 774 local government areas against the Federal Government of Nigeria to pay them a sum of $3.2 billion and the diversion of $1.6billion.

 The coalition’s national chairman, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju,  had said the petition was a follow-up to a  report in June last year, titled “Controversy rages over $3.2 billion judgment against FG”, for the anti-graft agency to investigate the activities of a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke (SAN); former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and lawyer, Mr. Joe Agi (SAN) in the alleged fraud.

But Agi chided the reporter for failing to verify the story, saying that its content was false in its ramifications.
Adoke had last week equally faulted the report, denying any wrongdoing in the alleged judgment debt saga, saying his ministry was not involved as the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved the decentralisation of judgment debts.

He said his initial reaction to a publication was to dismiss it as the handiwork of mischief-makers who were hell bent on pitting him against anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies, especially EFCC in order to instigate and/or precipitate spurious investigations against his person to settle personal scores.