Lawyers Want EFCC to Investigate Ex-NBA President  

 • Alegeh dismisses petitioners as sore losers, denies wrong doing

By Senator Iroegbuin  Abuja

A group of legal practitioners under the aegis of Lawyers for Justice has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the immediate past President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Augustine Alegeh (NSA), over allegations of corrupt enrichment and money laundering.

Alegeh however has denied culpability in any untoward management of the resources of the Association and dismissed the petition as the thrashing of bad losers in the NBA elections, adding “I am sure your reference is the petition that has been circulating. I won’t respond to this because like the Bible say this is the voice of Jacob and hands of Esau, which emanated because people lost an election”.

The group in a letter to the EFCC Chairman, dated September 14, 2016 and signed by the former Secretary, NBA Lagos, Seth  Amaefule and Vice Chairman, NBA Epe Branch, Mr. Dotun Hassan called for investigation in the face of suspicions that Alegeh acted either alone or in collusion with a few national officers and cohorts, violated the Law.

Part of the petition read: “We, the undersigned petitioners are some of the concerned members of the Nigerian Bar Association, who reasonably suspect that the Immediate Past President of the NBA, Mr. Augustine Alegeh SAN, corruptly enriched himself while in office, assisted in these unlawful and illegal deeds perhaps by national officers as follows:-

“Prior to Mr. Augustine Alegeh SAN becoming the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, he lived in Ikeja at the address below which served as residence, Law office, and also Tratrix Engineering Limited address, a company in which Mr. Augustine Alegeh has majority shares,  as the  Chairman/CEO  http://www.tratrix.com/management.aspx“

“Mr Alegeh’s residence and Tratrix Engineering office and Law Chambers aforesaid, situated at N0. 11, Ladipo Bateye Street, Off Adekunle Fajuyi Street, GRA Ikeja Lagos  State.    Telephone +234-1-4532325;  additional offices were located in Benin and Asaba viz; N0.11, Emezie Drive, Off Delta Crescent G.R.A. Benin-City Tel/Fax: 052-293572      and. N0. 11, Tamuno Street, by NTA,  Okpanam Road Asaba,  Delta State.

“The names of lawyers presently in his chambers in the event that this investigation may extend to them can be found at this website:  http://alegehlaw.com/our-team.

“Mr Alegeh moved his home from N0. 11, Ladipo Bateye Street Off Adekunle Fajuyi Street, Ikeja Lagos State  whilst holding office as NBA President, to  N0. 24A Ilabere Avenue Ikoyi, Lagos, and also acquired exotic cars.  As NBA is not-for-profit organisation, NBA officers are not allowed personal benefits, or salaries, bribe and any form of corrupt practices and corrupt enrichment.”

Clarifying his denial further, Alegeh said, “All I will tell you officially is that this is the work of a group who having lost elections think they should destroy those who did not support them. The records are with NBA and their accounts are audited and presented every year to every NEC meeting of which every member has the report. Most of their allegations are infantile of which I will not respond. I want to tell the aggrieved people that the Bar is one and people should not because they lost an election, want to destroy the Bar.

But I believe that we are one family and everybody should behave like the gentlemen of the bar.

“The records are there and we have an audited accounts for each quarter who is still there in the NBA. However, for the building you don’t even need an auditor to assess the worth.

“The main thing I will tell you is that all money to NBA goes to NBA account and they are recorded. We are not owing any bank even though we have contractors we have not paid because they have not completed their work. However, that building costed over N1.7 billion and we have paid N1.4 billion and if we can raise to build that house how can we steal money.

“I will tell you that everything we did in NBA and all the money went to the account. We are the first regime and every next meeting we present an audited account”.

Amaefule and Hassan further alleged that, during his NBA presidency, Mr Alegeh had moved his Abuja rented office building from N0. 48 Lobito Crescent Wuse II, Abuja to a more expansive premises believed to be owned by him, N0. 22, Ziguinchor Street, Wuse Zone 4 Abuja.

The duo stated that it was a matter of general knowledge amongst lawyers that Alegeh SAN spent a humongous sum of money prosecuting his campaign for the office of the President of the NBA 2014, which he eventually won in July 2014 against four others and which would naturally have depleted his resources.

They further alleged: “He appears to have stupendously, illegally recouped his pocket, as President who abused the office of  NBA President.

“To the extent that Mr. Augustine Alegeh’s personal estate at N0 24A Ilabere Avenue, Off Macpherson Street,  Ikoyi, Lagos, was displayed with impunity to his friends and associates at his  reception on completion of his tenure on Sunday 28th August 2016 after a church service at his parish in the Catholic Church of Presentation, Oba Akinjobi Street, GRA Ikeja. That, in addition to another large country-home which Mr. Augustine Alegeh SAN recently built whilst sitting in office as NBA President, though yet to be finished in G.R.A. Benin-City wherein he personally hosted some lawyers who attended the National Executive Committee Meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association in Benin-City, in June, 2016.”

“Before Alegeh assumed office, NBA had awarded a building contract in the sum of N2.5 Billion to Schaums Nigeria Limited with an office at Suite F124, Haramani Plaza, Utako Abuja for the construction of NBA House at Plot 1101, Cadastral Zone A00, Central Business District, Abuja, the said Builder/Contractor had  commenced construction of NBA 11-storey building when Alegeh was sworn-in August 2014  and at the time, Schaums Nigeria Limited was at the first floor stage, the said contractor continued to  roofs and blockworks stage when by strong arm and self-help Alegeh invaded the said premises, whilst the building contract was not terminated, Mr Augustine  Alegeh took over the building project using ‘direct labour’ approving and paying money to himself via proxies.  Against ethical and lawful conduct, retained his position as Chairman/CEO of Tratrix Engineering Limited during his NBA Presidency from August 2014 – August 2016.

“Mr Alegeh sought and received colossal sums as donations for the building project. It remains to be investigated suspicious activities of diversion of funds by Mr Augustine Alegeh SAN  for personal use. “

“Furthermore, during his tenure as President of NBA, Mr. Augustine Alegeh SAN organized six National Executive Committee Meetings and two Annual General Conferences of the Bar. Monumental sums donated by individuals, corporate organizations, Governors and other political office holders and individuals were made towards the hosting of these meetings and conferences.

“Mr. Augustine Alegeh SAN had entered an arrangement with Access Bank Plc to warehouse all NBA accounts in return for the Bank sponsoring NBA-NEC Meetings and Conferences with approx. N250,000,000.00 annually. Also lawyers had to register at exorbitant fees to attend the Annual General Conferences 2015-‘16.”

The group also alleged that the two Annual General Conferences, hosted by Alegeh  to wit: NBA-AGC Abuja, August  2015 and NBA-AGC Port Harcourt August  2016 failed by and large as registration fees and donations were prodigiously collected  and conference bags and materials were barely distributed to conferees.

The group continued: “Matter of fact, the Annual General Conference Port Harcourt which concluded on Friday August 26, 2016 was dubbed by some senior lawyers as ‘a scam and a sham’; despite large sums of money generated little value. At the conference, not only did many lawyers  not receive conference bags, others got very low quality bags without conference programs,  papers and proceedings. The annual reports 2016 which included NBA Treasurer and General Secretary’s reports were scarcely distributed to NBA members.

“When it is on record that the Governor of Rivers State,  Nyesom E. Wike gave the sum of N250,000,000.00 (the equivalent in US Dollars) to Mr. Augustine Alegeh SAN as appreciation for bringing the 2016 Bar Conference to Port Harcourt, River State; the money meant for the Nigerian Bar Association seemingly diverted, converted and shared by a few national officers notably the immediate past President and immediate past General Secretary Mr Afam Osigwe of  Law Forte Block 21, Niamey Street, Zone 2, Wuse, Abujahttp://www.lawforteng.com/people.html

“On Thursday 25th August, Mr. Augustine Alegeh informed the AGM that he left N200M (Two Hundred Million Naira) in NBA account but the new officers found N20M (Twenty Million Naira) only; not being prepared to render satisfactory account of the Association’s funds and donations, investigations into those activities bordering on illegality and criminality  ought to be uncovered by our law enforcement agents with a view to bringing culprits to book.”

“We shall be grateful if you would take all necessary steps to examine the actions of Mr. Augustine Alegeh SAN and his cohorts during the period August, 2014 to August 2016 with reference to his handling and disbursements of the finances of the NBA.”

Alegeh regretted that, “This is the first time that somebody has gone to court to stop the swearing in of elected candidate. This is the first time someone has contested and lost and feel the best thing he can do is to go to the court to stop his opponent.

“The gang who are sponsoring all this they are well known members of the Bar but what they should know is that all power belongs to God.

“Our current President, AB Mahmoud, in 2004 he contested and lost but conducted himself well. I make bold to say that the building we built for the NBA is today valued at N5 billion and we did in two years. We built the house for N1.7 billion, commissioned and moved in. NBA is not a place to make money and within two years I was in NBA they did not pay for my expenses as I fuel my car. All promotion come from God.

“One of the Chief backers is using surrogate, young lawyers and why would one taken on the young lawyers when he knows they are being taken advantage of.

“Serving NBA is a selfless duty and when I was there you ask the accountant who is still there was no cash transactions. When I was there I didn’t raise money by myself as there was always a Committee.

I slashed Conference for 40 per cent, and I paid insurance companies for their premium. The money is not there but the little we had we used prudently to build the house and did what we did including the house. So if we were able to build that house and the building commissioned by the Vice President, what money remains?

“Let posterity judge, the NBA account is signed by three people and there are processes of which two people must signed. The claim about Wike’s donation is ridiculous as all our transactions with Rivers State are documented.

“I thought that any reasonable person who sees that house should be happy and if I steal money from the NBA where did we get money to build that house within two years. That should be the question.  I want to say again that everything we have done is documented and we didn’t do any cash transactions. Within my tenure I went to many countries and bought all the air tickets with my money”.