NPA MD, Mohammed Bello Koko
By Our Reporter
Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, (NPA), Mohammed Bello Koko is in the news again, this time, a Civil Society Group, Citizens Initiative for Better Nigeria (CIBN) has dragged Mr Bello Koko before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of fraud, money laundering and abuse of office.
A petition dated 16th June, 2023 and signed by the Chief Convener of the group, Comrade Kabir Adamu Matazu, revealed that the NPA boss looted public funds to buy choice properties in the United Kingdom.
It would be recalled that Bello Koko earlier served as the Executive Director Finance and Administration of the NPA in 2015 before his elevation to the position of Acting Managing Director in 2021 after the sack of Hadiza Bala-Usman as the Managing Director of the NPA.
Part of the petition reads:
“A discreet investigation by our CIBN reveals that Bello Koko abused his offices as Executive Director, Finance and Administration as well as Acting Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to massively amass wealth which he deployed to acquire choice properties in the United Kingdom. Specifically, Bello Koko used two BVI-incorporated shell companies namely; Coulwood Limited (Registration Number: 1487897) and Marney Limited (Registration Number: 1487944) to purchase a total of 6 properties. The said properties are listed below;
i. 62, Corner Mead, Hendon, (NW9 5RD) purchased on 25th November, 2008.
ii. Flat 2, Liberty Court, 141, Great North Way, London NW4 1PR purchased on 20th October, 2009.
iii. 37, Redlands Road, Enfield (EN3 5HN) purchased on 16th August, 2011.
iv. 62, Manton Road, Enfield, London EN3 6XZ purchased on 23rd July, 2012.
v. 14, Faraday House, Aurora Gardens, London (SW11 8ED) purchased on 3rd May, 2017.
vi. 2A Beech Hill, Barnet, Greater London, EN4 0JP on November 06, 2015, at £1,750,000.
“We submit that the property described in paragraph (vi) above, a 7-bedroom freehold detached house was ranked as the 11th most expensive property in EN4 0JP, with a valuation of £2,274,000 as at April, 2022. Granted the EFCC is believed to have investigated Bello Koko alongside other top politicians in Nigeria following revelations that he operated foreign accounts which he did not declare to the Code of Conduct Bureau when he served as Director of Finance and Administration before becoming Acting Managing Director of NPA, the outcome of EFCC investigation appears to have been swept under the carpet”.
“Sometime in 2022, it was reported that Hadiza Bala Usman; then Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority was suspended from office in May 2021 following allegation of non-remittance of about N165 Billion Naira operating surpluses into the Consolidated Revenue Fund Account of the Federation by the NPA. The suspension order approved by President Muhammadu Buhari followed a request for the probe of the accounts of the NPA made by the former Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, when he was in office. The Minister subsequently set up an Administrative Panel of Inquiry to investigate the affairs of the NPA, including awards of contracts from 2016 to May 2021”.
The petition further states that:
“Our investigations further reveal that the N165 Billion operating surpluses could not have been diverted from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation by NPA under the leadership of Hadiza Usman Bala without the knowledge and participation of Bello Koko who was her Director of Finance and Administration at that time. We therefore wonder why Hadiza Usman Bala was hurriedly suspended and later removed from office as MD while Bello Koko received promotion to the position of Acting Managing Director before he was later made substantive MD in August 2022.
“Also, the Pandora Papers of 2021 reveals that Bello Koko and his wife, Agatha Anne Koko enlisted the services of financial secrecy seller, Cook Worldwide and Aleman, Cordero, Galindo and Lee (Alcogal), an offshore Law firm, to register Coulwood Limited (reg. number 1487897) and Marney Limited (Reg. number 1487944) in the British Virgin Island (BVI) one of the worlds most commonly used tax havens in 2018. Bello Koko was at the time of incorporation of the two companies stated above holding Public Office but permitted himself to be used as Director of the two companies in gross violation of Sections 5 and 6 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act as well as the 7th Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
“Bello Koko, again in contravention of the Nigeria Single Treasury Account (TSA) Policy operates multiple bank accounts for and on behalf of the NPA. These accounts are used to receive Millions of Dollars annually looted under his leadership. We are aware that the EFCC carried out financial profiling of Bello Koko in August 2021 and found out that the NPA MD worked with an associate, Ali Amin Abubakar and had benefited from awards of contracts totaling N1,107,654,133 from the Rivers State Government and others.
“It is our contention that the corrupt and fraudulent activities of Bello Koko have contributed to the severe economic hardship now suffered by Millions of Nigerians as monies meant to be deployed or utilized in critical areas of our national life were looted and stashed away by Bello Koko and his cronies.
“The more reason why Bello Koko should be brought to book unfailingly by the EFCC is that he spearheaded the funding of the Presidential Campaign of his godfather and former Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi. After lavishing Millions of Naira on Amaechi’s failed bid, Bello Koko again went ahead to use taxpayers’ money to fund the campaign of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who was the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on the instructions of Amaechi.
The group urged EFCC to act speedily otherwise the cases hanging on the neck of Bello Koko at the Special Fraud Office (SFO), National Crime Agency (NCA) as well as Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) all in the United Kingdom will be reopened. This is to ensure that his properties acquired with proceeds of crime are confiscated and forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the group gave the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission an ultimatum of five days to arrest Bello Koko and commence his prosecution.
The Group further said “In the event that the demand put forward by the group is treated with levity, they threatened to embark on mass protests at strategic locations within Abuja. The protest will be aimed at brief the local and international communities on the effort CIBN has made to contribute to the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bols Tinubu and how EFCC deliberately frustrated them by treating Bello Koko as a sacred cow”
Reacting to the allegations, the Management of NPA absolved Bello Koko of any wrong doing.
It alerted the public and security agencies to a calculated, well-funded and oiled campaign of calumny, blackmail and disinformation against the Authority and the Managing Director.
The alert was contained in a statement, on Saturday, by Josephine Moltok, GM, Corporate and Strategic Communications of the Authority.
See statement below:
“Over the past few days, some nebulous, shadowy and penny-for-hire groups without due registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) hiding under the toga of civil society groups have embarked on issuing distorted press statements, arranging press briefings in dingy motels and inducing phoney online outlets to publish outright lies, absolute falsehoods and defamatory articles against the NPA and its management.
“These groups and individuals are also regurgitating dubious petitions and sending to various government agencies and posting same on social media to discredit some personnel of the NPA management.
“Our latest finding shows that these desperate individuals have also added forgery to their devious act by superimposing the logo and seal of the NPA on letterheads to deceive the unsuspecting public of contracts allegedly awarded to some unknown companies and entities.
“The NPA has a defined bidding process in line with extant rules and regulations regarding procurement and contract awards. Over the years, the NPA, especially under the leadership of Mohammed Koko Bello, has as its watchword – transparency, accountability and integrity.
“While we warn the peddlers of this godless campaign to desist forthwith, the management has alerted security agencies to this attempt to cause bad blood, create confusion and possibly the breakdown of law and order at the ports.
“We further enjoin media organisations like the Nigeria Union of Journalists and Nigeria Guild of Editors to advise its members not to fall prey to these unscrupulous individuals and revert their minds to the ethical and professional demands of accuracy, balance, fairness and social responsibility.
“At the NPA, the management remains committed to improved trade facilitation, revenue generation and unprecedented remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) and is in tune with President Bola Tinubu’s FDI drive of which the ports are a key component.”
