Although Useni’s counsel, Mr. Victor Odjenu, sought to convince the Tribunal that his client was notably absent due to “medical emergency” faced by his client, the Tribunal was informed that the expected absence marked another established pattern aimed at making a mockery of Nigeria’s judicial process by the once-powerful military-era minister of the federal capital territory.
The Chairman of the Tribunal expressed shock over the knowledge of Useni’s absences, and ordered him to be present in court when next the criminal case deliberates.
Sharpedgewnews.com’s editor-in-chief, Mr. Oladimeji Abitogun, who was a correspondent with The Comet newspaper (now The Nation) was threatened by the Tribunal for penning several reports on the condescending attitude of General Useni towards the serious allegations while the case was in motion over a decade ago.
Abitogun, who had extensively reported the details of the properties stolen by Useni, was accused by the Bashir Mohammed Sambo-led Tribunal of engaging in ‘media trial’. He was threatened with possible imprisonment for acts considered as contempt of court.
Persons believed to be working for the general also threatened Abitogun with elimination. The threats often came in the form of phone calls made to the apartment where he lived in Abuja during that period, warning him to stand down from his coverage of the case otherwise he would be killed.
The case against Useni had since gone comatose until the judge decided to come tough on Tuesday.
Useni, known to his close associates as ‘Jerry Boy’ is said to be receiving treatment for a strange ailment contracted when he used to have swing sex parties with the late despot, General Sanni Abacha, and other profligate top-brass soldiers of his era.
The original confessions of Useni to a presidential panel in the year 2000 were personally handed to Mr. Abitogun by late federal Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Bola Ige.
Originally written by Mr. Abitogun and published exclusively in the Sunday Comet of July 23, 2000, the report revealed in Mr. Useni’s own words his confession to the presidential panel constituted to look into the allegations of his corrupt acts.
Useni had sought an out-of court settlement with the federal government, which the government spurned upon learning the scope and depth of the now-retired general’s profligate acts.
“Many of these assets and landed property in Abuja, Lagos and Langtang, his hometown, were acquired under his jurisdiction as a former minister in charge of Transport, and later, the Federal Capital Territory,” Mr. Abitogun’s published report stated back then, adding that “a few of them were financed through proceeds from oil allocation which Useni confessed he had for three-and-half years running.”
Mr. Useni claimed he enjoyed such privilege “just like most of my colleagues in the Provisional Ruling Council,” the highest decision-making body under the military dictatorship of General Sanni Abacha.
In his deposition before the Presidential Special Investigation Panel as well as statements to the State Security Service, SSS, Mr. Useni confessed the details of his corrupt acts, listing the vast acquisitions and investments he made with state funds under his control. Many of these assets were under the management of him and his wife Julie.
The investments include real estate investments known as the Maitama Housing Estate which he said was financed by commission from his oil allocation to the tune of $43 million. The sewage channelization, landscaping, road construction, Mr. Useni claimed, were all done free of charge by the construction giant Julius Berger.
Also listed among the construction companies that offered free services to Mr. Useni’s business interests was ‘Messrs Dantata and Sawoe’, who constructed 6 fish ponds on his 22-hectare Tim-Talo Farms in Gwagwalada, Abuja.
Useni also said revealed that he went into transport business, as he considered it “proper and most appropriate” as a government official with experience in the transport sector, both as a transport officer in the armed forces, and a former chairman of the Nigeria Railway Corporation. To that end, he launched the Tim-Tali Transport Nigeria Limited with five 30-seater buses in 1993 on hire-purchase from the Federal Urban Mass Transit Agency.
Other assets revealed by Jerimiah Useni to government officials include:
- Tim-Tali Motels Limited, situated in Useni’s hometown of Langtang.
- Tim-Tali Travels and Tours, operating mostly in Lagos and Abuja.
- Timsul Mining Company Nigeria Limited
- Riss Filling Station, in which he controlled 50% stake
- Texaco Filling Station, where he also controls certain amounts
Mr. Abitogun’s sources had revealed to him back then that the weighty price of Mr. Useni’s corrupt acts, in fact prompted the retired general to seek some sort of ‘out-of-court’ settlement in the matter of his corruption, which the government spurned.
The Code of Conduct Tribunal is the only constitutional high court in Nigeria, whose decision, no matter how light, remains immutable, rendering its convicts ineligible for any future public office, Mr. Abitogun stated in the report.
This, among other reasons, is believed to have not only influenced Mr. Useni’s desperate overtures to the Nigerian presidency, but has also caused the retired military officer to play the game of cat-and-mouse with the Code of Conduct for the past 13 years.
It appears, however, that Jerry Useni’s game is up, as the current chairman of the Tribunal is set to make him face the law to account for his actions.