Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, has charged the Federal Government to prosecute all retired and serving staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, involved in the Glencore bribery scandal.
ANEEJ’s demand comes on the heels of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, SFO, charging five former Glencore officials with conspiracy to make corrupt payments to benefit the company’s oil operations in West Africa, including bribing Nigeria’s NNPCL officials.
The Glencore bribery scandal involves the payment of over $100 million in bribes to government officials in several countries, including Nigeria, to secure oil trading contracts. Glencore had already pleaded guilty to foreign bribery and price manipulation and was fined £276.4 million by a UK court.
Reacting to the prosecution of Glencore officials, the Executive Director of ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor called on President Bola Tinubu to expose the officials of the NNPCL involved in the bribery scandal, in order to redeem the image of the Nigerian government in the eyes of the international community.
Ugolor charged Nigeria’s Attorney General, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to follow suit with the prosecution of all Staff of NNPCL Ltd, who collected bribe from Glencore irrespective of the Glencore’s agreement to pay $50 million as a penalty for engaging in illegal activities in Nigeria.
He said, “We are glad to know that the SFO of the United Kingdom has charged five former staff of Glencore with conspiring to make corrupt payments in order to benefit commodities giant Glencore’s oil operations in West Africa. This is a welcome development and we are calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria to follow suit by pressing charges against those who collected the bribe in line with the UNCAC principles for which Nigeria is a signatory and the anti-corruption stance of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
“Specifically, we want the EFCC to investigate the matter and bring all those who received the bribe money from Glencore officials and press charges against them. Since it takes two to tango in corruption, we also want to know and see the faces of Nigerians who collected the bribe money just as the UK government has exposed those who gave.
“It is important to hold high office holders accountable to stop grand corruption that has precipitated massive poverty in Nigeria. The action of the yet to be named Nigerian officials contributed to the poverty in Nigeria today for which millions of citizens are out protesting against bad governance,” ANEEJ said.
Former employees of Glencore, Alex Beard, Andrew Gibson, Paul Hopkirk, Ramon Labiaga, and Martin Wakefield were charged in connection with the awarding of oil contracts in Cameroon, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast between 2007 and 2014. Two individuals also face charges for falsifying invoices to Glencore’s London office, marked as service fees to a Nigerian oil consultancy from 2007 to 2011.
This development comes after Glencore pleaded guilty to foreign bribery and price manipulation in May 2022, admitting to paying over $100 million in bribes to government officials in several countries, including Nigeria. The company was fined £276.4 million by a UK court for bribing Nigerian officials to secure favorable crude oil trading contracts.
The case is set for further hearing on September 10th 2024 at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
