Paris Club Refunds: EFCC Confirms $350M Paid To Nwoko’s Firm, Others Under Buhari As Fresh $396M Claim Emerges Under Tinubu
Paris Club Refunds: EFCC Confirms $350M Paid To Nwoko’s Firm, Others Under Buhari As Fresh $396M Claim Emerges Under Tinubu
The disclosure comes amid renewed controversy over Nigeria’s Paris Club refunds, following reports that a fresh $396 million payment is being proposed in favour of Nwoko and his firm, years after previous payments were made and described as final.
Ola Olukoyede, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), confirmed that $350 million has been paid out of the $637.6 million awarded to Linas International Limited, a company owned by Senator Ned Nwoko, who represents Delta North in the Nigerian Senate.
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The disclosure comes amid renewed controversy over Nigeria’s Paris Club refunds, following reports that a fresh $396 million payment is being proposed in favour of Nwoko and his firm, years after previous payments were made and described as final.
Documents obtained by SaharaReporters indicate a contradiction between a 2018 directive issued under former President Muhammadu Buhari and a 2024 request under President Bola Tinubu, raising concerns about possible duplicate or questionable consultancy claims.
Nwoko had acted as lead consultant for Nigerian states and local governments in securing the Paris Club loan refunds, which totalled about $13 billion, through Linas International Limited. He was originally engaged to help recover funds allegedly over-deducted by the federal government between 1995 and 2002.
In a letter dated August 14, 2024, addressed to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Olukoyede disclosed that former Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun, who served under the late President Muhammadu Buhari, had approved the payment of $350 million from the total sum awarded to the company.
In the letter titled ‘Re: Request For Investigation Report On London – Paris Club Matters,’ Olokoyede said Adeosun’s directive followed a judgement given by Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
“In an effort to comply with the judgment, the FGN paid USD350 million out of the USD637,615,701.192 legal/consultancy awarded to Linas International Limited,” Olukoyede said.
“The then Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, directed the then CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, to credit an escrow account with USD350 million to settle the legal/consultancy fees.”
He added that, contrary to the court judgment, the then AGF, Abubakar Malami (SAN), directed a different disbursement of the $350 million.
In a letter dated November 19, 2018, to the then Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, Malami instructed that the funds for legal and consultancy fees due to Linas International Limited and its counsel, Joe Agi & Associates, be shared as follows: $224 million to Linas International Limited; $17 million to Joe Agi & Associates; $100 million to the Nigerian Governors Forum; and $9 million for litigation-related expenses incurred by the Federal Government.
“However, contrary to the judgment, the then Attorney- General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN in a letter addressed to the then CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, dated 19th November, 2018 directed that the USD350 million for the legal and consultancy fees due to Linas International Limited and its Counsel, Joe Agi & Associates, be disbursed as follows: Linas International Limited- USD224,000,000.00; Joe Agi, SAN & Associates- USD17,000,000.00; Nigerian Governors Forum- USD100,000,000.00; Litigation related expenses incurred by FGN- USD9,000,000.00,” the letter said.
Olukoyede explained that the EFCC’s investigation followed a petition from the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
According to him, it focused on how a $3.6 billion judgment was awarded against the Federal Government of Nigeria in a case filed by Linas International Limited on behalf of local governments, as well as the actions of officials in the Finance Ministry, the Accountant General’s Office, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, and others.
On Monday, SaharaReporters reported that a letter dated November 25, 2024 from AGF Fagbemi to President Bola Tinubu sought approval for the payment of $396.6 million to Linas International Limited, a company linked to Senator Nwoko, despite an earlier approval of $350 million granted to the firm by former Finance Minister Adeosun under the Buhari administration.
Adeosun recommended that the disbursement be treated as “full and final settlement of all claims relating to the Paris Club Loans,” adding that “no further correspondence relating to Paris Club Loans shall be entertained with any State.”
In the letter to Buhari, Adeosun said Nigeria’s economic conditions had improved compared to previous years, noting higher monthly FAAC allocations, stronger foreign reserves, and the country’s exit from recession.
She said these developments justified a cautious, phased approach to settling the Paris Club-related obligations, alongside a return to savings in the Excess Crude Account.
“This can be done concurrently with our resumption of savings into the Excess Crude Account (ECA),” she recommended. “I am therefore recommending that the repayment be phased over a maximum of six (6) months in tranches with attached conditions.”
President Buhari subsequently approved the payments on August 29, 2018, directing that the funds should be sourced from the Excess Crude Account.
SaharaReporters learnt that the payments came amid intense lobbying and legal disputes involving consultants who claimed fees for their roles in facilitating refunds to states and local governments.
“I write to respectfully draw Your Excellency’s kind attention to a letter dated 2nd July 2024 from the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) which made a case for the payment of outstanding balance of judgment debt in the sum of US$396,615,901 in favour of Linas International Ltd (“Linas”)/Senator Ned Nwoko,” Fagbemi wrote in his letter to Tinubu.
It noted that the request is based on a December 2013 Federal High Court judgment which awarded over $3.1 billion to local governments, with 20 percent designated as consultancy fees to Linas.
According to the Attorney-General, “a part payment of US$241,000,000.00 was made in 2018 to Linas, thereby leaving an outstanding balance” of the current amount being requested.
Meanwhile, while Fagbemi stated in his letter to President Tinubu that $241 million had been paid to Linas International Limited, Olukoyede’s letter to Fagbemi indicated that $244 million was paid to the firm.
The reason for the $3 million discrepancy remains unclear.
Based on Fagbemi’s figure of $241 million, an outstanding balance of $396 million reportedly remains from the $637.6 million awarded to the company.
However, this contradicts Adeosun’s recommendation that the payment made under the Buhari administration should be regarded as a full and final settlement of all claims related to the Paris Club loans, with no further correspondence on the matter to be entertained with any state.
Also, Olukoyede’s letter to Fagbemi lamented the $100 million payment made to the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, describing it “questionable”.
The EFCC probe found that the $100 million was credited into two separate bank accounts belonging to two ‘consulting firms” that never executed any job related to matter. Curiously, $9 million was also credited to the Federal Ministry of Justice by then-AGF Malami, who is currently standing trial for corruption and money laundering.
Malami is standing trial alongside his family on charges involving alleged N8.7 billion money laundering and terrorism financing. He is accused of concealing unlawful funds through property acquisitions and conspiring with his son and wife, while also facing accusations of failing to prosecute suspected terror financiers
“The USD100,000,000.00 questionably apportioned to the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) was credited into two (2) separate bank accounts belonging to Bizplus Consulting Limited and GSCL Consulting domiciled in UBA provided by former Chairman of the NGF Abdulaziz Yari,” the EFCC chairman said in the letter.
“Each account was paid N16,250,000,000.00 equivalent to $500 million making a total of N32,500,000,000.00. These companies never executed any consulting job relating to the subject matter. They were also not engaged by ALGON nor any Local Government and are not among the judgement creditors.”
According to the EFCC, on the instruction of then-Zamfara Governor Yari, Bizplus Consulting Limited and GSCL Consulting converted ₦23.772 billion out of ₦32.5 billion into US dollars through 313 Trading and Investment Limited and its affiliated companies.
The funds were then partially distributed to various individuals, while each firm retained about ₦4.389 billion.
Investigations also showed that ₦23.772 billion was used to obtain about $52 million, which was handed to Mukhtar Idris Shehu, former Zamfara State Commissioner of Finance under Yari’s administration.
In another instance, $9 million was allocated to the Federal Ministry of Justice, reportedly converted to naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria, with ₦2.925 billion credited to the ministry’s account in November 2018.
Linas International Limited, linked to Nwoko, had earlier written to the Federal Government in March 2012 seeking a refund of alleged over-deductions to several state governments, but the request was not approved.
The firm later filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja in 2014 on behalf of multiple states, which eventually led to broader participation by other state governments and subsequent federal approval of refunds in 2016.
The company also instituted another case against key federal institutions, including the Nigerian Governors Forum, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Ministry of Finance, the Accountant General, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the EFCC.
The matter was later settled out of court, with the court adopting the agreement as a consent judgment, resulting in the issuance of promissory notes worth $68 million to Linas International Limited and its legal representatives.
“The investigation further revealed that the sum of N23, 772,000,000.00 was also used to procure USD52,005, 554.00 and handed over to Mr Mukhtar Idris Shehu, former Zamfara State Commissioner of Finance under the administration of Abdul-Aziz Yari,” Olukoyede said.
“The sum USD9,000,000.00, was also curiously allocated to the Federal Ministry of Justice by Mr. Abubakar Malami.”
