By Cecilia Ibru
Yesterday, the author shared her experiences at the Kirikiri Prison and how she ran to her village for safety. Today, she tells the story of her return to Lagos, her ordeal with EFCC and how her tormentor met his Waterloo.
My grandfather always said: “If you are under attack, go home.” Taking his advice, I returned to my village.
Once I arrived, arrangements were made for my pastor and a doctor to see me. After prayers, the doctor sedated me so I could get some rest. Meanwhile, the CBN Governor intensified his campaign against me, placing my name on a nationwide “Wanted” list. Television stations repeatedly broadcast my supposed fugitive status, putting law enforcement on high alert to arrest me on sight.
But in the village, I felt safer than in Lagos. I was too exposed in the city, uncertain of who might be spying on me. The rumour was that Erastus Akingbola had been forewarned about the CBN Governor’s plans and had wisely fled abroad before the clampdown. Since he was absent, the full force of the CBN Governor’s wrath fell on me.
That peace, however, was short-lived. Within days, I received reports that search parties were combing Edo and Delta states for me. My pastor advised me to return to Lagos and face the situation. He believed I had nothing to fear – that God would defend and protect me.
The doctor, however, was more concerned about my health. My blood pressure was dangerously high, and he warned that any further stress could be life-threatening. I was advised to take time to recover before facing any further trauma.
Still, I knew I had to return to Lagos. But I refused to go by road – it would expose me to the risk of police arrest. One of our customers graciously provided a private aircraft, and by 8:00 a.m., I was back in Lagos.
When I arrived home, the house was eerily quiet. My security detail had been withdrawn by the new Managing Director of Oceanic Bank, Mr Aboh, a former Executive Director at First Bank. Rumours swirled that he was supposed to be the MD of First Bank before Sanusi took over. Sanusi’s appointment itself was said to have been politically engineered by the then Chairman of First Bank.
As I sat in my now-empty house, I realised that my battle had only just begun.
After my unexpected detention at EFCC, my lawyers arranged for a private security company to send operatives to my house. Previously, I had four securitymen stationed at my gate, but only two were sent this time, and I was required to cover their salaries. Additionally, one of my drivers was withdrawn.
One day, a customer visited me and, upon leaving, handed some money to the security personnel. They were visibly pleased, and when he inquired about their numbers, one of them replied that there were four in total – two for the day shift and two for the night shift.
Meanwhile, my lawyers were persistently negotiating to gain access to the report that formed the basis of my indictment. At the same time, my two sons, who were working with me – one as the Managing Director of Oceanic Securities and the other as the Head of Retail Banking – were being interrogated and subjected to various allegations.
On a Thursday, my female lawyer informed me that the EFCC had assured her that all they required was for me to come in and make a statement, Initially, I refused, but she persuaded me, promising that she would be by my side until I returned home.
Accompanied by my lawyer, I arrived at the EFCC office, where the officers received me courteously. We were led to a room, where we waited for some time before an officer, assigned to handle my case, finally arrived. My lawyer, growing impatient with the delay, reminded the officer of the agreement that I would not spend the night in detention. She explained that she had personally assured Ibrahim Magu, the then-Chairman of EFCC, of my co-operation. The officer nodded and took me to an office, where he handed me some forms to fill out before disappearing for a while.
By the time he returned, it was past 3:00 p.m. I pointed out to my lawyer that although I had completed the formalities, I had not yet seen the CBN report detailing the allegations against me. I insisted that I would not answer any questions until I had reviewed the document. My lawyer stepped outside to discuss this with the officer, who then left to retrieve the report.
Time continued to pass, and soon, it was approaching 4:00 p.m.-the closing time for EFCC offices. Finally, the officer returned with the CBN Examination Report.
As I read through the report, I realised that the main contention was that the CBN claimed there were non-performing loans and that the bank’s balance sheet was allegedly overvalued by about N4 billion. In normal banking practice, a bank in such a situation would be given three to six months to rectify its balance sheet, often with assistance from the NDIC.
I appealed to the officer, proposing a solution to address the issue. I explained that I could sell some of the bank’s good assets to generate the necessary liquidity. He promised to consult with his superiors and returned shortly after, saying that my proposal had been rejected.
As we were discussing, Aliko Dangote and Aig Imoukhuede walked into the EFCC office. I took the opportunity to appeal to Dangote, asking him to intervene on behalf of Oceanic Bank. He assured me that he would be travelling to Germany to meet with President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and would raise the matter with him to ensure due process was followed.
By now, my lawyer was growing increasingly anxious, urging the officer to release me, as I was visibly exhausted and had not eaten all day. The officer went to seek permission for my release from the EFCC Chairman, but the response was negative – the CBN Governor had refused to grant my release, even when my lawyer offered to stand as my surety.
I was detained. My lawyer, now frustrated, pleaded with the officer to allow me to go to the hospital as I was on treatment for high blood pressure and arterial fibrosis. The EFCC detention centre was already overcrowded, but my lawyer arranged for a makeshift sleeping area for me.
One of my former staff members, who was then a board member at Intercontinental Bank and also in detention, generously offered me her bed and shared space with other inmates. She also arranged for hot water for me to bathe. As for food, which was brought from my house, I had no appetite – I simply wanted to sleep, as it was already close to 10:00 p.m.
The next morning, I became more apprehensive, knowing that EFCC senior officers often left their offices early on Fridays for the weekend. My former staff member, Mrs Lulu Briggs, once again assisted me, ensuring I had hot water and breakfast. She shared harrowing stories of how the entire board of Intercontinental Bank had been rounded up, despite many of them being non-executive members who only attended quarterly meetings.
At my request, Mrs Briggs arranged for me to briefly visit the detained Board Members of Intercontinental Bank. They were calm, despite their situation, and philosophical about the ordeal they were enduring. One of the female detainees had fallen seriously ill and had been taken to the hospital for urgent medical care.
I became increasingly anxious, as my lawyer was making little progress towards securing my release. The weekend passed, and by Monday, news arrived that Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State had sent a message to the EFCC, offering to stand as surety for all Delta State senior banking executives being detained. This gave us hope that we might be released that day. However, we were instead informed that we were to appear in court by Wednesday.
The court appearance
My lawyer warned me that the EFCC was not going to make my release easy. The court session was packed with supporters, and as each of us was called upon to answer the charges, we all pleaded “not guilty.”
The court was prepared to grant us bail, but the conditions were stringent – each of us needed two serving senators to surrender a landed property in a prime location such as Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Apapa, Ikeja, or Maitama in Abuja.
Finally, after about two weeks in EFCC detention, I was allowed to return home. It was a tremendous relief to reunite with my family after enduring such a harrowing experience.
The CBN Governor meets his Waterloo
The CBN Governor’s fate took a dramatic turn when he presented the CBN’s Annual Report to President Goodluck Jonathan for approval. For reasons unknown, the President delayed signing off on it. Coincidentally, while the CBN Governor was away on an official trip to South Africa, the Head of the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board (NASB) visited the President on a courtesy call.
During their conversation, President Jonathan handed him the report, admitting that he was “not a figures man” and asking him to review it. Within just ten minutes, the NASB official detected fraudulent financial activities in the report. President Jonathan acted swiftly, instructing the NASB official to take over the CBN for a thorough investigation.
As a result, the CBN Governor was summarily dismissed. His successor, Godwin Emefiele, was appointed through the influence of Jim Ovia, the former Managing Director of Zenith Bank. Unfortunately, Emefiele did not investigate the banking purge carried out by the sacked CBN Governor, leaving many unanswered questions about the motives behind his drastic actions.
Epilogue
This gripping story of Oceanic Bank and the travails of Dr. (Mrs) Cecilia Ibru continues in the books. Go grab your copies. The books are explosive, and unputdownable!
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