Detectives Uncover Huge Cash Payments to Justices Chief Registrar

Chief Registrar: I’ve no role in running account

Detectives have uncovered huge cash payments

to Supreme Court Justices, members of the

management and staff of the apex court.

Some of the payments, which were effected

through a secret/ Operation Account, are alleged

to be outrageous and outside the allowances

approved by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation

and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

The allowances include cash for justices and

management staff during festivities, especially

Easter, Christmas, Ramadan and Eid-el Kabir.

Detectives are probing why the apex court paid

cash instead of remittance of such payments to

the accounts of the beneficiaries.

The Presidency is said to be in dilemma on what

to do because all the former Chief Justices of

Nigeria (CJN) and Justices of the Supreme Court

were paid the jumbo allowances in cash from the

unauthorised secret/ Operation Account.

Some documents attached to the charge sheets

of some of the suspects on trial by the

Department of State Service (DSS) provide

insights into the cash payments.

The breakdown of what the past and present CJN

and Justices have been receiving since 2009 is as

follows: Salary—N750,000 (paid into account of

each Justice); N750,000 monthly subsidy—

(payment in cash); N950,000 quarterly subsidy

(payment in cash); £10,000 (estacode) for trips

(payment in cash); $25,000 (medical fees yearly

(payment in cash); Unspecified payment for

Business Class to them and spouses in cash

depending on airline; $750 per night for number of

days abroad in cash; N350,000 cash as welfare

for each of the festivities (Easter, Christmas,

Ramadan, Eid-el-Kabir); Chief Registrar—N700,

000 as robe allowance; N200,000 for each of the

festivities (in cash); and other lawyers—N500,000

as yearly dress allowance (In cash).

A top security source, who spoke in confidence,

said: “Detectives have unearthed all manner of

allowances which were paid and still being paid to

Supreme Court Justices since 2009 from a Secret/

Illegal/ Operation Account.

Some of these allowances are outside those ones

approved by RMAFC. Our investigation confirmed

the RMAFC approvals for CJN and the Justices

as including regular salary and allowances:

Monthly Basic Salary; Vehicle Maintenance/

Fuelling; Personal Assistant; Domestic Staff;

Entertainment; Utilities; Outfit; and Newspapers/

Periodicals.

“Their Non-Regular Salary and allowances

include: Accommodation (once annually); furniture

(once in four years); annual leave bonus;

severance/gratuity (after successful tenure);

vehicle loan (optional); Duty Tour Allowance per

night (where applicable) and Estacode per night

(where applicable).

“In fact, one of the arrested Justices was in

December 2014 paid N2million as a mark of

welfare from the court to support him for his

daughter’s wedding.

“So, we discovered a lot of discrepancies in the

allowances being paid to the past Chief Justices

of Nigeria and Justices of the Supreme Court

since 2009. Even four of the Justices who are

beneficiaries of the monetisation policy still

earned double allowances.

“Technically, everyone was paid all these

unauthorised allowances from the operation

account based on the computation of the

management. Nobody knows how the allowances

were arrived at.

“And the situation has not changed. We have

documents showing that all the Justices were

paid N910, 000 in April and N710, 000 in May as

allowances.”

On the status of the Operation Account, a

document confirmed that one of the officials of

the Supreme Court told DSS interrogators: “All

these payments, except the salary, are paid in

cash to the Justices which they signed for

collection. I am aware that has been the tradition

but I am not sure of any written authority backing

the payment.

“None of the Justices has ever, to my knowledge,

refused payment of medical fees given to them.”

But another source said the Operation Account

was legally opened in 2009 after the e-payment

policy was introduced.

The source cited a memo, dated March 3, 2009 by

a former Deputy Director (Finance and Accounts).

The memo has also been tendered in the court by

the DSS as part of its evidence against some

suspects.

He said the memo was explicit that the Justices

be paid in cash.

The memo, signed by M. B. Tambawal and sent

to the then Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court,

said: “You may recall that we had a management

meeting last week where we discussed the way

forward on e-payment. We had various

suggestions on how to have an Operation Account

that would ease the operations of this Honourable

Court.

“In view of this, I humbly wish to suggest that a

non-COT Operation Account be opened for the

cashier (Ahmed Fagbenro).

“The account would accommodate payment for

their Lordships and staff. The cashier will be

responsible in cashing these payments and pay to

the beneficiaries. He would keep a Petty Cash

Book in order to record the payment plus a

register that would be signed by the payees.”

The source added: “You can see that all the

former CJN, present CJN and Justices of the

Supreme Court were made to collect the

allowances in cash by the management. This is

not their making at all; they have committed no

infractions.

“I think it is a system problem which the present

Chief Registrar, Ahmed Gambo Saleh is trying to

reform since 2014.”

The Presidency is weighing options because

everyone has collected unauthorised allowances

unknowingly. They are also unexpected to collect

payment in cash – in line with financial

regulations. I think they are victims of

bureaucratic trap, but ignorance is no excuse in

law.

“What the government is doing is to address the

issue of corruption first before looking into other

accountability problems besetting the Supreme

Court.

“Certainly, the management of the Supreme Court

needs to be overhauled. This is part of the

agenda for the incoming CJN in collaboration with

the Presidency.”

The Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Ahmed

Gambo Saleh has denied involvement in any fraud

or sharp practices in the apex court.

He also said he was never involved in any bribe

deal or in the management of Operation Account.

Saleh, who made the clarifications in his

testimony to the DSS, said he has introduced

reforms, including stoppage of cash payment,

since he took over in 2014.

He said: “I have never directed anyone to pay the

sum of either N12million or N18million to any

Justice of the Supreme Court.

“”I am aware the practice of cash payment is not

in line with financial regulations but that has been

the tradition I met in the court.

“But on assuming office, I stopped cash payments

to staff; all payments are now paid into their

accounts.

“The Operation Account is in Ahmed Fagbenro’s

name (the Cashier); I don’t know how much is

the balance in the account.”