Three former ministers charged with corruption

Three former ministers in President Olusegun Obasanjo's government were among five top officials charged in court in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, on Tuesday with bribery and corruption related to a multi-million dollar contract awarded to a French firm. Former internal affairs minister Sunday Afolabi, his immediate successor, Mahmud Shata, and Husseini Akwanga – until recently minister of labour – were slammed with 16 counts each of bribery and corrupt enrichment. Also charged were Okwesilieze Nwodo, former national secretary of the ruling People's Democratic Party, and Turrie Akerele, a former permanent secretary in the ministry of internal affairs. The accused were alleged to have collected hefty bribes running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars from an agent of French company SAGEM S.A. to facilitate the US $214 million contract given the firm in 2001 to execute a national identity card project. If convicted, the accused face between five and seven years in jail for each count. All the accused pleaded not guilty. The judge granted them bail after they agreed to surrender their passports to the court. The case, which is set to resume on January 23 2004, is the first since Obasanjo launched an anti-corruption crusade in 1999 with the setting up of an anti-graft body. It is widely seen as a key test of his resolve to deal with the national malaise. Until now, no one has been tried under the anti-corruption law despite signs that corruption had not abated in oil-rich Nigeria and has been a major hindrance to development. Afolabi had served as internal affairs minister from 1999 until late 2002 when he resigned to head Obasanjo's re-election campaign in their southwest home region. He was replaced by Shata. Akwanga had been permanent secretary in the ministry at the time the controversial contract was awarded. He was appointed minister of labour after Obasanjo's election but was fired from the cabinet early in December over his alleged involvement in the corruption scandal.