*Is Modibbo’s conduct a threat to NFIU’s credibility?
Mr. Hamman Tukur Modibbo, the Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), has been involved in fraudulent financial schemes involving proxy, phony companies, and false (non)declaration of assets, according to inside sources at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), QUEST TIMES can now reveal.
The NFIU, which Mr. Modibbo leads, is Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, established in 2004, to collect and analyze disclosures from reporting organizations in order to produce financial intelligence for other agencies combating money laundering, terrorism financing, and other financial crimes.
THE QUEST TIMES had previously revealed some allegations of fraudulent procurement schemes and employment practices in a detailed investigative report titled EXPOSED: Questions over NFIU boss, Moddibo Tukur’s procurement, employment practices. The news report was the first to make public Mr Modibbo’s questionable conduct.
Many Nigerians have begun to wonder how Mr Modibbo, widely regarded as one of the Federal Government’s anti-corruption czars, could oversee such messy acts of graft, when the agency he leads is meant to be a very critical corruption fighting institution.
Background to CCB’s investigation
In mid-October 2021, the CCB received a disturbing intelligence report about Mr Modibbo’s alleged violation of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers. As a result, Professor Muhammad Isah, Chairman of the Bureau, ordered an immediate investigation into the claims.
The investigation focuses on alleged violations of the public officers’ code of conduct. As the investigation continues, this exclusive insight sheds light on the allegations, the process, and the potential implications for Mr. Modibbo and NFIU’s integrity based on the CCB’s investigative report in 2021.
The CCB looked into four allegations against Mr. Modibbo, including that he:
i) only disclosed his assets ONCE since entering the public sector in 2005;
ii) owns and manages a front company called Pisco Motors Ltd;
iii) has multiple accounts that he refused to disclose to the CCB;
and
iv) used his phone number, 07035755973, to open an account with Keystone Bank in the name of one Mr. Lawal Muhammed with Keystone Bank (Account number, 6029428779) with Mr. Modibbo receiving credit alerts for transactions into the said account.
The CCB’s probe into Mr. Modibbo marks a critical examination of his conduct as a public officer and by extension queries how reliable other international and global agencies involved in global financial intelligence would now treat NFIU if these queries are not resolved.
The investigation aims to determine whether Modibbo violated the provisions of the code of conduct, which govern the ethical standards and responsibilities expected of public officials in Nigeria.
Modibbo’s alleged Non and False Declarations of Assets
Mr. Modibbo joined the NFIU in 2005, when it was still under the oversight of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He has only once since then disclosed his assets as at the time of the CCB report. He was appointed as the EFCC’s Head of External Cooperation in 2012, and he was later promoted to the rank of Assistant Detective Commander (ADC) in a letter dated August 29, 2013, prior to his current role as Director/CEO at NFIU for which he was appointed in February 2019. According to the Bureau’s finding, “From the date Mr. Modibbo joined public service 10th March 2005 to 31 December 2021, he is required to declare his assets 4 times (4 years interval).”
According to the CCB’s findings, Mr. Modibbo’s Completed Asset Declaration Form (CADF) dated 18th February 2019 showed “He did not declare having any interest or ownership or being a partner, shareholder, or director of any company in Nigeria or outside the country.” The CCB also observed the NFIU boss refused to declare any bank account belonging to his five children. These acts were clearly in violation of Section 15 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act CAP.C15 and the 5th Schedule Part 1: paragraphs 1 to 11 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. On this basis, the CCB concluded “he failed to declare his assets and those of his spouse and children from the date, he joined the public service in March 2005 and also failed to declare all his assets in the only declaration he made to the Bureau on 18th February 2019 after he was appointed as the Director of NFIU.”
Under Nigerian laws, the penalties for this violation range from disqualification from future public office to prison terms of up to ten years.
Modibbo’s alleged use of proxies, front companies: Pisco Motors Ltd
Our investigation at the NFIU shows that Mr. Modibbo hides his unlawful conduct by working with phony private companies and reliable third parties. An NFIU official who did not want his name printed told THE QUEST TIMES that he uses a construction firm, Julius Berger Plc and Pisco Motors Ltd.
But he allegedly registered Pisco with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in November 2009, with registration number RC: 856541 to carry out some of his shady, messy dealings.
It was discovered he used Pisco when he was the EFCC’s Head of External Cooperation, where he used the company to procure vehicles for the organization. According to findings, Mr. Modibbo used all of his influence and connections in the Presidential Villa to prevent the publication, gazetting, or further actions on the CCB’s investigation since 2021.
According to the CCB investigations, Mr. Modibbo’s children are listed as directors and shareholders of Pisco.
The Bureau’s investigation found out “that Pisco Motors Limited has three (3) accounts at Standard Chartered Bank (account number 0001389205, NGN 0001389188, and USD 0001389195) and one (1) account number NGN 1013128459 at Zenith Bank, and Mr. Modibbo was discovered to be the sole signatory of all the accounts.”
Also, Mr Modibbo made cash deposits into Pisco’s Standard Chartered domiciliary account while the account has a turnover of Ninety-Five Thousand, Nine Hundred and Thirty-Eight Dollars (USD 95,938.00) between September 2012 and November 2017.
He equally made suspicious deposits of “structured amounts totalling Fifty Thousand US Dollars (USD 50,000.00) into the account, a trend commonly used in money laundering and thereafter, transferred Forty-Three Thousand, Nine Hundred Dollars (USD 43,900.00) to one Paul Egharevba for a purpose yet to be identified,” the CCB report said.
The investigations also revealed that Mr. Modibbo has 22 undeclared accounts with various banks that are linked to his Bank Verification Number (BVN): 22221442221.
To demonstrate his use of third party, back door practices, the Bureau found out Mr. Modibbo and one Mr. Salihu Alhaji Garba “making suspicious deposits into the Pisco Motors Limited’s Standard Chartered Naira Account Number 0001389188.”
Mr. Modibbo only declared one bank account to the CCB: his Standard Chartered Bank account, a domiciliary account with the number USD 0000262178. The bank’s statement of account from 1st March 2011 to 9th November 2021 revealed that the account had a turnover of more than USD 255,000.00. Also, between July 2020 and May 2021 (a 10-month period), the CCB investigations discovered that Mr. Modibbo received a total of NGN167,213,852.00 through his NPF Micro Finance Bank account 0020293817, while serving as NFIU director.
Nothing explains how Mr. Modibbo came into possession of such large sums when his salary and allowances could never cover them.
Again, under Nigerian laws, a public servant is not permitted to run a private business other than farming or agricultural-related activities. As a result, the CCB discovered that Mr. Modibbo’s action in registering a private motor company, Pisco Motors Limited, violates Sections 5 and 13 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act CAP.C15 when he operates and manages the company’s accounts at Standard Chartered Bank and Zenith Bank.
Cover-ups, Aso Rock connection, & a culture of impunity
During several undercover visits to the NFIU headquarters in Abuja, THE QUEST TIMES overheard staff complaining about Mr. Modibbo’s sleazy behavior and impunity. “He acts as if no one can remove him,” one senior staff member told THE QUEST TIMES undercover operative. “No one dares to question the Director. He won’t show up because he has the support of one ‘oga at the top’, [pointing in the general direction of the President’s Office inside the Aso-Villa, which houses the NFIU’s main offices].”
We were curious as to what Mr. Modibbo’s bold attitude was based on. THE QUEST TIMES recalls that Mr. Modibbo turned down CCB’s invitation to defend himself after it was delivered to him through his office on October 29, 2021. It seems odd that he refused to honour CCB’s invitation.
THE QUEST TIMES sent him an email to that effect, as well as a response to other issues raised in this report. He had not yet responded as of the time this report was filed.
We reached out to a highly placed Federal Government source for comment on the matter, and his revelations were shocking. Regarding why Mr. Modibbo failed to appear before the CCB’s Inquiry, he said: “It’s someone in [Professor Ibrahim] Gambari’s office that shields him from that investigation.” When pressed further, he said “That’s why he run to office of the Chief of Staff].” Another Aso Villa source added that, “it is not impossible Prof. Gambari himself is unaware.”
Significance of CCB’s investigation report
In light of the CCB’s investigations into Mr. Modibbo’s activities, which delved into various aspects of his professional and personal life, it is clear that the government’s much-publicised war on corruption is still a long way off, with one of its anti-corruption czars carrying filthy baggage graft. The CCB investigation clearly implicates the NFIU director.
Worryingly, THE QUEST TIMES observes that some political hawks are attempting to sweep the CCB report and others under the carpet. THE QUEST TIMES, on the other hand, has taken the bold step of revealing and publishing the information in the name of open governance, accountability, and transparency.
In carrying out its investigations on Modibbo, the CCB gathered evidence, interviewed key witnesses, and reviewed vital financial and other relevant records to determine the veracity of the allegations. The process followed legal protocols and ensured fairness and impartiality throughout.
Given the NFIU’s purported role in combating financial crime and promoting transparency in Nigeria, the allegations leveled against Mr. Modibbo are deeply concerning and alarming.
This report anticipates that the findings of the CCB’s investigations, which we have now revealed, will have far-reaching consequences not only for Modibbo but also for the NFIU’s reputation and effectiveness. In accordance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct Tribunal Act and the 1999 Constitution (as amended), appropriate disciplinary actions need to be taken. The investigation report provides another opportunity to strengthen accountability mechanisms within the public sector and to reinforce transparency and ethical conduct principles.
The findings of the CCB also shed light on the veracity of the allegations and pave the way for the necessary actions to uphold the integrity of public office and safeguard the trust placed in public institutions, especially NFIU with serious international consequences.