Within the same period, the source disclosed that EFCC investigations revealed that Dantata and Sawoe paid out over N1.3billion into the accounts of companies in which Sule Lamido and his sons- Mustapha and Aminu-have interests, specifically the accounts of Bamaina Holdings Limited where Sule Lamido is sole signatory and Speeds International Limited. Both accounts are domiciled in Unity Bank Plc. Over N832million was paid into these two accounts by the construction giant, while the balance of N488million was paid into the family’s account at Access Bank. To disguise the nature of the payments, the construction company raised cheques in the name of Bamaiana Company Nigeria Limited, Speeds International Limited and Gada Construction Limited, Curiously the cheques raised in the names of Bamaina Company Limited and Gada Construction Limited were cleared into Bamaina Holdings account in Unity despite the fact that Gada Construction Limited had not account in Unity Bank. These third party cheques amounted to over N500million. More disturbing was the discovery that there was no authorization, power of attorney or indemnity provided by the companies before these third party cheques were cleared.
The source also revealed that kick-backs were paid to some traditional rulers in the state by the same construction company, which is also being investigated by the anti- graft agency. He however declined to name the traditional rulers involved in order not to jeopardize the investigation. Interestingly, Danata and Sawoe is not the only construction company that returned ‘favours’ to the Lamido family for contract award. EFCC investigations also reveal that AG Farero, a construction firm which won the contract for the construction of the state secretariat, initially for N6.66billion but later reviewed upward to N9.3billion, sub-contracted jobs to Speeds International and Bamaina Aluminium Company Limited. Both companies are owned by the Lamido family. This is a major trend in the investigation as companies promoted by Sule Lamido and his children milked the state in sweetheart contract deals.
For instance, the source revealed that Aminu Lamido who was jailed by a Federal High Court in Kano for money laundering offences, received over N1billion from several Jigawa state establishments and agencies through his company, Saby Integrated Project Limited between 2010 and 2013. The company was awarded contract for the installation of street lights in various locations by the state Ministry of Transport to the tune of over N730million. The state Universal Basic Education Board also award contracts to the tune of N173million to the company, while the Small Towns Water Agency paid the same company N190 million for three separate contracts. The source said the investigation is still ongoing, adding that no fewer than eight persons had been quizzed by the agency aside the governor and his sons. Those quizzed include the state accountant general and some bank officials.
Recall that Aminu and Mustapha Lamido, were arrested in Kano on November 14, 2013 by EFCC and moved to Abuja, the Commission’s headquarters, where they were grilled by a crack team of investigators working to unravel the web of money laundering in which billions of naira from Jigawa state government accounts are funnelled into the accounts of companies run by the Jigawa state governor and his two sons. Over N10billion is said to have been transferred from Jigawa state government accounts into the accounts in which Sule Lamido and his two sons have interest from 2007 till date. When contacted, the spokesperson for Governor Lamido, Umar Kyari, declined to comment on the allegations. Instead he referred Premium Times to the Commissioner of Information, Babandi Ibrahim, for enquiries. However, several calls to the commissioner’s mobile telephone were neither answered nor returned. Mr. Ibrahim also did not respond to a text message sent to him by this reporter. Dantata and Sawoe also wouldn’t comment for this story.
Source visited the company’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday but after several hours of waiting, he was told that the Public Relations Officer of the company was unavailable for interview. He was not given any future appointment. Efforts to contact the company through the telephone numbers listed on its website were unsuccessful, as an automated message kept saying the numbers were no longer in service. An email to the company through the email address listed on the “ Contact Us” section of its website bounced back. An automated message said it was rejected by the server for the recipient domain — dantata-sawoe.com.