Senate Allegedly Forged Evidence To Indict SGF Lawal, Documents Reveal

The controversy trailing the alleged mis-management of funds meant for the care of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Boko Haram North East camp took a new twist with a set of documents emanating from the camp of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. David Babachir Lawal suggesting that evidence used against him were forged.

The Senate claimed in a report that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), abused his oath of office by allegedly awarding contracts worth millions of Naira to a company in which he has interest.

The senate subsequently asked President Muhammadu Buhari to suspend and prosecute Lawal for allegedly benefiting from inflated and phantom contracts – or ones not executed at all.

Lawal on his part dismissed the Senate report and resolution as nonsense claiming that nothing of the sort alleged by the upper chamber happened.

But while the controversy continued, documents made available by the camp of the SGF is claiming that the senate forged some of the documents used in indicting Babachir Lawal.

In one of the documents released by the senate, One Dodo Jonathan, who is said to be a Director in Rholavision Engineering Limited, a company which allegedly benefited kickbacks from the contract awarded to Josman Nigeria Limited, signed the Corporate Affairs Commission form as a director on August 17, 2016, but the SGF camp claimed that Dodo Jonathan died in January, 2016 and could not have signed the form in August 2016. Abusidiqu cannot independently verify this claim.

On the second page of the same Corporate Affairs Commission document where the SGF name appeared as a director, the SGF camp said the signature of Babachir Lawal was forged, but while it succeeded in forging the signature, it forgot to change the date on the form from August 8, 2015 to August 8, 2016.

One of the controversies in the matter is that the SGF as at the time the company benefited from the contract award was still a beneficial shareholder in the company, but the SGF claimed that he resigned from his company on August 15, 2015, and as a result was not a party to whatever business it contracted.

One other document the SGF camp claimed was forged is the letter from Babachir Lawal notifying the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) of his resignation as a director from Rholavision Engineerimg Limited. The camp claimed that SGF had always written his letter on his personal letter headed paper whereas, the letter which the senate relied upon was written on a plain paper. It also said the date on the letter used by the senate was manipulated with the last figure changed from 5 to 6. (2015 to 2016).

Finally, the SGF claimed that while Rholavision Engineering Limited, which he was once a director is at the centre of the allegation, the company never benefited from the contract awarded by the Presidential Initiative On North East (PINE). However, online newspaper, Cable.com said that Rholavision Engineering Ltd, a company where Babachir Lawal was once a director allegedly received “N200m kickback from a contract he awarded for the clearing of “invasive plant species” in Yobe State.

According to the report, “Rholavision bank statements and other documents showed that Josmon Technologies Ltd, a company, which got the contract from Lawal’s Presidential Initiative on Northeast (PINE) to clear grass for N248, 939, 231, made cash deposits of N10 million into Lawal’s company’s account 20 times from March 29.”

Below are documents from the senate that was used in indicted the SGF as well as documents from the SGF’s camp to counter their claims.

Document showing the signature of Dodo Jonathan which the senate used in indicting the SGF

Document used by the senate to show that Babachir Lawal was still in Director in Rholavision Engineering Limited

Document from the camp of the SGF to show Dodo Jonathan could not have signed in August 2016 when he died in January 2016 and also to show that the Babachir Lawal’s signature was forged and they forgot to change the signature date from 2015 to 2016

Letter used by the senate to show that Babachir Lawal only resigned from Rholavision Engineering Limited on August 18, 2015.

Letter from the SGF’s camp showing how the letter was forged as well as the original letter Babachir Lawal wrote to the Corporate Affairs Commission

The letter the SGF’s camp said he wrote to the Corporate Affairs Commission to resign his directorship of Rholavision Engineering Limited

The letter the Babachir Lawal wrote notifying ECO Bank of the resolution of Rholavision Engenerring Limited for change of signature.

Document from the SGF’s camp claiming Babachir Lawal is not associated with Josman Nigeria Limited, the company which got the contract for grass clearing.