A SIXTEEN-COUNT charge was filed by the Federal Government at an Abuja High Court yesterday against a former Vice President of the United States (U.S.), Richard ‘Dick’ Cheney over his alleged complicity in the $180 million bribe-for-contract scandal by Halliburton.
Barely 24 hours earlier, The Guardian had exclusively reported that government had approached an Abuja Chief Magistrate’s Court for a bench warrant for Cheney’s arrest.
A source said the bench warrant for the former Vice President, which is expected to be granted in the next 24 hours, is meant to aid efforts by government to ensure that he appears to stand trial alongside some top officials of Halliburton, where he was chairman at the time of the alleged bribe debacle and other oil services firms.
Sequel to the resolution by government’s lawyers and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), that Cheney could not be absolved of complicity in the bribery scandal since he was at that time of the bribery in 2006, the chairman of Halliburton, the country’s Chief Law Officer had directed the lawyers to amend the charge sheets in the on-going trial of Nigerian and Halliburton officials to accommodate the charge of criminal conspiracy against him (Cheney).
In compliance with the AGF’s directive, the legal team comprising of Joe Daudu, Emmanuel Ukala and Damien Dodo, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria and Godwin Obla yesterday filed the amended 16-count charge against Cheney and others.
The charge sheet reads:
• That you, Halliburton Inc., Halliburton Nigeria Limited, Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc. (KBR), Richard “Dick” Cheney, Albert “Jack” Stanley, William Utt, David Lesar, TSKJ Nigeria Limited and TSKJ Consortium, within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometimes between 1994 and 2005 conspired with Snamprogetti Netherland B.V., Technip S.A., Japan Gasoline Corp of Japan to commit a felony, to wit: giving the sum of $132,000,000.00 to one Jeffrey Tessler (now at large) and Tri-Star Investment Limited for the purpose of gratification of public officials concerned with the award of the contract of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas project in Nigeria and thereby committed an offence under Section 96(1)(a) of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990 and punishable under Section 118 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990;
• That you, Halliburton Inc., Halliburton Nigeria Limited, Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc. (KBR), Richard “Dick” Cheney, Albert “Jack” Stanley, William Utt, David Lesar, TSKJ Nigeria Limited and TSKJ Consortium, within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometimes between 1994 and 2005 together with Snamprogetti Netherland B.V., Technip S.A., Japan Gasoline Corp of Japan committed a felony, to wit: giving the sum of $132,000,000 to one Jeffrey Tessler (now at large) and Tri-Star Investment Limited for the purpose of gratification of public officials concerned with the award of the contract of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas project in Nigeria and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 118 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990;
• That you, Richard “Dick” Cheney, within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometimes between 1994 and 2005, committed a felony, to wit: abetting the giving of the sum of USD 132,000,000 to one Jeffrey Tessler (now at large) and Tri-Star Investment Limited for the purpose of gratification of public officials concerned with the award of the contract of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas project in Nigeria and thereby committed an offence under Section 84 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990 punishable under Section 118 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990;
• That you, Halliburton Inc., Halliburton Nigeria Limited, Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc. (KBR), Richard “Dick” Cheney, Albert “Jack” Stanley, William Utt, David Lesar, TSKJ Nigeria Limited and TSKJ Consortium within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometimes between 1994 and 2005 conspired with one Jeffery Tessler (now at large), AVM Abdullahi Dominic Bello, Tri-Star Investment Limited, Urban Shelter Limited, Intercellular Nigeria Limited, Snamprogetti Netherland B.V., Technip S.A., Japan Gasoline Corp of Japan to commit a misdemeanor, to wit: Giving several sums of money in tranches totaling in the aggregate of $7,700,000 without consideration to one Ibrahim Aliyu, (then a public officer, to wit: Chairman, Programme Implementation Committee of the Federal Government of Nigeria concerned with the proceeding or business of award of contract for Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas project) through companies under his control to wit: Urban Shelter Limited and Intercellular Nigeria Limited and thereby committed an offence under Section 96(1)(a) of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990 and punishable under Section 120 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja) 1990;
• That you, Halliburton Inc., Halliburton Nigeria Limited, Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc. (KBR), Richard “Dick” Cheney, Albert “Jack” Stanley, William Utt, David Lesar, TSKJ Nigeria Limited and TSKJ Consortium within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometimes between 1994 and 2005 together with Snamprogetti Netherland B.V., Technip S.A., Japan Gasoline Corp of Japan committed a misdemeanor, to wit: Giving several sums of money in tranches totaling in the aggregate of $7,700, 000 without consideration to one Ibrahim Aliyu, (then a public officer, to wit: Chairman, Programme Implementation Committee of the Federal Government of Nigeria concerned with the proceeding or business of award of contract for Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas project) through companies under his control to wit: Urban Shelter Limited and Intercellular Nigeria Limited and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 120 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990.
• That you, Richard “Dick” Cheney, within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometimes between 1994 and 2005 committed a misdemeanor, to wit: Abetting the giving of several sums of money in tranches totaling in the aggregate of $7, 700, 000 without consideration to one Ibrahim Aliyu, (then a public officer, to wit: Chairman, Programme Implementation Committee of the Federal Government of Nigeria concerned with the proceeding or business of award of contract for Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas project) through companies under his control to wit: Urban Shelter Limited and Intercellular Nigeria Limited and thereby committed an offence under Section 84 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990punishable under Section 120 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990;
• That you, Halliburton Inc., Halliburton Nigeria Limited, Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc. (KBR), Richard “Dick” Cheney, Albert “Jack” Stanley, William Utt, David Lesar, TSKJ Nigeria Limited and TSKJ Consortium within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometimes between 1994 and 2005 conspired with Ibrahim Aliyu, Urban Shelter Limited and Intercellular Nigeria Limited, one Jeffery Tessler (now at large), AVM Abdullahi Dominic Bello, Tri-Star Investment Limited, Snamprogetti Netherland B.V., Technip S.A., Japan Gasoline Corp of Japan to commit a misdemeanor, to wit: Giving the sum of $7, 000, 000without consideration to one Mohammed Gidado Bakari, Sherwood Petroleum Limited, persons in whom Ibrahim Aliyu, (then a public officer, to wit: Chairman, Programme Implementation Committee of the Federal Government of Nigeria concerned with the proceeding or business of award of contract for Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas project) is interested in and thereby committed an offence under Section 96(1)(a) of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990 and punishable under Section 120 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja) 1990; and
• That you, Halliburton Inc., Halliburton Nigeria Limited, Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc. (KBR), Richard “Dick” Cheney, Albert “Jack” Stanley, William Utt, David Lesar, TSKJ Nigeria Limited and TSKJ Consortium within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometimes between 1994 and 2005 together with Ibrahim Aliyu, Urban Shelter Limited and Intercellular Nigeria Limited, one Jeffery Tessler (now at large), Tri-Star Investment Limited, Snamprogetti Netherland B.V., Technip S.A., Japan Gasoline Corp of Japan committed a misdemeanor, to wit: giving the sum of $7, 000, 000 without consideration to one Mohammed Gidado Bakari, Sherwood Petroleum Limited, persons in whom Ibrahim Aliyu, (then a public officer, to wit: Chairman, Programme Implementation Committee of the Federal Government of Nigeria concerned with the proceeding or business of award of contract for Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Project) is interested in and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 120 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja) 1990.
Source:ngrguardiannews.com
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