DSS indicts ‘CBN staff’ for aiding theft of Anchor Borrowers’ funds, explains how 

The DSS’s allegations, presented in a counter-affidavit exclusively seen by Naijaonpoint, responded to a lawsuit filed by Ansar Technology Nigeria Ltd and its management—one of the anchors for participation in the agricultural programme.

Ansar had sued the DSS and the Director of the Directorate of Proceeds of Crime Recovery & Management (DPCRM), State Security Service, in an originating summons marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1274/2023, insisting that the security agency lacks the power or privilege to subject the plaintiffs to investigation or prosecution for any act or omission that does not violate or endanger Nigeria’s internal security.

The plaintiffs emphasized before the court that the DSS allegedly does not have the statutory power to recover the debt arising from the time loan facility granted to them by Keystone Bank Ltd under the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme in 2021.

The plaintiffs’ counsel, Godwin Chigbu Esq, urged the court to declare that the Anchor Borrowers Programme executed by the CBN under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and the company’s participation in the programme do not constitute a criminal offense under Nigerian law, thereby warranting the DSS’s investigation, arrest, detention, or prosecution.

“Out of the loan amount of N4,807,500,000, the first plaintiff was only able to access a portion for the execution of the project,” he stated, adding that before the rice matured for harvest in the Zamfara State farm around April and May 2021, insecurity, kidnapping, and banditry intensified in the area, making it unsafe for the company and its workers to continue farming activities.

“Thus, the investment in the Zamfara farmlands became a total loss,” he explained, noting that relevant stakeholders, including staff of Keystone Bank Ltd, were allegedly aware of the situation.

He claimed that Keystone Bank Ltd had provided Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc as the insurer of the company’s farms under the programme, and Ansar paid the insurance premium as demanded by Keystone Bank Ltd and Veritas, thereby entering into an insurance contract.

“When the farms were imperiled as described above, the plaintiffs contended that Veritas should fulfill its obligations under the insurance contract; or alternatively, Keystone Bank Ltd and Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc should be responsible for repaying the loan since the primary source for repayment had failed due to reasons that fall within the insured events. 

“Keystone Bank Ltd and Veritas resisted the plaintiffs’ contention, leading to disputes over who should be responsible for repaying the loan,” he submitted, adding that the plaintiffs, Keystone Bank Ltd, and Veritas could not amicably resolve the issue of liability for loan repayment, prompting them to institute a suit at the FCT High Court to determine who should repay the loan.

He stated that despite the pending suit, to the knowledge of the DSS, its officials have continued their debt recovery efforts against the plaintiffs, prejudicing the said suit.

He urged the court to hold that the issue of non-repayment of the loan is purely a civil matter and does not have a criminal aspect.

Eno Uso-Essien, female personnel of the State Security Service (SSS) attached to the Directorate of Proceeds of Crime Recovery and Management, National Headquarters, Abuja, deposed in a sworn affidavit that the defendant’s mandate includes detecting, preventing, and investigating economic crimes of national security dimension, as well as any activities that could sabotage the country’s economic development.

Explaining the role of the CBN, the deponent stated that the CBN and PFIs were also indicted “for insisting that beneficiaries insure their farms with particular insurance companies that lacked capacity, and for which a very meager amount was paid as a premium.” 

“Ansar is suspected to be one of the conduits for the pilfering of public funds through the Anchor Borrower Programme (ABP) by staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” the DSS stated in its affidavit seen by Naijaonpoint.

The DSS added that the plaintiffs were aware of the challenges posed by sustained insecurity and flooding in Zamfara and Jigawa, where they intended to farm, but deliberately collaborated with officials of the Anchor Borrower Programme, including CBN staff, to override the guidelines and access the time loan with no intention of repaying it.

The DSS added that the plaintiffs were aware of the challenges posed by sustained insecurity and flooding in Zamfara and Jigawa, where they intended to farm, but deliberately collaborated with officials of the Anchor Borrower Programme, including CBN staff, to override the guidelines and access the time loan with no intention of repaying it.

The DSS accused the plaintiffs of instituting the suit solely to prevent the Committee from discharging its statutory mandate, attempting to use the court to hinder the DSS’s ongoing national financial crime investigation.

“The investigation has assumed a wider dimension, and other collaborators identified during the investigation will be prosecuted. The activities of the plaintiffs constitute a potent threat to national security and economic policy, affecting the President of Nigeria’s renewed hope agenda in the area of food security.  

“It would not be in the interest of justice and national security to grant the defendants’ relief,” the official responded.

Naijaonpoint gathered that the case came before Justice Inyang Ekwo on October 2, 2024, and was adjourned to November 20, 2024, for further hearing.

Naijaonpoint reached out to the Principal Manager at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Corporate Communication Department, Mr. Olalekan Ajayi, for his reaction.

However, obtaining his views was unsuccessful, as he maintained that the matter is still pending in court.

The Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the CBN was established in November 2015 with the objective of creating economic linkages between smallholder farmers (SHF) and anchors.

The current suit follows a presidential directive to the DSS to investigate economic crimes of national security dimension carried out through the Central Bank of Nigeria.

On April 8, 2024, the CBN dismissed five to eight directors. Those affected were from the Trade and Exchange Department, Securities Department, Development Finance Department, Purchasing and Support Services Department, and Public Affairs Department, Naijaonpoint previously reported.

The apex bank had dismissed over 110 staff members across its 27 departments, according to multiple sources.