EFCC after Jimoh Ibrahim over Newswatch’s diverted N150m

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is after the Chairman of Global Fleet and Publisher of National Mirror and Daily Newswatch newspapers, Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim, for allegedly diverting N150 million belonging to Newswatch magazine.
Ibrahim took over the magazine from its original owners in circumstances that still remain controversial, with many of the staff resigning in protest and for failure to pay salaries as promised.
The EFCC beamed its searchlight on Ibrahim sequel to a complaint that he transferred the N150 million in question from the account of Newswatch to another of his investments, Nicon Investment, which is regarded as his conduit pipe.
The transfer of the fund has led to the quizzing of the then Chief Restructuring Officer of the publication, Utong Nelson, and its then General Manager, Bankole Makinde, under whose watch the fund was moved.
Both of them, it was learnt, were quizzed by operatives of the EFCC for over seven hours in December 2013.
Sequel to the quizzing of Nelson and Makinde, Ibrahim, according to sources within the EFCC, quickly transferred the men out of Newswatch.
While he took Makinde to National Mirror at Deputy General Manager, Nelson was moved to Energy Investment in Ghana.
The source in the EFCC also said that Ibrahim, in the bid to outsmart the anti-corruption agency, hurriedly assembled accountants and auditors in his other subsidiaries to work on the  accounts of the struggling magazine before the next appointment with the Commission in Abuja.
But sensing danger to his career and future, Ibrahim’s Head of Audit, who had spent eight years with the lawyer, hurriedly dropped his resignation letter after the Christmas break.
Ibrahim was then forced to write the EFCC that the magazine would be on break till the middle of January.
Sources in the EFCC said Ibrahim’s claim has been that he invested the N150 million on behalf of Newswatch magazine.
Ibrahim is also said to be soliciting the assistance of the powers that be in the Presidential Villa, Abuja to avert a possible prosecution.
He has been sighted in the Villa several times in the last two weeks.
He is reported to be trying to extract promises of protection from top government officials in the corridors of power in exchange for favourable mentions in his three publications.
However, the EFCC is said to be insistent on prosecuting Ibrahim if eventually found to be culpable.
Ibrahim took over Newswatch in controversial circumstances.
The original owners of the magazine – Ray Ekpu, Yakubu Mohammed, Dan Agbese and Soji Akinrinade – are in court over the takeover.
They are claiming that Ibrahim fraudulently took over the company on terms that were not in the original Memorandum of Understanding that they signed with the lawyer.
Owing to the development and failure to pay salaries, several top managers of the magazine left.
Among those who left were the Editor of the magazine, Bala Dan Abu; and the General Editor, Maureen Chigbo.
Ibrahim has turned Newswatch into a monthly magazine since January 2013 instead of the weekly that it was and it has been running at a huge loss.
The floating of a daily newspaper, Newswatch Daily, by Ibrahim, is also being challenged in court by the original owners.