NIGERIA: BETWEEN THE LINES OF PRESS REPORTS ON KBR

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000678

NOFORN
SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W, INL/C, INL/AAE, INR/AF AND INR
BAGHDAD FOR DMCCULLOUGH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/13/2017
TAGS: PGOV KCRM CVIS KCOR NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: BETWEEN THE LINES OF PRESS REPORTS ON KBR
SCANDAL

REF: ABUJA 259

Classified By: Political Counselor Walter Pflaumer for reasons 1.4. (b
& d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Beginning in late March, Nigeria's Attorney
General (AG) Michael Aondoakaa, has been manipulating the
media coverage of the Department of Justice's February 11
press release related to former Kellogg, Brown, and Root
(KBR) Director Albert "Jack" Stanley's guilty plea of
conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
(FCPA),including by bribing Nigerian government officials.
Since Aondoakaa's press statements, Nigerian news media have
continued to quickly seize on the AG's public remarks and
have been in a frenzy to uncover the names of the "Nigerian
officials" it suspects were involved in the scandal.
Aondoakaa, reputably one of the GON's most corrupt cabinet
members, is using this coverage to his personal advantage by
portraying the USG as reluctant to cooperate in the GON's own
investigation of the matter. At the same time, he is
portraying himself as tremendously eager to find and punish
those responsible. Aondoakaa may also believe that his
"spin" will bolster his own credentials and change his
negative image, as well as promote the impression within the
international community that the GON is serious about
combating corruption. END SUMMARY.

BACKGROUND: ALL ABOARD THE ANTI-CORRUPTION BANDWAGON
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2. (SBU) On February 11, DOJ announced that former KBR
Director, Albert "Jack" Stanley, pleaded guilty to bribing
Nigerian officials from 1994-2005 to obtain contracts to
build liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities valued at more
than $6 billion. (FYI: In Nigeria, the case is known as the
"Halliburton scandal," for KBR's former parent company. End
FYI.) While Stanley admitted that he and others met with
three successive Nigerian heads of state, no Nigerian
government officials have been mentioned by name in any of
DOJ's public filings or announcements. Soon after the DOJ
press release, the Nigerian news media seized on the story,
and began speculating on which Nigerians are implicated in
the scandal. The media's list of reported names reads like a
Who's Who of Nigeria's power elite. It includes former
Nigerian Heads of State Sani Abacha and Olusegun Obasanjo,
former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Petroleum
Ministers Dan Etete and Don Etiebet, a former Inspector
General of Police (and President Yar'Adua's cousin) Mohammed
Dikko Yusufu, former Managing Director of the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Funsho Kupolokun, and
several senior aides to these individuals.

BETWEEN THE LINES OF NIGERIA'S MEDIA
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3. (S/NF) GON AG Aondoakaa is manipulating the media frenzy
over the case to portray himself as an anti-corruption
crusader. Beginning on March 30, Aondoakaa has made repeated
press statements suggesting that he is eager to prosecute
those responsible, as well as to repatriate the illicit
bribes. He maintains he is "still waiting" for a response
from the USG to his letters requesting, in accordance with
the terms of the U.S.-Nigeria Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty
(MLAT),the release of names of the Nigerian officials
implicated in the corruption case. In addition, Nigeria's
Minister of Information, Dora Akunyili, announced on national
television on April 7 that she had written three letters to
the USG requesting the release of details of the scandal "to
fast-track investigations and prosecution." Also on April 7,
Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
announced to newspapers that it had requested that the AG's
Office release details about the Nigerians implicated in the
case.

ABUJA 00000678 002 OF 002




4. (S/NF) The disingenuousness of GON posturing is confirmed
by one of the EFCC's lead prosecutors, Festus Keyamo
(strictly protect),who told PolOff on April 14 that "the
EFCC was aware of the Nigerians implicated back in 2006 and
already has its own files on the case." In a March 25 op-ed,
Chudi Offodile, former Chairman of the Nigerian House of
Representatives Public Petitions Committee (which was charged
with investigating the bribery case) added that the EFCC's
knowledge of the investigation dates back to 2004. This was
corroborated by Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit's (NFIU)
International Relations Liaison Tukur Modibbo (strictly
protect) who told INLOff on April 3 that all of the names of
the Nigerian officials implicated in the bribery scheme were
known to both the NFIU and EFCC (both of which come under the
authority of the AG) since 2004.


5. (S/NF) COMMENT: We understand that DOJ received
Aondoakaa's letters, dated February 17 and March 27, only on
April 1 -- i.e., after Aondoakaa's press statements accusing
the USG of unresponsiveness. The AG is clearly using the
media to improve his own image, working to portray himself as
an effective and serious anti-corruption crusader when of
course he is neither. END COMMENT.


7. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Lagos.
SANDERS