Looted Funds Traced To NIMASA Boss’ Personal Accounts: It’s Fake, Old News —Bashir Jamoh

By Daniel Dafe

Managing Director, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Bashir Jamoh has described as fake and old news reports published by some online platforms on Monday that said that some United Kingdom investigators have bursted another corruption scandal in the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration involving him.

The reports said various sums including N1.5 Trillion and another $9,557,312.50 have been traced to his personal accounts.

“Shockingly the Fidelity account with N1, 505,890,450,000.67 has Hamza Ibrahim Jamoh with BVN 22151837650 and Cell phone number 08034517410. While the BVN number revealed a different identity, the cell phone linked to the account is linked to the DG of NIMASA, Jamoh.

“Further investigations revealed that the N1.5trillion was after few months cleared from the account to avoid investigations on the lodgment of such huge amount,” the reports said.

But, in a swift reaction, an aide to the NIMASA boss, Mr. Umoh, said the stories are fake and old, adding that “secondly it was falsely peddled March last year.”

“So what you are having is just people trying to bring back the same old story from last year when the matter first arose.

“So, anybody that is dealing with it is dealing with fake news that is old and stale and doesn’t even bear any relevance that’s just the reality,” he said during a phone conversation with Oasis Magazine.

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Asked if the allegations have been addressed, he said:: “Yes they’ve been dealt with.”

Also asked if his boss was declared innocent after investigations by the EFCC, he said: “That’s what I’m telling you; you as a journalist do your own investigation and find out. If as a journalist you’re talking to me about this story then it means that you have not done your homework because if you have done your homework on the story you’ll realise that this story is fake and old to begin with.

“No journalist will be dealing with old stories of over a year ago, March 2021 and be giving it any form of recognition or value and importance. I’m talking of a journalist now. The ordinary person who is on social media platform can fall for it but as a journalist and publisher of the magazine you said you are, you should conduct your own due investigation and you’ll know that a story that old shouldn’t even have any business to begin with as a story left alone with the fact that it is a fake news. The matter has long been addressed exactly a year ago.”

“Unfortunately 70 – 90% of people that have a blog or a website just do copy and paste and that’s essentially the issue with journalism.

“Journalism is investigative. You must do investigative reporting; it’s a must! You must investigate so you can get accurate and factual information.

“So your calling is good because that is what is expected from journalists before publishing a story. I will give that to you as a positive quality.

“However, the summary of this call is that no journalist should even go out and post this story on their platform as it is old news and fake news,” he opined.