Justice Minister Cllr. Philip A.Z. Banks has formally submitted his written response before the House Joint Investigatory Committee probing the use of the controversial US$508,200 seized from a Nigerian National, identified as Valentine Ayika at the Roberts International Airport in 2006.

Minister Banks submitted his response last Friday in keeping with the committee’s ultimatum.  Minister Banks’ response was contained in a formal communication dated May 8, 2009 and addressed to the Chairman and Members of the House Investigatory Committee.

According to the communication, a copy of which was obtained by this paper, the Justice Minister and Attorney General submitted the following as his response:

That the incident to which Representative Tandanpolie alludes occurred in Mid 20006, more than  a year prior to Minister Banks’ assumption of the Office of Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Liberia in September 2007. Had the Representative taken the time, a simple investigation by him would have revealed this fact. That the money in question, found strapped and plastered to the body of the Nigerian national, Mr. Valentine Ayika, at the time he was searched, the security believing that he was bringing drug into the country, was initially seized by the security but was subsequently, on proper application made to the First Judicial Circuit Court for Montserrado County by the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Justice, ordered confiscated and to be used by the Government of Liberia. The confiscation by the Court, as with the seizing of the money, occurred prior to Minister Banks becoming the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Liberia. This act too could have been easily determined with the slightest enquiry, had there been interest in making such enquiry. 

The action by the Government of Liberia in making application to the Court for the confiscation of the money seized from the Nigeria national was done in full consultation with the Government of Nigeria at the time. To date, no challenge has ever been made to the judicial action taken by the court in confiscating the seized money. The funds were thereafter applied to the use and mission of the national security, as is customarily done throughout the world. This use has been confirmed by the President of Liberia, who has indicated that the National Security advisor, Dr. H. Boimah Fahnbulleh, who is also of the National Security Council, established by act of the Liberian Legislature, has full knowledge of the incident, including information on the seizure, the confirmation and the determination by the Government of Liberia or apply same to national security. Dr. Fahnbulleh has indicated his availability to be present at the hearings and a willingness to provide any and all information and clarification as may be require by this committee and as will not breach any security prohibitions; and for that purpose, he is present at these hearings. We, therefore, suggest that the committee allows him to provide it with the clarification on the matter if the committee’s desire is to seek and ascertain the truth.

The information regarding the action taken by the court and the action by the government in applying the funds to the use and mission of the national security, as is universally  done, was not at the time known to me or in my possession when, on the misrepresentation made by the alleged counsel for the Nigerian drug dealer and money launderer, Mr. Valentine Ayika, and what I subsequently discovered was clearly an incomplete CID report, I communicated with the Governor of the Central Bank to release the funds to the alleged counsel as recommended in the report.  However, immediately I learned of the action of the court, and the incompleteness of the CID report, I forwarded a second communication to the Governor to the Central Bank, revoking my earlier letter and directing that further investigations would be heard into the matter. The action was appropriate since the first letter was based on misrepresentations made to the officer of the Minister of Justice and an incomplete CID report, and was clearly in violation of the court order, later learned of and which violation the Minister of Justice and Attorney General could not subscribe to undertake or condone as the alleged counsel for the drug dealer and money launderer would have him do.

Following my further examination and investigation of the matter, I formed the legal opinion that the seizure was legitimate; that the action by the court in ordering the confiscation of the money strapped by the Nigeria national onto his body in order to  smuggle it into the country, an act which in and of itself was tantamount to money laundering, was legal; that the government’s application of the funds in furtherance of the mission to enhance the national security was legal and is legally acceptable universally  in all such circumstances; and the said act was not a violation of the constitution nor any status laws of the Republic. I stated that legal opinion in my press conference. I maintain that legal position today and I am not prepared to play politics with the laws of this country or with the security of the state; nor am I prepared to accommodate any persons, lawyers of otherwise, regardless of any connections they may have, whose seeming objective, and for their personal financial benefit, is to protect persons who have the design to infest our nation with illegal and dangerous drug and who are known to be engaged in drug trafficking or who seek to endanger our nation with money laundering. 

The joint investigatory committee of the House last Wednesday mandated Justice Minister Banks to submit a written response to a complaint filed to the plenary of the House regarding the use of the US$508,000 confiscated from the Nigerian national.

Recently,  Justice Minister Banks,  amongst other things, told a  news conference that the amount (US$508,000) in question was used on National security operations after it was confiscated by the court because it (money) was illegally brought in the country by the Nigerian national who is suspected of being a drug dealer.

The joint committees investigating the controversial US$508,000 are: National Security, Judiciary, Banking and Currency.

Meanwhile, the investigatory committee is expected to resume hearings into the matter today, Monday.