Jackson Ude lied on N1.5trillion fraud allegation against NIMASA DG – Independent findings

The owner of the bank account allegedly belonging to the Director General, Nigerian Maritime and Administrative Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Yusuf Jamoh, warehousing N1.5 million and $9.0 million, has described the report as untrue.

The man, Mr. Hamza Ibrahim Jamo , a retired employee of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), told reporters that the said account belongs to him and has nothing to do with the NIMASA boss.

A United States-based Nigerian journalist, Jackson Ude, was the first to tweet the story on his twitter handle @Jacksonpbn and later reported it on his online news website, www.pointblanknews.com, a development the real account owner says it is a combination of outright falsehood and mistaken identity.

Following screenshot images of his chat and MTN phone number, some journalists used Truecaller application and direct phone calls to trace the owner of the line, who happens to be Mr. Jamo, presently a representative of Talent Enterprise, a Dubai-based training firm.

In the chat with the journalists, he confirmed being the owner of the MTN line and the Fidelity Bank account but said the report of the US-based journalists was a total fabrication of the writer as both had nothing to do with the NIMASA DG.

Findings showed that while the NIMASA DG’s surname is Jamoh, the individual journalist Ude chatted with and published screenshots of their conversation is Jamo, an almost similar surname without the letter ‘h’ at the end.

Meanwhile, in his explanation Jamo, the former NNPC employee, disclosed that he retired after 35 years of service, adding that his gratuity was the highest amount ever paid into the Fidelity Bank account that had never harboured anything more than N100 million. He added it was the same account Ude had reported a humongous sum to the tune of N1.5trillion.

Jamo disclosed further that the account had been closed due to activities by fraudulent persons to steal his funds.

He told journalists during a telephone interview from his Kaduna base that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had invited him between August and September 2019 when they uncovered plans by criminal elements to hack into the account and steal his money.

According to him, the anti-graft agency arrested suspected fraudsters in Lagos, Benin and Bauchi in connection with the act which caused him to shut the account for almost a year.

Meanwhile, the Dubai company Jamo represents has issued a statement that they never had any business relationship with NIMASA.

In the statement signed by one John Philip, Chief Executive Officer of Talent Expertise, it was stated, “I wish to confirm that Talent Expertise International operating out of Dubai, UAE and Abuja, Nigeria has no connection with Dr. Bashir Yusuf Jamoh, Director General of NIMASA.

“Contrary to the said notification, Dr Bashir has never at any time held any position within TEI and he has never had a role in the formation or running of this company.

“I wish to confirm that at no time in the past has TEI had any formal or informal client/supplier relationship with NIMASA. At no time have we ever provided services to or received payment from NIMASA”.

The statement further added, “Talent Expertise International is being represented by Mr. Hamza Ibrahim Jamo as its local Nigerian Director, a retiree from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation”.

Reporters also visited the website of TEI www.talentexpertiseintl.com where the name, profile, and picture of Jamo Ibrahim Hamza was published as one of its directors.

The Pointblanknews report had accused the DG of NIMASA of setting up the company, TEI, which has also been discovered to be false.