Ikoyi Whistleblower rejects N325m, wants N860m – Lawyer

Yakubu Galadima, the lawyer of the whistleblower who alarmed authorities on the money stashed in an Ikoyi property, has told Punch that his client will not be receiving anything less than 5% of the recovered monies.

With $43 million, N23.2 million and £27,800 recovered, the lawyer said his client is entitled to N860 million and not N325 million.

Bolaji Owasanoye, the secretary of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, according to Punch, said any whistleblower who assists the government in recovering any amount above N1 billion will receive less than 5%.

He said this at an event organised by Kent University Law School and Human and Environmental Development Agency, titled “Tracking Noxious Funds.” He said:

If you blow the whistle and the government recovers cash, you are entitled to between 2.5 per cent and five per cent. The maximum limit is five per cent.

According to the policy, if you blow the whistle and it is below N500m, you get four to five per cent because the higher the amount that is recovered, the lower the percentage that is given. This is the global best practice.

If the recovery is between N500m and N1bn, you get three to four per cent (commission). If it is N1bn and above, it is 2.5 per cent.

Indeed, there is a clause that we included in the policy to say that the government may determine the amount to be awarded based on other criteria provided that the amount to be awarded doesn’t exceed five per cent.

In other words, the government may actually pay less than 2.5 per cent but nobody can be paid more than five per cent.

Galadima, on the other hand, asked by Punch if his client would receive less than 5%, said “Not at all.”

He added that the exchange rate should be calculated based on the date the money was recovery, and not the present day.