What is ONLY apparent is the fact following a Directive from the Executive Governor dated the 28th of
May 2001, addressed to the General Manager of PRTV, a Team of Engineers working at the PRTV,sat
down on the 29th of May 2001, and in ONE DAY and considered all the Submissions made by
Contractors. It is interesting to note, that the ONLY Submission tendered before this Court, was in
regard to Pinnacle Communications Limited. The Court was absolutely interested in seeing the rest of
the Submissions.
Apart from that, the Award of Contract issued by the State Tenders Board, raises a Presumption of
Regularity that Due Process had been followed, that is, that all the Bidders had been prequalified to
participate in the Tender. But yet again, not a Single Bidding Document, either from the Board or
Technical Committee has been placed before this Court, and neither was any Member called or
summoned to testify in this regard. The only attention grabbing fact is that DW12, Mr. Israel Dabel,
the Director of Engineering of the PRTV, kept in his Custody, the Award Letter issued to Pinnacle
Communications Limited on the ground that it had not paid the N45, 000 Tender and Registration
Fee, as seen in ExhibitD26B.
Question! How then did Pinnacle Communications Limited qualify in the first place? Someone has
jumped the gun. It is either there was no Bidding Process or the State Tenders Board and the
Technical Committee or the Board or Committee, were constituted by a bunch of Individuals, who
knew nothing of a Bidding Process. An invisible hand was likely at work.
Pinnacle Communications Limited had secured a Contract from the Plateau State Government for a
Whopping Sum of Nine Hundred and Seventy-Eight Million Eight Hundred and Seven Thousand Naira
(N978, 807, 000) without paying a Shilling for it.
How very fortunate for Pinnacle but how very unfortunate for the Government of Plateau State, in
particular and the People of Plateau State, in General.
As regards the Contention of the Prosecution, that the Sum of N250 Million was utilized to Purchase
an Apartment in London, England, he had summoned PW9, Detective Peter Clark, Retired, who
testified that he arrested the Chairman/Chief Executive of Pinnacle Communications Limited, Mr.
Lucky Omoluwa at the Heathrow Airport and had taken him to the Police Station for an Interview.
During an interview at the Station, Mr. Omoluwa was confronted with the fact that the Award of the
Installation of Televisions in Plateau State was a kickback given to him, to purchase for the Defendant
Flat 28, Regents Plaza Apartment, 8 Greville Road, London NW8, in the United Kingdom at the Sum of
£395, 000 (Three Hundred and Ninety Five Thousand Pounds). According to Detective Peter
Clark, Mr. Omoluwa denied this fact but Mr. Omoluwa’s Driver by name Mr. Wagdi Mikhail, had told
him that on a particular day, he drove Mr. Omoluwa and the Defendant to view the Flat at Regent
Plaza.
According to this Witness, sometime in September 2001, Pinnacle Communications purchased the
Flat at Regent Plaza for the Defendant using a Pseudo-Name through Rowberry Morris Solicitors,
from its United States Dollar Account with the Barclays Bank.
Now, it is expected that the Prosecution lead Positive Proof of the REAL INTENTIONfor the Funds of
N250 Million given by the Defendant to Pinnacle Communications Limited. The Defendant had both in
Typed and Handwritten Instructions set out this Sum for the Benefit of Pinnacle Communications. He
had also in his Extra-Judicial Statements in Exhibit P13C, stated thus: -
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