… Explains how N7. 2m contract ruined him
By Eshioromeh Sebastian
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, has alleged that he was the victim of a high-level conspiracy orchestrated by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Senate, and then-Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo to force him out of office over the so-called “grass cutting” scandal.
In a lengthy and fiery statement titled Kachalla 2, released on Monday night, Lawal responded to sustained attacks and insults directed at him by social media users he described as “Atikulated propagandists” and “Fulani race” apologists.
He claimed the entire scandal that led to his removal was a setup born of political jealousy and tribal/religious bias.
Lawal revealed that his troubles began not because of any financial crime, but because of his close, decades-long relationship with President Buhari, whom he described as his mentor since 1971.
“This close relationship annoyed so many people who were beginning to fear Buhari must be grooming me for something higher,” Lawal wrote.
He added that powerful interests were unhappy that Buhari had appointed “a Christian from the small Kilba tribe to the powerful SGF” position. After a high-powered delegation failed to convince Buhari to reverse the appointment, Lawal said, “they had to get me out of the seat of the very powerful SGF at all costs.”
According to Lawal, the contract to remove him was “awarded to some Northern Senators,” who then subcontractored the job to “legislative hatchet men” and collaborators in the executive branch and the press.
He claimed the main contractor later apologised to him in the presence of friends, and that he has since forgiven the man.
The Role of VP Osinbajo
Perhaps the most striking allegation in Lawal’s account concerns the direct role of former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. He stated that after the Senate submitted an interim report urging President Buhari to sack him, the President dismissed the report on the advice of the Attorney General, citing a lack of substance and fair hearing.
However, Lawal alleged, “the then Vice President for reasons best known to him decided to pursue the matter with the president incessantly pestering him until the president gave in and permitted him and two others to investigate the matter.”
It was the report from that panel, Lawal insisted, that led to his removal despite containing “not a shred of evidence.”
No Money Lost – Only a “Pittance”
The former SGF vigorously defended the contract at the center of the scandal, which critics have dubbed “grass cutting.” He clarified that the project was actually the clearing of over 320 kilometers of the Komadugu Yobe river, which had been blocked by Typha grass.
The project, he said, sustained millions of livelihoods through fishing, agriculture, and pastoralism, employed over 1,000 displaced villagers, and included reconstruction of irrigated farmlands and distribution of boats and fishing nets.
He revealed that the contract that led to his downfall was worth just N7.2 million, won by his former company, Rholavision Engineering Limited, through a competitive bidding process he claimed he was unaware of.
“So no money was lost by the government, no bribe was given and no money was laundered. 7.2 million Naira; that is it,” Lawal wrote. “In these days when billions of dollars get taken out of government coffers in a single deal, is it not a wonder that an SGF would lose his position and scandalized over a pittance 7.2m Naira?”
Lawal emphasized that the matter was eventually handed over to the EFCC for proper investigation and prosecution. During the trial, the EFCC called 14 witnesses. “Interestingly all of them testified to my innocence as if they were my own witnesses,” he said.
In the end, he was discharged and acquitted alongside other accused persons on a “no-case submission.”
Attack on Atiku Abubakar
Beyond defending himself, Lawal launched a scathing attack on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He accused Atiku of never sympathizing with victims of banditry, which he alleged was perpetrated mostly by “Fulani bandits” such as Bello Turji and others.
“Why has Atiku Abubakar never publicly sympathized or empathized with the victims of these mostly Fulani bandits?” Lawal asked, adding that an Atiku presidency would embolden such elements.
He also questioned Atiku’s business acumen, claiming several of his companies were in distress and that his university was sustained only by “once-upon-a-time glory.”
Background on the Case
Who: Babachir David Lawal, SGF under President Muhammadu Buhari (2015–2017).
The Allegation: In 2017, the Nigerian Senate accused Lawal of awarding a contract for the clearance of invasive Typha grass in the Komadugu Yobe River basin to a company he had an interest in—Rholavision Engineering Limited.
The contract, part of the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE), was worth approximately N544 million, with a portion (N7.2 million) going to Lawal’s former company. This was seen as a violation of Nigeria’s code of conduct for public officers (conflict of interest).
The Senate recommended his sack. President Buhari initially rejected the report, but after pressure, including from the Vice President’s panel, he suspended Lawal in April 2017 and later fired him in October 2017.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) took up the case and prosecuted Lawal. In 2020, a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja discharged and acquitted him, ruling that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against him. The court granted his “no-case submission.”
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