Investigation: How Jonathan Appointed Suspected Serial Thief, Ladan Salihu, to Head Radio Nigeria

In Goodluck Jonathan’s Nigeria, relying on the influence of powerful individuals, including former Vice President Namadi Sambo, a man made it to the position of director general of a key and influential federal institution after he was indicted and even recommended for sack by investigative panels for stealing and gross misconduct.

This is the story of Ladan Salihu, the Director General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).

The official record of Mr. Salihu, the DG of Radio Nigeria, is awash with cases of indictment for graft, abuse of office and gross misconduct, which should have disqualified him from clinching the top job.

But as Nigeria descended so low under Mr. Jonathan that no sin seemed too atrocious to be brushed aside, Mr. Salihu, formerly Zonal Director, Kaduna Zonal station of Radio Nigeria, was appointed Director General in February 2014 by the then president.


The appointment came despite protest by staff of Radio Nigeria and more importantly, overwhelming evidence showing that the man stole government money, forged receipts and was queried and recommended for sack by his two immediate predecessors.

Documents obtained by Premium Times revealed shocking details of official theft, misconduct and non-compliance with due process for which he received official queries and sanctions, and at a time, placed on half salary.

In 2008, a petition by a retiree of the radio, A. J. Usman led to the setting up of an administrative panel by the then DG of Radio Nigeria, Ben Egbuna, to probe allegations of  “massive fraud and lack of due process in the activities at the Kaduna zonal station” against Mr. Salihu.

According to the report of the panel referenced in a query letter DG.452/VOL.XTV/66, dated July 14, 2008, Mr. Salihu allegedly stole a part of the funds released to him by the station for the coverage of the 2007 Hajj.

Although four reporters were approved for the coverage, with recommendation of $1,500 as estacode allowance to each, the panel reported that Mr. Salihu only took three reporters to cover the event, pocketing the funds earmarked for the remaining one reporter.

Even so, he pocketed parts of the monies meant for the journalists he picked, paying each of the trio $1200; $700; $700 respectively. He also failed to account for $13,800 he received as team leader for the Hajj coverage.

The panel reported that Mr. Salihu was not only awarding contracts above his expenditure limit, but also expressed worry that the contracts “were awarded only to Scale and Symbol Associates Limited without following the extant guidelines for award of contracts in the public service”.

He was also indicted for selling, without authorisation, a Medium Wave Antenna belonging to the Corporation for N700, 000 in “violation of the Corporation’s financial instructions which, among other things, require the approval of the Board of the Corporation, and in the absence of the Board, the approval of the Honourable Minister (of Information)”.

The report also found that he was a serving director of Lead Point Nigeria Limited, contrary to code of conduct for public servants in Nigeria.

In response to the fraud allegations, the DG at the time, Mr. Egbuna, issued a strongly-worded query to Mr. Salihu, demanding response within 48 hours. That never happened before Mr. Egbuna retired same week.

If those cases of graft weren’t weighty enough, a string of questionable activities by Mr. Salihu in the coming years, pushed the limits of official fraud.

In 2009, as zonal director of Radio Nigeria, Kaduna, he was enmeshed in a receipt forgery scandal and was recommended for sack after being placed on half pay by Mr. Egbuna’s successor, Nuhu Yusuf, who ironically, Mr. Salihu would succeed as Director-General of FRCN.

A panel of inquiry set up by Mr. Nuhu reported that the FRCN receipts numbers  15051 in the sum of N5,620,000; 2433 in the sum of N500,000; and 25581 for N3,500,000 to Katsina State Government for airing