However, The Guardian learnt that Dangote was later released on self-recognisance.Anenih had been indicted and sanctioned by both the Securities and Exchange Commission  (SEC) and Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), in a share-crossing saga that made 160,000  shareholders of AP to suffer over N240 billion loss.

Dangote, the country's richest man by Forbe's assessment, had been exonerated by the two stock market regulatory bodies. But he was invited by the EFCC to state his own  side of the festering business tussle after AP President, Mr. Femi Otedola, last Thursday went to the anti-graft agency to file a complaint.

A source at the EFCC told The Guardian that the quarrel by the two erstwhile friends but  now bitter enemies, being over business deal, was better resolved administratively than being allowed to go to the courts.

The source said that Dangote made a statement, then questioned and "released on administrative bail on self recognition" but may be invited again if the investigators found a need to.

Nova is the stockbroking firm handling Dangote's investment portfolio in the stock market, which perpetrated the scam.The stockbroking firm had crossed the shares of AP 30 times in eight weeks, allegedly using Dangote's mandate, making the price to lose value by five per cent daily.

EFCC's source explained that the agency could not have been influenced by Dangote's exoneration by SEC and NSE as Otedola's petition to it predated the judgment of the  regulatory bodies.

"EFCC is interested in the weighty circumstantial evidence that implicated Dangote  and a fresh issue raised by Otedola in his petition which was sent to us," the source said.

The AP boss, in the petition, queried the claim by Dangote that he was not privy to the share-crossing saga, as the stockbroking firm could not otherwise have had any primary motive for the action.

Otedola also averred that with the trade alert mechanism in the stock market,  Dangote could not have feigned ignorance of the deals being reflected in his  account, more so that he is vice president of NSE.

Besides, the petitioner wants EFCC to peruse earlier written mandates of Dangote to Nova, to establish relationship between them and those suspected to have been given without written authorisation.

Otedola also would want the crime-bursting agency to establish factor(s) that made  Anenih to recant his earlier confession that he was mandated by Dangote to cross the  shares.

SEC had suspended Nova and Anenih from all capital market activities for one year for  employing "manipulative and deceptive devices and contrivances in its transactions on AP Plc shares."

Besides, the company and its managing director were fined N190,000, that is, N5,000 per day for 38 days, for violating rule 177 and the code of conduct for market  operators.

Anenih has also been disqualified from being employed in any arm of the securities industry for five years. In addition, he has been referred to the EFCC for further  investigation and possible prosecution.

However, SEC in its final report, "did not find any evidence" to show that Dangote, a client of Nova, instructed the stockbroking firm and Anenih "to carry out any of the transactions in AP Plc, purportedly done on his behalf."

The shares scam had pitted Otedola against Dangote, with the former accusing the sugar cum cement merchant of colluding with Nova to perpetrate the fraud.

But the commission advised the NSE to "review its rules and procedures for  appointing or electing its council members in order to ensure good corporate  governance and avoid conflict of interest situations."

Dangote is the Vice-President and council member of NSE. NSE had earlier sanctioned Nova when the saga came to the open, through  advertorials placed by AP over alleged cross-dealings on its shares, perpetrated
by the stockbroking firm, allegedly through the mandate of Dangote.

The Exchange fined Nova, besides suspending it from all capital market activities.SEC, before arriving at its conclusions, summoned AP, Nova, Dangote, NSE, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Limited and Afribank Registrars Limited.

While explaining its role in the saga, according to SEC's report, Anenih told the commission that he got oral mandate through telephone calls from Dangote to effect the transactions.

But Dangote's representative, while stating his principal's position, made it clear to SEC that the NSE's vice-president did not, at anytime, give any mandate to Nova to carry out the transactions.

"Following this statement, Anenih retracted his earlier statement that he received  Alhaji Dangote's mandate to carry out the transactions. He categorically stated that he did not get any form of mandate from Alhaji Dangote for the transactions", the SEC report said.

At the meeting, NSE informed the commission that the council of the Exchange had  considered the motives behind the transactions and concluded that Nova acted  inappropriately.

On the publication of CSCS statements on the alleged transactions by AP, the  representative of CSCS stated that in the course of performing its role as  clearing and settlement agent of the capital market, regular updates on transactions were usually sent to registrars of firms. It was his view  that this must have formed the basis for the said publication. He refuted the suggestion that the information was obtained directly from the CSCS by AP Plc.

In his reaction, the representative of Afribank Registrars stated that the CSCS statements published by AP Plc were obtained from Afribank Registrars as registrar to the company and that regular updates on transactions were usually received from  CSCS.

According to him, Afribank Registrars, being the agent of AP, could give all information obtained from the CSCS to the company in the discharge of its  functions.

AP's Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Tunde Falasinnu, explained that the company  got the hint that its share price was being manipulated, when some of its  shareholders drew the company's attention to the fact that "something unusual was happening to its share price."

According to him, this prompted the company to begin close monitoring of  transactions on its shares. "This led to the discovery of the cross deals between Nova Finance and Securities Ltd and Alhaji Aliko Dangote, in a manner  that created the impression that there was active trading on the stock, which
was in fact, not the case."

He stated that the details of the transactions were obtained and subsequently published in the newspapers.

AP's company secretary, Elizabeth Idigbe, explained that although the bearish  condition in the market impacted negatively on the price of securities, "the  case of AP was unique, given the fact that the transactions created a false  impression regarding the level of activity in AP's shares."

The records of the alleged manipulated transactions as obtained by SEC investigating team from the CSCS were circulated to all the parties and  they were accepted by all as the transactions done by Nova.

The transactions involved series of cross deals between Nova and Dangote, from February 11 to March 20 at 50,000 units of AP's shares per transaction.

Nova could not explain the motive for the transactions, when asked.