Posted by Ben Atonko on
As part of her efforts to do away with the vestiges of the former Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) . Chairman , Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the new EFCC Chairman, Mrs Farida Waziri has sent packing all the units of policemen atached to the commision since the days of her prede cessor. Sunday Trust gathered last night that there are three units of policemen attached to the anti -crime agency, and each unit is made up of 63 officers.
As part of her efforts to do away with the vestiges of the former Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) . Chairman , Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the new EFCC Chairman, Mrs Farida Waziri has sent packing all the units of policemen atached to the commision since the days of her prede cessor. Sunday Trust gathered last night that there are three units of policemen attached to the anti -crime agency, and each unit is made up of 63 officers. The total number of policemen affected is put at 189, who were mainly involved in investigation and prosecution of suspected offenders of the country anti graft laws.
The redeployment is coming at a time when the anti corruption agency said it has arrested the Director of Engineering of the Nigerian air space Management agency (NAMA) , one Engineer Ezeh in connection with the ongoing probe of the N6.5 Billion sourced from Zenith Bank Plc for the procurement of Safe Tower facilities at Abuja and Lagos Airports.The statement said, "The Inspector-General of Police has approved the redeployment of the three units of policemen posted to the EFCC. This is based on a requested by the EFCC chairman to have them redeployed as part of moves to reorganise the EFCC."
Last month, the police withdrew a former Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, an Assistant Commissioner of Police from the anti-corruption organisation and posted him to Ningi Local Government Area in Bauchi State as an area commander. Lamorde had worked under Ribadu as Director of Operation.
Waziri's demand for the redeployment of the policemen is seen as a continuation of her efforts to have a firm control of the agency. Since she resumed at the Idiagbon House headquarters of the EFCC in Abuja, Waziri has reshuffled the staff of the agency. For instance, the former chief-of-staff to Ribadu, Dapo Olorunyomi, has been sent on compulsory leave, while a reorganisation in the media and publicity unit has seen to the redeployment of the staff to other departments.
When contacted for an explanation on the reason for the sweeping redeployment at the agency, EFCC's spokesman, Femi Obafemi, said it was a police affair and the EFCC had nothing to do with it.
He said: "the EFCC has nothing to do with them [recalled police]. Since they are policemen, it is the IG that can redeploy or reassign them. It's completely out of our ball game. They're policemen attached to the EFCC and they are different from EFCC operatives. It's just like policemen attached to any of the parastatals; it is the IG that sends them there and it is the IG that can redeploy them.
It is not the prerogative of the chairperson; it's completely the prerogative of the police authorities.
He argued further that, "the Director of Operations in EFCC is a police officer. Who redeployed him to EFCC? The police authorities. Was it the chairperson that asked for his redeployment? It was not. What I know happens in a situation like this is when some policemen have spent four or five years in a place they are redeployed. That is my understanding of what has happened," Obafemi explained.
Speaking on the arrest of a director of NAMA, Obafemi stated that Engineer Ezeh's arrest was in connection with the ongoing investigation into the controversial N6.5 billion. Two former ministers of aviation, Professor Babalola Aborishade and Chief Femi Fani-Kayode have been charged to court and held in prison custody on the orders of an Abuja Magistrate court.
"I can confirm that the EFCC has taken in custody the Director of Engineering of NAMA," Femi said, adding that, "The EFCC had initially invited him for questioning but it became expedient to arrest him and the EFCC has done so."
There are allegations that the Safe Tower project contract was inflated by over N4 billion, but Professor Aborishade who handled it claimed the contract was approved by the Federal Executive Council under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
A former Managing Director of NAMA under Professor Aborishade, Mr Roland Iyayi has also been charged to court and held in Kuje prison over the controversial project. They ad applied for bail on Friday but an Abuja magistrate deferred ruling on their application until tomorrow.