Posted by By Tony Orilade /Abuja on
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, says former president Olusegun Obasanjo is still under probe.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, says former president Olusegun Obasanjo is still under probe.
A source at the Commission who did want his name mentioned told P.M.News that the report which gave Obasanjo a clean bill, following the petition filed by Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, and former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, was fraudulent.
'The report is a 419. It is fraudulent. Why was it not dated? Why was it not part of the hand over documents to the Chairman of the commission, Mrs. Farida Waziri, when she was taking over?' According to the source, the petition was never investigated by any staff of the agency. The report giving Obasanjo clean bill of health was prepared by the then Director of Operations, Ibrahim Lamorde and it was on the order of his boss, Nuhu Ribadu.
The source further said that while the petition was kept away from public view, the clean bill of health was fraudulently prepared and kept in an obscure corner of Ribadu's office, apparently waiting for a day when in response to public outcry for the probe of Obasanjo, he would just say the report of the probe is ready, and simply date it the way he wants it.
Though the Commission's Chairman has already set up a committee to investigate the latest petition against Obasanjo, the source said nobody is above the law, and as such 'once the report of the investigation is ready, nothing would stop us from prosecuting the case.'
Asked what the commission and the Chairman will do in the event of interference from the Presidency on the prosecution of the Obasanjo's case, even when there is a prima-facie case against him, the source said: 'That is the worst scenario. Let us not imagine it because it will never come. So far so good, the president and the presidency have never interferred in our operations, and I don't imagine it will ever happen.'
Reminded that some pro-Obasanjo forces are reportedly planning to use the judiciary to scuttle the investigation and subsequent prosecution since there was an earlier petition and a report which gave the former president a clean bill, the source said: 'We shall also use the judiciary by appealing against it. Don't forget that this is the era of the rule of law.'
The source also explained that the allegation by Nuhu Ribadu that 31 state governors were corrupt and that they were being investigated were only political as the statement was only to compel the governors to support the third term programme of former president Obasanjo.
Specifically, the source said it was only after Ribadu made the statement on the floor of the National Assembly that he sent his men to Zamfara to ensure that 'they get something on the governor by all means.' Meanwhile, Chairman of EFCC, Mrs Waziri, has challenged Nigerian banks to live up to their responsibility by giving the anti-graft agency genuine information on money laundering activities going on in the sector. She said it is in the interest of the banks to cooperate with the Commission in this regard, stressing that the EFCC is now poised to beam its searchlight on the banking sector to safeguard the nation's economy.
The EFCC boss gave this charge when a high-powered delegation of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), led by its President, Dr. Erastus Akingbola, paid her a courtesy visit in her office, in Abuja . Waziri, while receiving the delegation, noted that the visit was timely as the banking sector was crucial in the country's economy and the realisation of President Umaru Yar'Adua's seven point agenda, as well as the vision 2020. She said that it was quite unfortunate that corruption, especially money laundering, was sometimes facilitated by the banks.
'We should partner with you because each time there is money laundering, there is always insider connection,' she said. She said that though banks comply with the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) directives to report all financial transactions, the reports in most cases are incomplete adding that 'the banks give you what they want rather than what you want.' She urged the banks to put their house in order and avoid being used as tools in the hands of those who are determined to ruin the country through money laundering.
Waziri congratulated Akingbola, who is also the Group Chief Executive of Intercontinental Bank Plc, over his recent election as the president of CIBN, and challenged him to bring to bear on the banking sector, his wealth of experience and integrity. In his response, Akingbola promised to give all necessary assistance to the Commission in the fight against financial crimes. In his opinion, the banking institution can only get better if the war against money laundering and other financial crimes is going to be successful.
'We are committed to enthroning good ethics in the banking sector and we are determined to get rid of bad eggs in our midst,' he assured. The CIBN boss revealed that in line with their policy of zero tolerance for corruption, the institute has set up a disciplinary committee which is ready to help the commission in its quest to end financial crimes. He praised the effort of the commission so far in the fight against financial crimes and money laundering. Akingbola was accompanied during the visit by Mr. Joseph Jaiyeola, the first Vice President, Mr. Olusegun Ajibola, National Secretary, Dr. Uju Ogbunka and H.R.H Prof. Green O. Nwankwo, past president of the Institute among others.