Posted by By PAUL ORUDE, Bauchi on
Top civil servants in Bauchi State are now jittery as a large scale fraud amounting to about N200 million was uncovered by men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) led by its boss, Nuhu Ribadu who was in Bauchi last week to effect arrest of a number of staff of the State Revenue Board.
Top civil servants in Bauchi State are now jittery as a large scale fraud amounting to about N200 million was uncovered by men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) led by its boss, Nuhu Ribadu who was in Bauchi last week to effect arrest of a number of staff of the State Revenue Board.
Acting on a tip-off, the EFCC chief dispatched his men to Bauchi for preliminary investigation before he arrived the state at the end of the week.
So far, up to 20 staff of the Board including senior administrative heads have been arrested and detained at various police stations within the metropolis before they were moved to EFCC headquarters in Abuja for further questioning.
At the Township Police Station in the state capital where some of them were kept, frantic but unsuccessful efforts were made by relations to see what could be done to assist them but the mention of Nuhu Ribadu and his EFCC people kept them away for fear of being implicated in the mess.
The premises of the Board of Internal Revenue looked like a graveyard Friday morning as people kept away from the area even staff who were there could be seen looking apprehensive as they discussed the development in hush tones.
Though no further comment could be got,the State Information Commissioner, Ibrahim Zaillani confirmed the arrest of the people by the EFCC as well as the amount involved, adding, however, that since further investigations were going on it would not be proper to make anycomment on the issue.
Also, at the State Police Command, the Commissioner, Mr Yinka Kayode could not be reached for comments but a senior polce officer who spoke to Daily Sun explained that they could not make any comment because the case was that of the EFCC.
Meanwhile, all those involved with the accounts administration in the state are observing extra deligence in the performance of their duties as Nuhu Ribadu has promised to come back for more people in his efforts to minimise fraud and official corruption in the country. The main talk now in Bauchi is who is going to be the next victim and what happens to those already in the EFCC net.