Posted by From KENNY ASHAKA, Kaduna on
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and PDP chieftain, Senator Isaiah Balat yesterday hinted that governors indicted of corruption by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), may be arrested on handover day, May 29, 2007.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and PDP chieftain, Senator Isaiah Balat yesterday hinted that governors indicted of corruption by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), may be arrested on handover day, May 29, 2007.
He said the EFCC was working on the strategy to ensure that no corrupt governor escaped justice after handing over, when their immunity would have lapsed.
Balat also stated that the EFCC goofed by making a sweeping generalization of corrupt allegations on the 31 state governors when it was clear that certain cases were yet to be concluded.
Balat, who spoke with journalists in Kaduna, stated that the measures were aimed at blocking every loophole and routes that could facilitate their escape from the country.
While responding to questions on the fate of the indicted governors, 'I find that question very tricky. What will you do after May 29, 2007, if the person slips away? Except you go to the parade ground where the person will handover with handcuffs. However, I think that the authorities are doing something about that and I don't think they will want to make it public.
"Definitely, the law is very clear. Once somebody is immuned, the only organisation that can work against him is either the state or National Assembly. After the immunity, I believe organisations like EFCC and ICPC must be working out their strategies to bring these corrupt people to book," he disclosed.
Speaking on the manner the EFCC handled the reports on the indicted governors at the Senate, the lawmaker said that the commission should have categorized the governors along the lines of the reports before them.
"I think the confusion arose from the people Ribadu called under investigation and those for whom investigations have been concluded and they are ready to go to court. He told us that 31 governors or so are involved. He did explain that for some of the governors, he just got the petition a few days and they are working on it. Some they are already working on, but have not concluded investigations. He was just giving us a run-down. But I have not gotten the report.
It will be given to us on Tuesday (October 3, 2006) and that is when I can authoritatively say this governor has been indicted and that one has not been indicted. But I could also say that both of them are true in terms of the number without being categorical. I don't think that the president said that the report was sensationalised. He said that the press sensationalised the report.