May 29: Outgoing governors jittery

Posted by admin EFCC Politics, Governors, Top Stories Sunday, May 1st, 2011

As May 29, 2011 handover date approaches, outgoing governors have become jittery as law enforcement agencies are finalising plans to probe them for corruption.

SUNDAY PUNCH authoritatively learnt that the Nigeria Police Force, State Security Service, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Nigeria Immigration Service are determined to ensure that there is no hiding place for politicians who have enriched themselves for stealing public funds.

Our correspondent gathered that there has been an increase in the number of petitions against some of the governors, who have either completed their two terms or lost out in the April 16 governorship poll.

A reliable source at the EFCC, who craved anonymity, said although there had been fraud allegation against the outgoing governors before the elections, more petitions had been sent to the commission after the election.

She said, “We are even expecting more petitions. Some of the governors have been under our searchlight for sometime and we have been investigating them for allegations of fraud. Now that they will soon be out of power, more people have become more confident to report them to us.

“In fact, after May 29, we will receive more of such complaints because the governors would have lost immunity. A lot of them especially dipped their hands into the state coffers to finance the elections.

“We will however have a challenge of prosecuting the governors that were re-elected not just because of the immunity they enjoy but because it will be easy for them to cover their tracks. But for those who lost, we are more than ready for them.”

Early last week, the Chairman of the anti-crime agency, Farida Waziri, set up 15 teams to probe into the various cases of fraud levelled against some of the outgoing governors.

Waziri then sent the teams to the states to gather sufficient evidence against the governors and their cronies. The 15 teams left Abuja and some of the zonal offices of the commission for their various states of assignment last Wednesday.

The Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr. Femi Babafemi, refused to comment on the issue on Saturday night.

He said, “I have received instructions not to talk to the press on this matter. I am not saying anything.”

SUNDAY PUNCH however gathered that in a meeting of all heads of departments at the Abuja office of the EFCC on Saturday morning, the topic of the governors being on the alert was raised.

They feared that the governors may leave the country just after May 29 to avoid investigation into their tenure.

According to the information available to our correspondent, the outgoing governors are aware that operatives of the anti-graft commission are in their states and have grown cold feet following their presence.

The spokesperson of the NIS, Joachim Olumba, however said, there was no ‘hiding for the golden fish.’

Olumba said although the NIS could not prevent corrupt politicians from fleeing the country without the backing of the law, it was willing to cooperate with other law enforcement agencies and the INTERPOL.

Olumba said, “The world has become a global village and there is no hiding place for the golden fish. We will always collaborate with the INTERPOL. We saw what happened with other corrupt governors that ran away and how the law eventually caught up with them. However, it is left for the law courts to prove that someone is corrupt. If the law orders that we should stop someone from travelling, we will do that. But then the anti-graft agencies are usually the ones to initiate such actions and will cooperate with them.”

The spokesperson of the SSS, Marilyn Ogar, however, refused to comment on whether the service has put any outgoing governor on surveillance.

Ogar described that matter as a ‘sensitive one.’

She said, “I can’t comment on such matters on the phone. It is a sensitive matter.”

Also, the Police Public Relations Officer, Shola Amore, refused to comment on the matter.

Amore said, “This is not the time for me to answer questions.”

-Punchwp_posts