The fight against corruption in Nigeria may get tougher, as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, says there is ‘no giving up’.
Mr MAGU spoke on Monday in Lagos in a meeting with the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of Channels Television, Mr John Momoh.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested Emeka Mba, the Director General of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission over an alleged N15 billion fraud.
Mr. Mba was arrested on Monday morning in Abuja and taken to the EFCC’s headquarters where he is currently being interrogated.
A former military governor of Kaduna State and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Jafaru Isa, has refunded N100million of the N170 million he allegedly received from embattled ex-NSA, Sambo Dasuki.
Mr. Isa, a retired brigadier-general, was arrested on Wednesday by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, at his Asokoro residence in Abuja.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has decried the continued detention of its spokesman, Olisah Metuh by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), noting that, the ruling party, All Progressives Congress was after opposition leaders.
This was contained in a statement signed by the PDP National Legal Adviser, Mr Victor Kwon in Abuja on Sunday.
The statement decried the release of a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), retired Brig.-Gen. Jafaru Isa, eight hours after he was arrested by the EFCC.
Accord Party, one of the political parties which did not sponsor a presidential candidate for the 2015 elections, has confirmed receiving N100 million from a former chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Tony Anenih, ahead of the polls.
The party said it got the money through its national leader, Rashidi Ladoja, the party’s governorship candidate in Oyo State.
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, on Friday, challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to charge the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh to court if the commission was sure of evidences of fraud against him, saying “the EFCC appears to be operating a system in which an accused person is first arrested, detained endlessly while the anti-corruption agency goes about looking for evidence.”
Governor Fayose, who maintained his support for a genuine fight against corruption, challenged the EFCC to also act on petitions submitted to it against All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains and President Buhari’s election sponsors.
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Olu Falae, has admitted that he collected N100 million from the former chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
It was reported yesterday that a former SGF and erstwhile governor in the South-West got N100 million each from the N260 million given to Anenih by the office of the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd).
Olisa Metuh’s family has denied that the spokesperson of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, received N1.4 billion from the office of the National Security Adviser.
Mr. Metuh was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, on allegations of corruption, and remained in detention by Wednesday evening.
Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has denied ever receiving any money from former President Jonathan, Colonel Dasuki or any other member of President Jonathan’s government.
Reacting to an online publication that he received N1.7 billion cash from President Goodluck Jonathan, Fani-Kayode said “ this is false. A few hours later they changed their story and said that I received 1.7 billion naira from the office of the former NSA, Colonel Sambo Dasuki. This is also false.
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, has said more influential Nigerians would soon be arrested to face prosecution as the EFCC under him has reinvigorated the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
Mr. Magu, who made the disclosure on Wednesday in Abuja at a forum with online and broadcast media managers, said since his appointment as acting chairman of the EFCC, he had undertaken the re-ordering of the agency’s priorities for effective implementation of its mandate.
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