N96m bribery scandal
probe hits dead end
June 28th, 2012 by zebbook
Police investigators are in a dilemma
over the whereabouts of the N96m
bribe received by the Chairman of the
House of Representatives ad hoc
committee on fuel subsidy, Mr. Farouk
Lawan, from the Chairman of Zenon Oil
and Gas, Mr. Femi Otedola.
Our correspondent gathered in Abuja
that Lawan, who appeared at the Force
Headquarters on Wednesday, insisted
that he gave the money to the
Chairman, Committee on Narcotics and
Anti-corruption, Adams Jagaba.
Investigations showed that the police
probe into the matter was compounded
by the refusal of the State Security
Service to provide the Special Task
Force with the original copy of the video
recording of what transpired between
Lawan and Otedola.
The police STF had also not received
details of marked money allegedly
given to Lawan by Otedola.
Saturday PUNCH had exclusively
reported on June 23 that the police had
written the Director-General of the SSS
asking for the materials, but the latter
had not released the items.
Our correspondents learnt that the STF
was not making progress in the
investigation because of its inability to
know the whereabouts of the money.
This came to the fore on Wednesday as
Jagaba and members of the committee
on fuel subsidy again shunned the
police invitation.
They were expected to appear before
the STF on Wednesday, but only Lawan
and the clerk of the ad hoc committee,
Boniface Emenalo, turned up.
The police had last week invited Jagaba
and the committee members. Jagaba
was asked to bring the exhibit money.
The lawmaker declined, but however
wrote the Inspector-General of Police,
Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, saying he
did not collect any money from Lawan.
Sources said the STF confused about
the next step to take, following the
‘dribbling‘ by Lawan and the refusal of
other committee members and Jagaba
to honour police invitation.
Other committee members that were
invited had yet to appear before the
police too.
A source said, “Investigators are
confused and didn’t know what to do
because Lawan kept dribbling them
about the whereabouts of the money
and it seems the STF is intimidated by
the caliber of people involved in the
matter.
“I think the fact that the Inspector-
General of Police, is in acting capacity is
an issue and that may be why the
police are afraid to go tough with the
lawmakers.
“The fact that the SSS has not been
cooperating with us by releasing
materials in its possession is not
helping the matter. This investigation is
heading for the rock.”
Meanwhile, Lawan has stated that
Otedola offered to bribe the members
of ad hoc committee on fuel subsidy
with huge money from the Presidency
so that the final report on subsidy
payment could be watered down.
Lawan explained that the Zenon Oil and
Gas chairman touted his close
friendship with President Goodluck
Jonathan and how he assisted him
(Jonathan) in various ways when he
was the Vice President.
According to him, Otedola threatened
him to remove the names of his
companies AP and Zenon Oil from the
list of indicted firms, otherwise he
would use his connections in the
Presidency to ruin his future political
ambition.
The diminutive lawmaker, in his
statement to the STF investigating the
N96m bribery scandal involving him,
Boniface Emenalo, and other
committee members claimed that
Otedola pestered him to exonerate his
companies and went as far as
threatening to truncate his political
ambition.
“Otedola told me he could serve as a
link to collect money from the
Presidency so that the report will be
watered down. Having seen him as a
friend, I consistently turned down such
offers politely but firmly, but when I
saw his desperation after the release of
the report, I decided to play along and
use his case as example of those who
tried to compromise us (committee
members),” Lawan wrote.
Police sources told our correspondent in
Abuja on Wednesday that Lawan
claimed he visited the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission
Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, on April
27, 2012, where he reported Otedola’s
attempts to induce him with money in
order to destroy the fuel subsidy report.

Source: omojuwa.com/2012/n96m-bribery-scandal-probe-hits-dead-end/