Like a fisherman who throws his net into the river with the hope of catching fresh fish, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has thrown its net after alleged corrupt governors whose immunities ended a few days ago. Sina Fadare reports that it would take extra effort before these men can be brought to book.

Worried by the alarming rate at which public treasuries are looted by public officials with impunity, especially some state governors and their cronies, Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mrs Farida Waziri, has advocated for a special court in the country that would try such officials on corruption charges. Waziri while presenting a paper at the recently concluded 1st Commonwealth Regional conference for Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa, noted that such a court would hasten the course of justice unlike the conventional courts. The anti-graft boss who lamented that since 2008 that she has been at the helm in the commission, $11 billion has been recovered. According to her, 459 units of real estate, 593 units of vehicles and oil vessels, 404 units of bank account and 183,627 units of assets were confiscated. Against this backdrop, the commission laid an ambush for the former governors who are found wanting as their immunities lapsed on May 29, 2011. Sources at EFCC told Sunday Mirror that the anti-graft agency was going after nine state governors it perceived as having cases to answer over how they spent the billions of naira allocated to their states during their tenure.

The agency is said to have placed the governors under 24-hour surveillance to forestall their jetting out of the country after their hand over to their successors on May 29. Sunday Mirror learnt that loads of petitions against the nine governors were now with the anti-graft agency and that in a matter of days the governors would be made to account for their deeds. The commission is said to have started investigating them. Informed sources said some of the governors are very smart and therefore beat the commission to it by jetting out of the country to avoid being embarrassed. Former Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State and his counterpart in Imo, Ikedi Ohakim, have allegedly left the country before the EFCC could lay hands on them. Ohakim was said to have escaped to South Africa, a few days before the May 29 handover in a chartered plane. Sunday Mirror learnt that loads of petitions against the nine governors were now with the EFCC and that in a matter of days they would be made to account for their deeds as the commission is said to have started investigating them. Apart from Ohakim and Daniel, seven other ex-governors on EFCC watch list are, Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo State; Bukola Saraki of Kwara State, Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano State; Ibrahim Shinkafi of Zamfara State; Muhammadu Goje of Gombe State; Modu Sheriff of Borno State and Akwe Doma of Nasarawa State. The case against them.
Gbenga Daniel

One of the petitions against Governor Gbenga Daniel is believed to have been written by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. It would be recalled that during the heat of campaign, Major General Olurin had said that if he got elected as governor of the state, he would send Daniel to prison. Now that his ambition did not materialise, Obasanjo might want to take his pound of flesh from the ex-governor. Informed sources at the EFCC disclosed that Daniel is being investigated over alleged N30 billion fraud including diversion of about N12 billion revenue in Ogun State Bureau of Lands and Survey. Apart from Daniel, EFCC had in the last one year quizzed 11 top government officials in the state over the alleged fraud. Reacting to the sudden disappearance of Daniel before the handover date, his former media aide, Mr. Adegbenro Adebanjo, said it was a wicked allegation as his boss left the country through the normal channel to go and rest. “The wicked rumour making the rounds is therefore a continuation of propaganda against the person of the former governor by purveyors of dark politics.”
Akwe Doma

Sources at the EFCC alleged that Akwe Doma’s son, Umar, was one of the fronts the governor used to siphon money. It was also alleged that the state’s Ministry of Water Resources raised the sum of N900 million through a backdated memo for the purported supply of chemicals. The ministries of Housing and Health were also allegedly ordered to raise N200 million and N340 million through a backdated memo for the construction of the Banquet Hall of the Government House. It was further claimed in some of the petitions that a backdated memo was used to raise an additional N68 million to cover the cost of accommodation for pilgrims participating in this year’s Hajj operation.
Adebayo Alao-Akala

Governor Akala was alleged to have mismanaged the sum of N250 million that was doled out to each Local Government in Oyo State. This amount was said to have been approved for each Local Government to enable them tar all the feeder roads in their areas. According to a reliable source, Gov Akala had ordered the removal of N100 million from each local government, while the Permanent Secretaries, Accountant General and all Commissioners took N50 million leaving N150 million which the governor directed the LGAs to use to tar the roads. “The roads are not tarred up till date,” the source lamented.

Bukola Saraki

In a petition written to the EFCC by the Kwara State chapter of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), the governor was alleged to have mismanaged about N65 billion given to the state from the federation account between April 2003 and June 2008. The YCE claimed that four local governments – Baruten, Ilorin West, Offa and Oyun – were supposed to be given N5 billion, N5.7 billion, N3.4 billion and N3.1 billion respectively, but no serious work was done in the entire 16 local governments in the state worth N1.5 billion during this period. This indicates that about N40 billion meant for the local governments is elsewhere. He was equally alleged to have purchased houses in London worth 10 million pounds. Bukola Saraki allegedly bought a mansion in London for four million, two hundred and fifty thousand pounds (£4,250,000). The house with title number, NGL805616, is located on 70 Bourne Street, London SW1W 8JW. “The three-storey structure is nothing short of a palatial mansion befitting only a king,” said a source. The house is not far from Buckingham Palace road. The interior of the house is said to be dazzling, with almost everything, including gold-plated door knobs. Other properties he has include a house on number 69 Bourne Street bought for two million pounds and Ashley Gardens bought for 4 million pounds.

Other governors were equally alleged on one financial scam or the other based on the petition received from the EFCC. The question is, did these governors loot the treasury of their states or they are victims of political victimisation? The EFCC Spokesman, Mr. Femi Babafemi, in a statement, hinted that “Investigation is ongoing and is being intensified to reach comfortable conclusion because these are high profile cases where we must be careful especially as it revolves round politicians.” In the past, some ex-governors were alleged to have a case to answer with the EFCC, but up till now aside Peter Odili, who was convicted, others were still pending in one court or the other. The indicted former governors are Joshua Dariye of Plateau State whose case is pending at the Federal High Court in Abuja. He is one of the ex-governors to be inaugurated during the week. Former Nasarawa governor, Abdullahi Adamu, who is also now a senator.

He was charged to the Federal High Court, Lafia; Abubakar Audu of Kogi State with case at the Federal High Court in Lokoja; Saminu Turaki, former governor of Jigawa State who is being tried at the Federal High Court, Abuja; Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia State facing trial also in Abuja; Boni Haruna of Adamawa with case at Federal High Court, Abuja and Michael Botmang of Plateau facing trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Other former governors on trial at various Federal High Courts are Ayo Fayose of Ekiti, James Ibori of Delta, Lucky Igbinedion of Edo, Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu, Jolly Nyame of Taraba, Rasheed Ladoja of Oyo and Attahiru Bafarawa of Sokoto State. Ibori is also currently facing trial in the United Kingdom after he was extradited from Dubai to face money laundering charges. THe questions are: Could it be that the EFCC chair is finding it difficult to nail some of this ex-governors because of the delay in the judicial system? Or are her hands tied given that the affected former governors are now in the hall of the untounchables?
                                                                                                                                 http://nationalmirroronline.net/politics/13567.html

Lets just watch