FURTHER details emerged at the weekend on the process through which the State Security Services (SSS) burst the $3 million bribery scandal currently ravaging the House of Representatives adhoc committee which probed the fuel subsidy regime. Investigations by Sunday Tribune confirmed that the Service had been on the trail of all parties involved in the oil subsidy probe from the inception of the high calibre probe embarked on by the Honourable Farouk Lawan-led committee.

The security agency was said to have been alerted by persistent allegations of bribe taking and demand for bribes made against key members of the probe committee.

For instance, it was learnt that some oil marketers were said to have raised the alarm that they were scandalised in the report of the House because they refused to meet some officials of the adhoc committee for closed-door discussions .Sources, however, said the Service was later to approach an oil magnate who was said to have also been asked to pay a certain amount as bribe by some persons fronting for the committee.

But the oil magnate was said to have agreed to help facilitate a proof for the security agency by entering into direct talks with a key member of the adhoc committee.

Sources confirmed that a pen recorder was then made available to the oil chief, who used the same to record his discussions with a top member of the House Committee involved in the bribe scandal.

“The Service got him in audio and in video. He collected the money and they have since invited the leadership of the House of Representatives to watch the film,” a source said, adding, however, that the SSS decided not to dabble into issues that are not strictly linked with security, a development that made it to transfer the tape to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

It was gathered that before handling the investigation of the scam, the Service had shown the video to the leadership of the House, including the speaker, Honourable Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

Besides the $600,000 said to have been collected by the representative, he was also said to be expecting a balance of $2.4 million after doing the job requested of him by the oil magnate.

But sources in the National Assembly said members of the committee were taken aback by the conduct of their member who was said to have consistently denied taking any bribe during the process of compilation of the report.

“We had suspected along the line that money was exchanging hands. Some people claimed that the sum of $3 million was given to a member by an oil concern in Port Harcourt. Others said another set of industry players doled out the sum of $1 million to get protection in the report.

“In all, it was gathered that about $10 million was involved in the bribe saga.

“The EFCC has been alerted on the possibility of the sum rising to $10 million. The total amount involved in the bribe saga is about $10 million (about N1.5 billion). The money was said to have come from different sources,” one of the sources told Sunday Tribune.

It was learnt that some enraged members of the committee have vowed not to protect any individual over this matter.

Sources, however, said on Saturday that moves were afoot by some powerful forces in Abuja to stall the prosecution of the House member.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives maintained on Saturday that it would not stand with corruption in the face of bribery allegation levelled against the committee.

The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Honourable Zakari Muhammed, in a statement obtained by Sunday Tribune, said “the attention of the House has been drawn to reports alleging that one of its members has, in the course of his committee work as a member of the ad hoc committee which investigated the subsidy regime, allegedly received a gratification from an oil baron to exonerate his companies from complicity in the oil subsidy scam.”

The lawmaker added that, "while we await investigation into these weighty accusations, we wish to state without equivocation that this honourable House will never take side with corruption and we will always stand on the side of the rule of law.”

The statement also said “the reason we inaugurated the adhoc committee to look into the controversial subsidy regime in the first place was to expose corruption in the sector. As such, we cannot, for whatever reason, support any underhand dealing from any quarter.

“However, these accusations, whatever their merits, do not detract from the quality of the work done by the committee. The report of that committee was adopted by the whole House and we stand by the resolutions of the House.

“The present House of Representatives will not relent in it's efforts to render quality legislation and oversight functions to Nigerians. Today, we are gradually beginning to see the end of this monstrosity that has bedeviled our progress as a nation for so long.

"We hope that the executive will not, because of this allegation, abandon it's commitment towards bringing to justice the culprits already identified in the committee's report.”

http://tribune.com.ng/sun/front-page-articles/7547-subsidy-probe-how-sss-burst-3m-bribery-scandal-oil-chief-used-pen-recorder-to-nail-rep-we-wont-side-with-corruption-house

good work.

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ok

soooo . .. . has the SSS arrested him, assuming all these allegations hold water, and the existence of digital evidence of the act is real ?

much appreciated