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Politics › I’m Not On The Run From EFCC – Obanikoro by ORACLE1975(op): 5:15am On May 20, 2016

A former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, has said that he is not on the run from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Speaking with our correspondent on the telephone, Obanikoro, who recently bagged a degree in History from an American university, said he was not a fugitive running away from justice.

Obanikoro, who debunked newspaper reports suggesting that he fled the country in order to evade the ongoing $2.1 arms probe by the EFCC, stressed that the reports were in the realm of speculation.

A text by Obanikoro read, “To begin with, no allegation has been made against me officially that I know of. Therefore, I have no reason to run. I know for sure that all the accusations in the media are in the realm of speculation.”

Shortly after former President Goodluck Jonathan lost his re-election bid last year, Obanikoro said he was going to pursue an academic course in the US, stressing that life was not all about politics.

“That’s politics for you; you win some, you lose some. And there’s life after politics. I’m going to the US to pursue a degree,” he had said.

Troops battling the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East of the country protested unavailability of arms and ammunition, a situation that military authorities frowned on.

This led to the trial of some top military officers and men, some of whom were found guilty and sentenced to death. A number of the protesting soldiers also suffered demotion.

A former national security adviser, Sambo Dasuki, was charged in December in connection with the arms probe.

Dasuki was accused of awarding phantom contracts to buy helicopters, fighter jets and ammunition, which he denied.

Twelve senior Nigerian army officers were handed over to the anti-corruption agency for their alleged involvement in the arms scandal.

The army did not name them, but said they included six serving generals.

Army spokesman, Colonel Sani Usman, said the 12 officers referred to the EFCC included three serving major-generals, one retired major-general, three brigadier-generals, four colonels and a lieutenant-colonel.

It is yet to be seen whether the Lagos-born former senator would visit Nigeria after the completion of his degree.

Source www.punchng.com/im-not-on-the-run-from-efcc-obanikoro/

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Politics › EFCC Investigates Uduaghan, Ndudi Elumelu by ORACLE1975(op): 5:05am On May 20, 2016

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has begun investigations into the roles of the immediate past Governor of Delta State, Emmanuel Uduaghan, and a former federal lawmaker, Ndudi Elumelu, for in the $115m (N23bn) disbursed by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, during the build-up to the 2015 presidential election.

The EFCC also grilled a former Delta State Commissioner for Finance, Chief David Edevbie; and a former state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Chairman, Chief Edwin Uzor, for their alleged roles in the scam.

According to detectives in the anti-graft agency, the ‘Delta share’ of the money, which was N450m, was withdrawn from the Nnebisi branch of Fidelity Bank in Delta State and handed over to Uduaghan.

“During interrogation at the Port Harcourt office of the EFCC, we were told that the money was N450m and it was received through the Nnebisi branch of Fidelity Bank, Delta State, and handed over to Uduaghan for disbursement to the local governments during the 2015 general elections.

“The next step will be to quiz Uduaghan so that he can explain his own side of the story. They will be in court as soon as investigations are completed.”

All attempts to speak with Elumelu proved abortive as he neither answered calls not responded to a text message sent to his telephone on Thursday night.

As part of investigations into the fraud in the oil sector last month, the EFCC discovered that Diezani allegedly deposited $115m into Fidelity Bank through four companies.

She was alleged to have also given $26m cash to the Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, before the presidential election in 2015.

EFCC authorities alleged that the $115m, which was later converted to N23bn, was used to bribe officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The EFCC has since arrested over 20 INEC officials and quizzed some former governors, including ex-governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State and ex-governor Ibrahim Shekerau of Kano State.

Meanwhile, a former Senior Special Assistance to the Bayelsa State Governor on Millennium Development Goals, Mr. Apere Embeleakpo, and the agency’s accountant, Allison Amachree, have been interrogated by the EFCC over their alleged involvement in the embezzlement of over N380m belonging to the agency.

They were alleged to have diverted the money by awarding fictitious contracts among themselves without following due process.

Already some properties, belonging to the suspects, including a petrol station, two plazas and their bank accounts, have also come under investigations following a court order obtained by the EFCC.

“Although the suspects were picked up and granted administrative bail by the EFCC, further investigations are ongoing. The suspects will be arraigned in court as soon as investigation is completed,” an EFCC source stated.

Source www.punchng.com/n23bn-diezani-bribe-efcc-investigates-uduaghan-ndudi-elumelu/