The Economic and Financial Crimes Commsision,
EFCC, is set to investigate Senate President Bukola Saraki, factional Chairman
of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ali Modu Sheriff; and Senate Minority Leader,
Godswill Akpabio for alleged corruption while serving as governors in their
respective states.
The anti-graft agency will revisit other
cases of corruption hanging around the necks of 31 other former governors in
the country.
The Attorney General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, had written to the Chairman of the
Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, directing
the reopening of the cases of the ex-governors.
It was learnt on Wednesday that the AGF had
called for the case files of the former state governors.
Among those on the EFCC list are Saraki, a
former Governor of Kwara State; Akpabio (a former Governor of Akwa Ibom State,
and Sheriff (an ex-Governor of Borno State).
Other former governors include Orji Uzor Kalu
(Abia); Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu); Saminu Turaki (Jigawa); Sule Lamido
(Jigawa); Joshua Dariye (Plateau); Ahmed Yerima (Zamfara); Gabriel Suswam
(Benue); Martin Elechi (Ebonyi); Danjuma Goje (Gombe) and Murtala Nyako
(Adamawa).
They also include Ikedi Ohakim (Imo); Obong
Victor Attah (Akwa Ibom); Achike Udenwa (Imo); Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa); Gbenga
Daniel (Ogun); Jolly Nyame (Taraba); Boni Haruna (Adamawa); George Akume
(Benue); Rashidi Ladoja (Oyo); Attahiru Bafarawa (Sokoto) and Adebayo
Alao-Akala.
Others are Usman Dakingari (Kebbi); Adamu
Mu’azu (Bauchi); Peter Odili (Rivers), and Lucky Igbindedion (Edo).
Punch reports that part of the AGF’s letter
to the ICPC indicated that the cases against some of the former governors were
investigated some years ago but charges were never filed against them.
The letter partly read, “It is clear that
some of these governors and other politically-exposed persons have not been
charged to court despite the fact that the ICPC has concluded their
investigations, concerning allegations levelled against them, for one reason or
the other.
“It is the position of the present
administration that all ex-governors, who the ICPC had long concluded
investigations into the various allegations levelled against them, should be
immediately prosecuted.”
The letter also gave the Chairman of the ICPC
a 14-day ultimatum to “remit the duplicate case files concerning the
politically-exposed persons investigated by the ICPC over the years” to the
office of the AGF.
The affected personalities, it was learnt,
served as governors for either one or two terms between 1999 and 2015, and are
from all the six geopolitical zones of the country.
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