ORONSAYE: MIIVOC ACCUSES EFCC OF WITCH-HUNT …WANTS CASE TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER ACA
Kelvin Ifiok
A Civil Society organisation, Media Initiative against Injustice, Violence and Corruption, MIIVOC has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission-EFCC of witch-hunt over its incarceration of Nigeria’s former Head of Service, Mr. Stephen Oronsaye. MIIVOC wants the case transferred to another anti-corruption Agency to handle, to ensure justice and fairness.
Executive Director of the Organisation, Walter Duru stated this while addressing newsmen in Calabar over the weekend, arguing that Oronsaye has had a running battle with the leadership of the Commission and cannot get justice if the EFCC is allowed to investigate him.
According to him, “some Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria have paid particular attention to the EFCC vs Oronsaye case and I can authoritatively tell you that the anti-graft agency is simply being mischievous, as the facts of the matter cast a lot of doubts.”
“I can authoritatively tell you that the EFCC’s problem with Mr. Oronsaye is his support for the Proceeds of Crime Agency and Nigeria Financial Intelligence Center Bills. I was involved in the advocacy for the passage of the Bills and I can tell you the much I know.”
“Their attack on the man is strategic and they are simply out to blackmail him. Recall that recent media reports favoured Mr. Oronsaye’s possible emergence as Chief of Staff to the President or Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and the EFCC wants to destroy him.”
“Also recall that on the 16th of December, 2013, on the day of the Senate Public Hearing on the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Center Bill, organized by the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes, the EFCC invited Mr. Oronsaye for ‘questioning’ on the same tale of fraud. They ensured that Mr. Oronsaye, as Chairman of the Presidential Committee of the Financial Action Task Force did not attend the Public Hearing, a strategy to weaken the presentation of other stakeholders; but did it work? Even if you kill the messenger, you can never kill the message.”
“Recall that as Head of Service, Mr. Steve Oronsaye personally wrote a letter reporting the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) findings to EFCC, which resulted in the prosecution of one Mrs. Chidi and Dr. Shuaibu.”
“Why is it that after EFCC closed investigations in the Pension case in 2010, arraigned the suspects in 2011, obtained judgement on one of the pension suspects in 2013, the Commission is now seeking to reopen the investigation by claiming that one of the suspects ‘wrote an additional statement’ to include Mr. Oronsaye?”
“According to reports, Mrs. Phina Chidi is the lady who was covering her face in all the pension trial cases. We hear of glaring evidence of her involvement in moving money from pension accounts using “her under-aged children” and nobody has refuted it. How can a woman accused of such grievous offence all of a sudden become a star witness for the EFCC? Did the woman suffer from hallucination or was she under duress after three years to give a story against Mr. Oronsaye?”
“We are all aware that Mr. Oronsaye started the investigation of Pension fraud when he became Head of Service. It is also a fact that can be checked out that he set up the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) before he retired in 2010. He also personally submitted the final report of that task team to the EFCC and ICPC and invited them to investigate and prosecute those indicted before he retired. How come the complainant is now being witch hunted? Why is the EFCC making a charade of such an important case?”
“Mr. Oronsoye is the chairman of the Presidential Committee on the Financial Action Task Force. He recommended the merger of the EFCC with ICPC and has been in support of the autonomy of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, a unit presently under the EFCC which has been battling the Commission for autonomy. The Bill for NFIU autonomy has been passed by the National Assembly, awaiting the President’s assent. What do you think that EFCC will do when it is obvious that the largest international donor funding comes to EFCC because of NFIU. This amounts to criminal intimidation of innocent Nigerians, while the actual criminals in the system are allowed to walk the streets freely.”
“Mrs. Chidi was said to have informed the EFCC interrogators that she was given a mandate to shop for contractors who could make returns to the former Head of Service in the award of fictitious contracts which cost the country N5bn. She did not show any evidence of the mandate. In the Civil Service, instructions are communicated through formal memo. She alleged further that the returns were made to Oronsaye through Shuaibu. Where is the evidence that there was such a transaction? Again, the said contracts were awarded between January 2009 and November 2010 when Oronsaye was Head of Service. Why did it take the EFCC four to five years before they realized it?”
“She is said to have alleged that the proceeds from the phoney contracts were paid into the accounts of two new generation banks before they were withdrawn by Shuaibu and taken to Oronsaye. You mean, he withdrew over N6b cash and delivered to Mr. Oronsoye? How is that possible? Do they think that Nigerians are fools? Also, why did it take an additional statement, after three years for Mrs. Chidi to try to robe in Mr. Oronsoye?
“Mrs. Chidi was quoted as saying,: “In addition to my statement on January 11, 2011, I wish to state as follows: that I was asked by Dr. Shuaibu to shop for company names to execute our contracts, proceeds of which should be given to Mr. Stephen Oronsaye, the then Head of Service.”
“You mean, after three years of her statement to the EFCC, she now remembered that Mr. Oronsoye should be included? This is a clear case of afterthought. Even a little child will clearly see that it is a set up. Indeed, EFCC has lost focus and needs to be sanitized.”
“We expect the EFCC to tell Nigerians why they have not appealed against a ‘perpetual injunction’ restraining them from investigating and prosecuting some ex-governors. Why are known thieves walking the streets in Nigeria? Suddenly, the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde has become an activist? Nigerians are watching.”
It would be recalled that the EFCC under the present leadership has been severally accused of high level corruption and intimidation of innocent Nigerians.