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Patience won’t go scot-free if found guilty –EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday vowed that the
wife of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, will never go
scot-free if its investigation against her produces evidence that she
was involved in any corrupt practices.
The EFCC Deputy Director of Operations, Mr. Iliyasu Kwarbai, said this
after receiving a petition against Patience and the ruling All
Progressives Congress from a group of protesters, under the aegis of
Human Rights Defenders and Advocacy Centre, who marched to the EFCC
office in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The group submitted a petition titled, “Demand for arrest,
prosecution of Patience Jonathan, probe of the APC campaign funds and no
more sacred cows in the anti-corruption crusade.”

In the said petition signed by its President, Queen Ameh, and the
Chairman of its Board of Trustees, Innocent Agbo, the HRDAC accused the
EFCC of being selective in its anti-graft war, and wondered why Patience
was still walking freely in spite of the evidence, which they said the
EFCC had against her.
The HRDAC asked the EFCC to change its slogan, “Nobody is above the
law,” since it had found it difficult to go after the likes of Patience,
ex-Presidents, including Ibrahim Babangida, Abdulsalami Abubakar,
Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan.
The protesters also challenged the EFCC to probe the source of the
election campaign funds of the ruling APC in the 2015 elections, while
also demanding a probe of the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola
Tinubu, and the ex-Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi.
Addressing the EFCC, Agbo said, 

“You have found evidence incriminating Patience Jonathan but we are
surprised that Patience Jonathan is still allowed to be walking freely,
and even had the audacity to take the EFCC to court to demand the
release of her money to her.

“I have been to this same EFCC to bail several people over the issue of
N500,000 passing through their accounts innocently. They were invited,
they came voluntarily and you people held them. But we have somebody
with our money, $15m which is N6bn, walking freely. We have the issue of
Badamasi Babangida; it is open knowledge that N12bn gulf money was
missing under his regime, nothing is done; we are aware of Obasanjo and
the $16bn power funds, you people are not investigating it; we are aware
of the petition against Amaechi to the EFCC; we are aware that the APC
did not get the funds for its election campaign from only Buhari’s
account. We are aware that you are probing the Peoples Democratic Party,
why are you not probing the APC?”

In response, Kwarbai said the EFCC was not selective in its anti-graft
fight, explaining that it does not arrest people arbitrarily but worked
based on petitions submitted to it.
He also said the general public might not understand that investigation
of crime was a long process, which he said, involved visit to so many
establishments and institutions.

He said, “Let me tell you, there is no sacred cow; anybody who is found
wanting, who involves himself or herself in corrupt practices will not
be spared. I have received your petition, it is here and what  do we do?
We go into investigation immediately. Now we have seen the name of
Patience Jonathan; it is here. If she is found wanting, she will never
go scot-free. So also any other person no matter how highly placed he
is.
“We must sanitise our country and provide a very good environment
that people can come and invest in; an economy that is devoid of any
economic and financial crime. So, we are happy to see you here; we have
received it and we are going to go into action. I am going to inform my
chairman that you were here and that we’ll commence investigation
immediately.”

Culled from Punch

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Anonymous

    October 13, 2016 at 5:29 am

    I doubt if thats his pix, he aint dumb.

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