Malami
Senate President Bukola Saraki, disputed Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ali Modu Sheriff, and Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, are among 31 former governors who may go back to the dock to answer corruptions cases against them. The alleged corruption cases investigated by the anti-graft agencies are about to be reopened.
On Wednesday that the the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, AGF, had called for the case files of the former state governors from the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices, following his earlier letter to him to reopen the cases against the ex-governors.
The former governors, who were named in the AGF’s letter 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).
Others are 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.
The rest are Usman Dakingari (Kebbi), Adamu Mu’azu (Bauchi), Peter Odili (Rivers), and Lucky Igbindedion (Edo).
Part of the AGF’s letter to the ICPC pointed out that the cases against some of the former governors were investigated and concluded some years ago but charges were never filed.
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.”
It 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.
It was also gathered yesterday that the AGF had sent a similar request to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission with the same list of former governors attached to his letter.
The AGF’s letter to the anti-graft agencies said that AGF’s request for the case files was in the exercise of the powers vested in the AGF by Section 174(1) of the Constitution as well as sections 105 (3) and 106 (a) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
cpcnews.org 