Gist Coven

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has stated that it might revisit the case files of 20 former state governors which it indicted for corruption in 2008. Acting Chairman of the commission, Abdullahi Bako, told journalists in Abuja on Tuesday that the cases were not pursued due to legal and financial constraints. “The cases came up when the governors were still in office, and the law provides for the setting up of an independent council to investigate them. “Unfortunately, at that time, the Office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) which was to appoint the council had no money to pay for such gigantic operation or assignment “That was why nothing was done about it. But the files may be revisited now that they have left office, especially of those with prima facie cases against them”, he said. Recall that the commission had in mid-2008 announced the setting up of a committee to investigate several petitions of alleged corrupt a...

Friends and family members of detained businessman, Emeka Okoronkwo are appealing to the Inspector General Of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris to call his men to order over their interferences in a civil case between their brother and one Kennedy Nwabuoku. According to them, the police officers from IGP Monitoring Team have shown glaring bias in the case by taking side against their brother, who is now lying ill at the hospital as a result of torture from investigating police officers. According to the statement, the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, IGP and Mr. Femi Falana, (SAN) have been mentioned as people interested in the case, while the said buyer of the land, Kennedy Nwabuoku has been accused of threatening to deal with the Okoronkwo. A statement signed by Stanley Okoronkwo on behalf of concerned friends and family expressed surprise at the allegation of attempt to sell Lagos Lagoon levied against their brother when available evidence and documents prove otherwise. According ...

A human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has warned against giving special treatment to former Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS), Ekpeyong Ita and ex-Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayo Oke. He gave the warning yesterday in a paper presented at a National Seminar on Recovery of Noxious Funds organised in Lagos by the University of Kent. According to him: “If the two former security chiefs are allowed to be treated like sacred cows by the Federal Government, other criminal suspects would resist arrest, investigation and prosecution under the principle of equality of citizens before the law. “I can imagine that some lawyers would seek to enforce the fundamental rights of many suspects to freedom from discrimination guaranteed by section 42 of the Constitution.” Falana commended the setting up of a committee by President Muhammadu Buhari to carry out a holistic audit of recovered assets by agencies of the Federal Government. He s...

According to multiple online reports, the Zimbabwean Minister of Finance, Ignatius Chombo, has been arrested by the country's army who recovered a whopping $10 million from him. Chombo is reported to have been arrested after gunfire was exchanged between his security and members of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) last night. Chombo is reported to be in custody after the ZDF arrested a number of ministers and senior party officials over allegations of “committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice.“ While speaking on Al Jazeera, Norton MP, Temba Mliswa, backed the military's intervention and says that it was necessary because Grace Mugabe had usurped power from Mugabe.

Former Chairman of the Presidential Pension Reform Team (PPRT) Abdurasheed Maina has challenges the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to an open debate on the issue of pension funds in the country. Maina who spoke through his lawyer, Sani Katu, in Kadun, said, “Let’s meet at an open panel of investigation if the EFCC is truly straightforward. We urge the government to appoint an independent panel of investigation and see who will run out of Nigeria.” The fugitive Maina who still insists that he is innocent of the allegations against him, said instead, it is the federal government that owes him money based on its whistle blower policy, since he helped recover stolen public funds. He said, “In 2011, we stopped the stealing of N300 million daily from police pension. Also, in 2011, we stopped the stealing of N1.04 billion monthly from police pension allocations. “Same 2011, we were able to stop the yearly stealing of N52.5 billion, which has been an annual ritual a...

POLITICALLY exposed persons particularly, former governors, ministers as well as public servants who served in government between 1999 to 2015 have abandoned over N2.1 trillion in various banks across the country and would lose the monies because they have no Bank Verification Numbers, BVN identification. The newly discovery is notwithstanding recent court ruling vacating an interim forfeiture on account without BVN. A highly placed source at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC told Nigerian Pilot Weekend that notwithstanding a recent suspension order by the court which freeze accounts without BVN identification, that there were several accounts of possibly politically exposed persons who are not willing to lay claim to such funds for fear of being quizzed and prosecuted by security agencies for stealing and embezzlement, still lodged in the various banks nationwide. According to the highly placed anti graft operative, the current chunk of uncovered funds are ...

Patience Jonathan, the Wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to vacate the interim forfeiture order it granted to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on May 30, to freeze her 16 separate bank accounts containing aggregate sums of $5.8 million and N3.5 billion. [/caption] Vanguard reports that Mrs Jonathan, through her team of lawyers led by Chief I.A. Adedipe, SAN, and Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, maintained that the court order had elapsed and could not be extended by the EFCC . She told the court that the anti-graft agency obtained the forfeiture order by an improper use of the judicial process. The 16 frozen bank accounts belong to 10 different organizations that were allegedly linked to Mrs. Jonathan. The companies which were also cited as co-applicants in the motion the ex-first lady filed to challenge the action of the EFCC are Incorporated Trustees of Ariwabai Aruera Reachout Foundation, Pagmat Oil and ...

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has confirmed the arrest of Anyim Pius Anyim, a former secretary to the government of the Federation. Wilson Uwujaren, spokesman of the commission, said on Friday, November 17, that Anyim was being held over an “ongoing investigation.” The former Senate president was still at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja as at press time. Report said that Anyim was being questioned for his role in the alleged mismanagement of ecological fund while in office as SGF, among other matters, our source said. While serving as SGF in 2012, Anyim was linked to shortfalls of about N396 billion in the Ecological Funds deductions. Subsequently, he was invited by the Senate Committee on Special Duties and House Committee on Environment to provide details of how money for the Ecological Fund office was spent but he never showed up in any of the committees.