Former Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River escaped arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Tuesday by the whiskers, courtesy of the timely intervention of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
LEADERSHIP learnt that EFCC operatives had invaded Imoke's No. 27, Suleiman Barau Street, bent on arresting the embattled former governor, who has been implicated in the ongoing power probe.
Eyewitness at the house located on Aso Drive in Abuja, who confided in LEADERSHIP, said that the "whole house was surrounded by men of the commission who wanted to gain entrance to the residence where Imoke was holed up."
Garba Ladan, a gardener, saw it all. He told our reporters, "At about Afternoon, the whole of this area was filled with security men. They were around Imoke's house. I think he has done something bad because they wanted to break into the house."
But unknown to them the ousted governor was inside his bedroom making frantic calls to Obasanjo.
According to sources close to Imoke, "As soon as he learnt that the EFCC men were at his gate, he panicked and began to make calls.
He called Obasanjo. Obasanjo in turn called Yar'Adua, and a deal was sealed. Obasanjo commanded Yar'Adua to call off the invasion. The President promptly complied."
Yar'Adua, who was an under intense pressure to please his benefactor was said to have called the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa.
It was a peeved Aondoakaa who querulously called Mrs Farida Waziri, the EFCC boss, to call off the operation. Her wish was carried out within minutes. The operators, almost apologising to Imoke, left the house and headed back to office.
A delighted Imoke was said to have thrown a party in his house where minions came to rejoice over the "triumph" of their boss over the EFCC. The next day, Imoke left for Calabar to a heroic welcome.
Earlier on Tuesday, Imoke had met with President Yar'Adua at the Presidential Villa to fine-tune strategies to escape justice.
He came out of the meeting to tell press men that he had no fear of arrest.
Imoke is in the centre of an indictment by the House of Representatives committee probing of the power sector. A preliminary report is said to have said that Imoke was deeply mired in the financial ill-dealings that defines the sad situation of energy in Nigeria.
Imoke, a close confidant of Obasanjo, continues to enjoy protection by the former President because of "what he knows about the rough deals by Obasanjo", said a source who craved anonymity.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dimeji Bankole, is said to be on in the whole deal to protect Imoke, especially with the latest scenario in which the power probe committee is being scrutinised.
There is a strong accusation hanging on the committee that it collected N100 million bribe.
Observers believe that this is a ploy to discredit the probe panel report and render it ineffective.
Yesterday, some House of Representatives members denounced the current ordeal of Imoke, saying that the former governor is being persecuted.
Bankole's role in the whole saga is said to be informed by his wish to become the Governor of Ogun State in 2011.
In a related development, the Cross River State National Assembly caucus yesterday alleged attempts in some quarters to use the Power Probe report of the House of Representatives to effect the arrest and prosecution of Senator Liyel Imoke, using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Also, the caucus has urged the Federal Government to re-schedule the official handing over of Bakassi to Cameroon, slated for August 14, 2008, arguing that the ceremony would be better conducted with a substantive governor in place, considering the serious security implications.
In a press conference addressed by chairman of the caucus, Senator Bassey Ewa Henshaw who was flanked by Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), John Owan-Enoh, Bassey Eko Ewa, Bassey Edet, Gabriel Edi, Chris Sunny Etta, Alex Ikor Ukam, Essien Ekpenyong and Paul Adeshi Adah, the group stated that the plot to arrest the former governor based on the House Report was orchestrated by some amorphous group, paid by yet to be identified persons with a secret agenda.
According to the chairman of the group, the ongoing campaign is to "criminalize and stigmatize the former governor using the still awaited report of the House Committee on the Power Sector as launch-pad," adding, " after all, Senator Imoke is not the only Minister of Power, why are they so particular about him. If they don't know where to get the scapegoat, they should go elsewhere not in Cross River."
The statement continued, "Although we are not holding brief for him, since he is more than able to speak for himself, it would appear that his political enemies are taking advantage of his removal from office, albeit temporarily, via the Appeal Court judgement, now perceive him as a helpless cadaver who they are at liberty to finish off using the instrumentality of the anti-corruption agencies. We have it on good authority those agents provocateur in an attempt to stampede the House of Representatives and the anti-corruption agencies to take precipitate action against Senator Imoke. To this end, some faceless groups adorning posters calling for the arrest and trial of the governor are to be unleashed on the nation."
It was also the view of the group, "the unfolding conspiracy of this vendetta is premised on two factors. First, we believe that the unfolding conspiracy will destabilize our state and imperil the development strides recorded by the Liyel Imoke Administration.
We are also minded by the fact that His Excellency, Senator Liyel Imoke, embodies the genuine yearnings and aspirations of our people and given the profound leadership he has offered as governor, he is set to achieve a landslide victory whenever the election is called."
The group also challenged the EFCC under Mrs Farida Mzamber Waziri to learn from the mistakes of the past leadership of the anti-graft commission where it was perceived to be used to witch-hunt people.
On the issues of the handing over of Bakassi to Cameroon by the Federal Government, the group said, " In three weeks' time, precisely on August 14 2008, the official handing over of Bakassi to Cameroon by the Federal Government is due to take place. Given the security implications of this move, we the representatives of our people in Cross River believe that the process should only take place and be supervised by a substantive governor on seat. What Cross River State needs more than anything in the runup to this important event is enduring peace and not acts capable of plunging the state into turmoil and embarrassing our country."
Comments 1 to 5 of 11 Post a comment
WE HAVE A PROBLEM IN THE COUNTRY. WE ARE NOT A DEMOCRATIC NATION. WE ARE STILL CORRUPT AS EVER IF OBJ CAN JUST MAKE A CALL AND FREE A MAN WHO IS ACCUSED OF A CRIME. WHAT A SHAME.THIS CONFIRMS MY BELIEF THAT YARADUA WAS REALLY PUT IN THERE AS PRESIDENT. SO NOW WHAT?
it is very disheartening that nigerian/nigerians, are going through all these. i said it b/4, i will say it again. if the ex/incumbent presidents can pull these strings, on behalf of a criminal/crooked politician, all of them are the same ten and ten pence. put it a simple term, PEN ROBBERS. how can they do that? they should allow the imoke man, to go answer his querries. our money is missing, our money is missing, period. we need to recover it. what this means, is that, yar,adua, obasanjo, imoke and waziri through andookan, have shared the money with imoke. nigerians, i tell u, yar,adua is obasanjo in a third term. please, mr yar,adua sign our FREEDOM OF INFORMATIOn BILL INTO LAW, if u want me to trust u. u are all the same. stop pretending to the world. if this were ribadu;s days, that phone call cannot pull that off. i guess that is why, u reassigned him. if u beleive in the rule of law, honestly, sign the FOIB. we are too smart to be fooled. i tell u, the orange revolution will happen in nigeria, very soon. stop taking us for granted. i am as usual, G.C.
Is this what the Yar'Adua's acclaimed change is all about continuing with the same old path we tasted and rejected. Who is actually in charge Yar'Adua or Obassnjo? Why did the President halt the arrest of Imoke who came out flaunting to Nigerians that I did it so what? This is the same way Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello stole and stashed out money budgeted for healthcare and because her name is Obasanjo the matter is tied up in court and would probably dies in the court.
It is unfortunate that those that have been appointed by the good Lord to lead and disburse the nation's resources have turned them into their personal wealth and denied the poor. The good Lord also admonished the rich to look after the poor but they have ignored the instructions from on high. Now it is in the hands of the Lord and every man has his day with the good Lord.
This looks like a fabricated story by the real corrupt Nigerian politicians who will like to defame those that have served the country credibly using all forms of Nigerian propaganda media. There has not been anything that links Imoke to any corrupt practices by any probe but because he showed clearly what transpired with the power projects and could not be influenced by the corrupt politicians that are bent on finding FAULTS where they do not exist, the next step is to mount propaganda campaign against him. Hopefully, many Nigerians would be able to put 2 and 2 to make 4 in order to realize that this story on Imoke is RUSE.
We cannot pick and chose the politician to pick on Nigerian only go where the evidence leads them to. The last time we checked Lyle did not provide Nigeria with power for the amount his commission was provided to do so or tell us what happened to the money unless someone knows something. 95% of the Nigerian politician is crocks and under Obasanjo our money walked.
For anyone to defend Lyle for failing the nation suggests culpability or his surrogate. If you cannot admonish your own for wrong doing then you lack the credibility to talk about other politicians. Tell us pointedly what this guy has done with all the Federal and state money at his disposal to improve the quality of life of fellow countrymen and women? Show up or shut up.
See All Comments