Boco Edet
11 August 2008
Abuja — The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) says it is investigating allegations of corruption against former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Obasanjo, who left office in May 2007 after eight years in power, is facing many allegations of corruption, the most recent being accusations of mismanaging billions of naira meant for power projects.
ICPC's Resident Consultant on Media and Events Folu Olamiti said yesterday in a statement in Abuja that the Special Unit of the Commission was "studying and analysing" a petition calling for the probe of the former president. He did not, however, give details of the allegations being investigated.
Olamiti quoted ICPC Chairman Justice Emmanuel Ayoola as saying about the probe of the former president that "As far as we are concerned, nobody should feel offended if investigated. It is what the laws say that we will do. It is misconception to look at the status of a person and conclude that you are not going to investigate him."
In November last year, the EFCC said it would investigate a petition against Obasanjo by the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders. The group had accused Obasanjo of using his eight-year reign in office to corruptly enrich himself. It asked the EFCC to look into how Obasanjo raised money to revive his Temperance Farm in Ota and to engage in a massive construction work at the Bells University of Technology, Badagry, Lagos State. The group also asked EFCC to investigate the former president's controversial library project in Abeokuta, Ogun State, and the Petroleum Technology Development Fund.
Also last year, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) raised series of allegations of corruption against the former president, and asked the EFCC to investigate.
Ayoola also said the ICPC would in the next two weeks release the list of former state governors having cases of corruption to answer.
"We are looking at the files," he said. "They are 20 or 23 of the former state governors. I believe that in the next two weeks we will know which of them are to be investigated or not. Some of them are already being prosecuted for Money laundering. Money laundering is not in our mandate".
Ayoola said that the ICPC Act empowered the commission to go after former state governors once they lost their immunity. "We don't need an Independent Counsel to investigate and prosecute them," he said.
Many former governors have so far been charged of corruption by ICPC's sister agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). ICPC also received petitions against some former governors.
Ayoola said, "We are scrutinizing the files to see whether there are cases that we could now pursue. Many of these allegations were committed as far back as 2003. We need to see which of these allegations are motivated for election purposes.
"For this category of people, we don't need an Independent Counsel. But we have one or two petitions against serving state governors. It is not our responsibilities to appoint Independent Counsel. What the law says is when we come across such petitions we should pass them to the Chief Justice of the Nigeria who has the mandate to appoint Independent Counsel.
"The Chief Justice will study the allegations and consider whether it is worthwhile to appoint Independent Counsel to investigate those allegations.
When the Independent Counsel investigates, he does not prosecute. He reports to the legislature. It is for the legislature to take over from there."
On the pending corruption case against former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, Ayoola said, "I think it is unfair to keep a person under of that kind of suspense but the challenge is for the court. The case is still in court and we just have to wait for the system to perform."
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If you find it necessary to probe the man that created ICPC and EFCC (acronyms that are foreign to Nigerian culture of corrupt leadership until the advent of OBJ's Admin., then you better be prepared to probe not only Atiku but also all the previous Nigerian Leaders that are still living (Gowon, Shagari, Buhari, Babangida, Shonekan and Abubakar) and their ministers. No sacred cows!!!! Nigerian culture of corruption did not begin in 1999 but checkmated. Short of that wider net and your probe will be considered not credible but a sham and which-hunt - ditto for the senate probes. They should investigate how all the budgetted amount for "power" (electricity)generation since the 1960s were consumed with "nothing to show" for them. We are still waiting for the Senate President and his House conterpart to release the names of the Senators and House Reps that are involved in 419 crimes that you tried to sweep under the rug - a case of Mr. Kettle calling Mr. Pot black. We are watching and waiting to exhale from all these "Ruse" of Law shenanigans to manifest...
Dear Writer, Obasanjo is not exempt from arrest and prosecution because he formed these agencies. Infact, he should receive harsher treatment because he went against laws he knows he should not. Si-don look! many Oga go go prison. yrs Phillip Owi(Prof Math)
Obasanjo deserves the death penalty for his rape of Nigeria.However so also does these former rulers - Babangida,Abdulsalami Abubakar,Atiku etc. No one should try to exonerate OBJ from blame for his corrupt acts are so clear for all to see. However the likes of Babangida and all the other Northern rulers who put us in this mess deserves to die. Not only to be probed. I know that the ICPC probes on OBJ will come to nothing as the cabal (former corrupt rulers) shall not allow him to be nailed, knowing that doing so will mean they themselves shall get the same treatment. Even the effigy Yaradua can not harm Obj, Reason- the same reasons why OBJ refused to touch IBB when he held sway. These people are all thieves.But this is Naija, and here some people are just above the law - beleive it or not.
It is expected and, in any civilized society, normal that a set-up like the ICPC or the EFCC would not be pushed into starting an investigation by an unproven allegation by an individual or any group. What seems to be happening now in the case against the former president Obasanjo is that, having failed to nail Obasanjo to any corruption, the REALLY CORRUPT POLITICIANS WHO FEEL THAT THEY HAVE BEEN RESTRAINED FROM CORRUPTION DURING OBASANJO'S ADMINISTRATION BY THE CREATION OF EFCC AND ICPC ARE NOW USING EFCC AND ICPC TO HARASS HIM. All these are signs of a country thatis living still in about the 10th century. Very unfortunately, few Nigerian generations down the road will have pay dearly for this.