The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has began a comprehensive investigation into the activities of the immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
Sources said on Sunday in abuja that the commission constituted a four-member committee of crack detectives to probe all the NNPC accounts which were supervised by the former minister.
The committee was led by a Superintendent of Police, who was seconded to the commission and three others who were pioneer civilian operatives of the commission with high capacity for investigation.
There had been reports at the weekend of the resolve of President Muhammadu Buhari to beam its searchlight on the alleged purchase of three mobile stages, costing $6.9m, by former President Goodluck Jonathan and two of his officials.
According to a document, the deal, which is now a subject of investigation, was allegedly carried out by Jonathan; his Chief Security Officer, Gordon Obuah; and Alison-Madueke, with the fund said to have been withdrawn from one of the numerous accounts of the NNPC.
The $6.9m (about N1.37bn) was said to have been withdrawn for the purpose of buying three pieces of 40-feet mobile stages for use by Jonathan during the campaign.
A group, Crusader for Good Governance, had petitioned the EFCC accusing the former minister of squandering million of dollars of public funds to charter private jets.
The petitioners also accused her of spending $300,000 on an average international trip.
The group also alleged that the NNPC, a government agency she oversaw, maintained a Challenger 850 Visa jet which serves the former minister’s needs as well as those of her family. The cost of running the jet is $500,000 per month.
She was also accused of going to a meeting of the Oil Producing and Exporting Countries in Austria in a private jet.
It was gathered on Sunday that the committee set up by the EFCC had since commenced probing the NNPC accounts and activities of the former minister.
“I think the commission has commenced investigation into this Diezani issue. It is not just about inviting her, the commission has set up a four-man team of crack detectives to investigate her operations in the NNPC.
“The terms of reference of the committee include to look into all the NNPC accounts which were under the supervision of Mrs. Alison-Madueke.
“The committee has since commenced work; they are still working. I think a very senior police officer, a Police Superintendent, is leading the other operatives in the probe of Diezani and multiple accounts of the NNPC.” a top EFCC official told our correspondent in Abuja on Sunday night.
Meanwhile, Obuah has denied the allegation of purchase of three mobile stages, costing $6.9m, for public appearance of the then President.
Obuah, who spoke through his lawyer, Andrew Tsekiri, on Sunday, toldPunch newspapers that the allegation was false and challenged the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to produce evidence instead of putting him on trial in the media.
Tsekiri said his client had been confronted with the allegation while in the detention of the Department of State Services, which he said investigated it and found it to be untrue.
The lawyer said, “Let me tell you, nothing like that exists. Obuah did not make demand for that money for any stage. Let them show to Nigerians evidence that he took the money. When Obuah was in their (DSS) detention, they investigated this particular matter and found out that it was false.
“He was confronted with the allegation. Mr. Obuah told them that he knew nothing about it, and they found that the allegation was false. They released him, why are they bringing it up again?”
He said since the release of the former President’s CSO from the DSS detention in July, he had not been contacted over the allegation by any government agency since then.
He said, “They have investigated the allegation and they found out it was false, since then no government agency had contacted or invited Mr. Obuah.
“They should show how Diezani authorised the payment of the money and how it left Citibank to Zenith Bank, to Access Bank to Sterling Bank and they should show how it ended in Obuah’s account.”
Tsekiri said the outcome of the allegation would soon show that the Buhari Administration was not interested in governance but to frame up allegations against people.
“They are just lying against Diezani and Mr. Jonathan. That is what they are doing. Let me tell you what they want to do. They will charge Obuah to court, make all the noise about the allegation that has been published, knowing full well that the matter will not be decided in about a year or two, and by then, the public would have forgotten about it but they would have spoilt your name.”
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