ALLEGED COMPLICITY IN EFCC, AS PORT HARCOURT ZONAL HEAD FRUSTRATES HIGH PROFILE CASES

Trail Reporters

Reports reaching Trail Reporters news desk has revealed that as the anti-corruption Czar, Ibrahim Magu, who is the Acting Chairman of the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission is doing his very best to rid Nigeria of corruption, some of his top ranking officials in South South Zonal office in Port Harcourt are truncating the fight against corruption by conniving with high profile suspects to prevent their arrest and prosecution.

Documents made available to Trail Reporters revealed that, a case of fraud of over N3 billion naira was reported against the former Rector of Delta State Polytechnic, Oghara, Clara Sogbaike and others, to the EFCC Chairman since 2015 and it was directed to the Zonal Head of EFCC, Port Harcourt, Ishaq Salihu, to investigate.

We gathered that, after a thorough investigation by two separate teams (Economic Governance Unit & another team both in EFCC Port Harcourt office), the indicted suspects were arrested in early 2016 by one of the investigating teams led by an EFCC official simply identified as Abdullahi and later granted bail, but they later sued the Commission when they were requested to tender some documents to Officials of EFCC.

Documents sighted by our correspondents, showed that, a Fundamental Human Rights Suit, with Suit No. FHC/ASB/CS/17/2017 was filed in March 2017 in Federal High Court Asaba by the suspects against the President of Nigeria, Minister of Justice, EFCC Chairman and four others.

Our medium learnt that, the Suit was dismissed on the 3rd of July, 2017 for lacking in merit, after which all Federal High Court Judges went on their annual vacation.

Surprisingly, our investigation shows that, instead of Ishaq Salihu, the Zonal Head, EFCC Port Harcourt, to immediately swing into action by directing his men to arrest and prosecute the suspects, he deliberately sat on the case file for over two months without giving directives to the Investigative officers who had concluded their Preliminary investigations, to swing into action, despite not having any restraining Court Order on the Commission.

We reliably gathered that the action of Ishaq Salihu’s choice of deliberately wasting the Commission’s money on defending the Commission in Court rather than arresting the suspects and prosecuting them may not be unconnected to with his alleged closeness and romance with some of the top ranking politicians currently serving in Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s administration in Delta State.

One of the suspects under investigation was quoted as saying “We have settled some top EFCC officials in Port Harcourt and as such, the case will technically be buried to avoid suspicion of any compromise within the Commission.”

Reliable sources within the Legal Department of EFCC Port Harcourt office confirmed to our Reporters in Port Harcourt, that the suspects have recently filed a Notice of Appeal against EFCC and may any moment from now also file for Stay of Execution of the Federal High Court Judgement which dismissed their Suit, in order to tie the hands of EFCC from arresting them.

Highly placed sources informed Trail Reporters, alleged that, it was a well hatched and coordinated plan by the EFCC Zonal Head, Port Harcourt, Ishaq Salihu and the suspects as a means of buying time in order for the complainant of the case to be tracked and eliminated by thugs hired by the suspects, in order to silence the case.

Our reliable sources within the EFCC Port Harcourt office, queried that, its high time the Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, carried out massive redeployment of Heads and officials in the various Zonal Offices, especially Port Harcourt Zonal office to avoid internal corruption which is presently being experienced within the Commission’s office in Port Harcourt and other Zones.

However, documents in our possession shows that an official complaint about the conduct of the EFCC Zonal Head, Port Harcourt has been filed to the Acting Chairman, through the EFCC Internal Affairs Department Headquarters, Abuja.

As at the time of filing in this report, efforts by our correspondents to speak with the spokesman of EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren to comment on the matter did not go through, as several calls placed to his telephone line was unanswered, as we learnt, he was attending a training organized by Channels TV for Government spokespersons.