Trail Reporters
Reports made available to Trail Reporters News Room shows that
the fight against corruption by President Muhammadu Buhari led APC Federal Government has been given another boost as The Special Presidential Panel On Recovery of Public Property headed by Chief Obono Obla Okoi on Thursday March 21st, 2019 arrested the immediate past Rector of Delta State Polytechnic, Oghara, Clara Sogbaike and other Principal Officers of the Polytechnic over alleged fraud of N3 billion and other corrupt practices.
Trail Reporters correspondent who was at the Asokoro office of the Presidential Panel in Abuja gathered from reliable sources within the Panel, that the suspects have been under investigation by the Presidential Panel since December 2017 and had been evading investigation by refusing to honour the Panel’s several invitations until their arrest on March 21st 2019.
Our medium gathered that, amongst those arrested were the former Deputy Rector of Delta State Poly Oghara, Mr. Nana Joseph, the Bursar, Mr. Napoleon Akpubi, the Registrar, Benson Omonode, the former Director of Projects, Engr. Dickson Eghwatore and Oluwatobi Sogbaike, a staff of the Polytechnic and also a son to the former Rector, Clara Sogbaike.
Discreet investigation by our Reporter revealed that the complainant of the case was a former Staff of the Polytechnic and he was sighted entering into the premises of the Special Presidential Panel, after which we were informed by a very reliable source that the complainant and the suspects were in a closed door interview with the Director of Operations of The Special Presidential Investigation Panel. Efforts by our correspondent to get details of the closed door interview did not yield positive results. A source who didn’t want his name in print because he is not officially permitted to speak on the matter, refused giving our correspondent details but only said that full investigation has been ordered into the case of fraud against the suspects by the Special Presidential Investigation Panel which will be concluded shortly and any one found culpable will not be spared.
The suspects were sighted by our correspondent coming out of the Premises of the Presidential Panel at about 6.30pm indicating that they had all been granted administrative bail after their statements had been obtained under caution.
Our correspondent who made efforts to grant interview with one of the suspects whom he later realized was the Registrar, Benson Omonode, heard him quarrelling with the former Rector, Clara Sogbaike, blaming her that she led them into this problem of fraud due to her greed and that he doesn’t want to go to jail at this his old age and that they must immediately look for a solution to try if the Panel can give them a soft landing.
Other suspects intervened and they all entered their awaiting vehicles and zoomed off as the tension and confusion was very high amongst them.
Earlier checks carried out by our news medium on the activities of the Panel, showed that it is a dreadful zone for corrupt persons because of the integrity of the Panel which has a zero tolerance for corruption.
As at the time of going to the Press, calls placed to the Spokesperson of The Special Presidential Investigation Panel On Recovery of Public Properties, Lucie-Ann Laha for comments were unanswered.
