The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has issued a statement addressing a Punch report that said that Nigeria’s chief justice, Walter Onnoghen and twenty-three other prominent Nigerian politicians and public officers were under investigation by the anti-graft commission.
The EFCC lamented the “leak” of the 24-person list and said that not only is the agency not investigating Justice Walter Onnoghen, but that the story had jeopardized its investigations of some of the persons mentioned in the report.
You may read the full statement, e-mailed to The Trent, on Wednesday, September 6, 2017.
The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has been drawn to a story entitled, CJN, Okonjo-Iweala, Fayemi, Fayose, Others Under Probe- EFCC, which appeared in The Punch Newspaper of today Wednesday September 6, 2017 regarding a list of high profile persons, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, former Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Kayode Fayemi and Justice Abdu Kafarati of the Federal High Court, who are said to be currently under investigation by the Commission.
According to the newspaper, “The list, sighted by one of our correspondents via an EFCC source on Monday, was recently sent by the anti-graft agency to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), based on request.
It is important to state that this report did not emanate from the EFCC and the allusion to “an EFCC source” is diversionary and mischievous.
For the avoidance of doubt, cases under investigation communicated to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation by the Commission are classified information and it is troubling how such would be leaked to the media.
The mastermind of this leak is out to create disaffection between the Commission and, particularly, the Judiciary. The Commission wishes to state categorically that it is currently not investigating Justices Onnoghen and Kafarati.
While Onnoghen was being considered for his present position, the Commission received some petitions which were investigated and found to be without merit and discarded.
Indeed, much damage has been done to the Commission’s investigation activities by this leak especially as some of the cases mentioned are still at preliminary stages of investigation.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
6th September, 2017
