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Ribadu Opens Up On Obasanjo's Men: •Explains Why He Can't Go After Them -PM News

January 15, 2007

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has explained why he cannot go after the Senior Special Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr. Andy Ubah and Chief Bode George, who have been accused of financial improprieties. Reacting to allegations of selective prosecution of corrupt government officials levelled against him at the Annual Chief Gani Fawehinmi lecture, held at the Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Ribadu said it would be wrong for anyone to believe that he was afraid of going after the people mentioned. He said the allegation levelled against Andy Ubah was political, adding that there was really nothing for the commission to investigate after finding out what really happened.

The EFCC chairman explained that a young girl in the US was accosted to explain how she bought a brand new car from her meagre income and she disclosed that it was Andy Ubah who gave it to her. He said when the information got to him, regarding the panel set up by the US government to investigate the matter, he personally requested for the girl’s confessional statement and the US government forwarded it to him. He said the US government panel that handled the matter did not take up the issue as a criminal matter and as such the EFCC cannot begin to treat a matter that the US government did not even consider an issue. Ribadu also revealed that Ubah's indictment was more of politics than corruption ''and so the commission is doing little or nothing about it.''

He said he was not holding brief for anyone but that it is important that the public know what the commission is doing. On why the likes of Chief Bode George have not been arrested despite being indicted by the NPA panel, Mallam Ribadu said the commission has so far not been able to establish a substantive case against him. He assured that when the EFCC eventually established a genuine criminal case against Chief Bode George and others being mentioned, ''we will definitely go after them and ensure that justice is done.'' Discarding insinuations that he was afraid of certain people in government, Mallam Ribadu said: “Who is Chief Bode George, who is he? If we find out that he really stole money from government, we will definitely go after him. We have arrested governors, ministers, legislator etc., so, who is Bode George that we cannot o after. We will definitely get him sooner or later.''

Saharareporters Commentary:

This is absolute nonsense from the EFCC and Nuhu Ribadu. Andy Uba's indictment was very clear in the US investigations/detailed affidavit provided as recently reported by Willamette Week and repeatedly by SaharaReporters.  Let's assume that the US government could not establish a criminal case against Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba because they cannot prove that the source of his laundered money was of a criminal source, EFCC could have provided that link if he -Andy Uba-wasn't a sacred cow. The financial rules/guidelines issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria are clear; you cannot move large sums of money out of the country, even if you own the money without disclosure. EFCC directs local banks to disclose any transactions of foreign currency-in and out -of Nigeria, if such transaction exceeds $10,000.

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How did Mr. Andy Uba get $170,000, why didn't he wire the money so that it can be disclosed? Why didn't he report to the US authorities that he was in possession of such large sums of money? Why did he use a street dollar hawker named "AG Gulam" to convert the money from naira to dollars?

Why hasn’t the EFCC partnered with the US law enforcement agencies to figure out what the Special Agent Guy Gino referred to as Uba’s involvement in 419 activities according to the Atlanta Bureau office of the US Secret Service? Why was it easy to collaborate with law enforcement agents around the globe on DSP Alamieyesegha - from London to the US and South Africa-then suddenly Andy Uba’s crimes are rated as “political”? why is Alams in a lockdown for stealing N50 billion and Peter Odili of Rivers State, equally accused by the EFCC of stealing N100 billion is sitting pretty in Port Harcourt unchallenged and unprosecuted?

How much does Andy Uba earn, officially, as President Obasanjo's senior special assistant on domestic affairs, the salary of a federal minister is N790, 00 per annum. How much do special assistants earn as "estacodes". How many times did Andy Uba travel out with President Obasanjo as to have earned $170,000 in “estacodes” such that he can afford to use all of it  in buying a Mercedes Benz car? Doesn't Andy Uba have other obligations; doesn’t he pay his children school fees in London?

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 We urge Mr. Nuhu Ribadu to desist from this deceitful act of ‘hide and seek’ with the Nigerian public; he must come clean on the sacred cows. Nigerians deserve better explanation(s) than this feeble attempt to defend the non- prosecution of Emmanuel Andy Uba an indicted arsonist, certificate forger, 419-er and money launderer. Nice try Nuhu!


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