Mr. Aliyu became the target of slanderous campaign from those he investigated for pension fraud, namely Stephen Oronsaye, former Head of Service of the Federation; Abdulrasheed Maina, former Acting Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Force; and Shuaibu Teidi.
Habibu Adamu Aliyu, head of the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) team that investigated pension fraud in the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (OHSF) and the Police Pension Office, has announced that he is ready to testify against those indicted in the investigation.
Mr. Aliyu, who resigned from the EFCC in 2016, expressed his readiness in a letter written by his legal representatives, AA Umar (SAN) & Co. Dated October 31, and addressed to Ibrahim Magu, Acting EFCC Chairman. The letter stated that Mr. Aliyu, now a private professional consultant, is ready to testify against alleged pension fraudsters whenever called upon.
However, his lawyers noted that this service and other services that he may render must come with agreed terms. The law firm also stated that Mr. Aliyu deserves to be compensated for the services he has rendered to the EFCC since October 22.
“We therefore request that he be formally engaged for all the services he has been rendering for you since 22 October 2017 to date and subsequent services, which you may require from him, must be adequately compensated. We therefore request to be informed of the action you intend to take in respect of our client's letter of November 2015 and the amount of compensation under which our client will continue to assist you in this regard," the letter said.
Mr. Aliyu became the target of slanderous campaign from those he investigated for pension fraud, namely Stephen Oronsaye, former Head of Service of the Federation; Abdulrasheed Maina, former Acting Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Force; and Shuaibu Teidi.
Notably, Mr. Maina, in an interview on Love FM’s Brekete Family program, accused Mr. Aliyu of a variety of wrongs with a view to discrediting the investigation he led. Others sustained the campaign with the same objective on other platforms, especially online media.
The campaign, stated his lawyers, took a toll on Mr. Aliyu’s mental health. An attempt was also made on his life. Following his inability to continue coping with the adversarial campaign against him, Mr. Aliyu wrote to the EFCC, requesting the commission to write to the National Broadcasting Commission to report Brekete Family for allowing itself to be used to calumniate officials carrying out their lawful duty.
He also requested the commission to explore legal options on behalf of himself and members of his team, who were the targets of the adversarial attack. In addition, Mr. Aliyu requested that the EFCC investigate and prosecute those behind the malicious campaign against its officials.
However, the EFCC took no action after 11 months of receiving Mr. Aliyu's letter. This, noted his lawyers, emboldened the pension fraud suspects to sustain their malicious campaign, leaving the operative dejected and compelling his resignation from the commission in 2016. He also took legal steps against the sponsors of the campaign by instructing his lawyers to file action.
Mr. Aliyu's lawyers noted that the shabbiness with which he was treated by the EFCC has not abated. They recalled that the Acting EFCC Chairman, while a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program on October 30, said he was dissatisfied with the pension fraud investigation headed by Mr. Aliyu. The former EFCC operative’s lawyers described Mr. Magu's unflattering verdict of the investigation as unprofessional and capable of adversely affecting the cases against the suspects in court.
The lawyers contended that the request of Mr. Aliyu's services, especially in the area of asset recovery, is in indication of the sterling job Mr. Aliyu did.
The law firm also pointed out that on the basis of the investigation headed by Mr. Aliyu, three convictions were recorded while huge sums of money and landed assets were recovered. The lawyers also noted that there are 12 other cases in court as a result of the investigation.
"The said investigation also made the Office of the Inspector-General of the Global Funds to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to donate 12 Analyst Notebook software (investigative software) to the commission and commend the exceptional work done by our client and his team in investigating the pension fraud," stated Mr. Aliyu's lawyers.
While stating that the former operative is ready to appear as a witness when called upon, Mr Aliyu's lawyers said they are hoping for a prompt response from the EFCC and notified the commission that the letter was copied to President Muhammadu Buhari, the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Attorney-General of the Federation, Inspector-General of Police and Director-General of the Department of State Security.
