EFCC Lagos Legal Unit Offices Razed

A suspicious fire today engulfed the third floor of the offices of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Awolowo Road in Lagos. The agency’s legal unit is located on the affected floor. An agency statement disclosed that the fire affected three out of the 13 offices used by the legal unit.
A source within the agency told Saharareporters that the fire started on the third floor which houses all the case files of former bank CEOs recently charged before various high courts in Lagos for fraud.

Ironically, the fire started while EFCC chairperson Farida Waziri was on NTA accusing Saharareporters of serving the interests of those who want her removed. She claimed on TV that her predecessor, Nuhu Ribadu, works as a reporter on Saharareporters, helping to portray her in bad light.

Several sources told us that the mysterious fire started just after 11:00 a.m., but officers of the Federal Fire Services were only able to put it out around 1:00 p.m. Eyewitnesses told Saharareporters that no one was injured, but a source within the agency – who participated in investigating the bank fraud – said he hoped “some sensitive case files and interrogation notes were not destroyed by the fire.”

Only yesterday, a group that calls itself the PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY LEAGUE sent a petition to Acting President Goodluck Jonathan alleging that Mrs. Waziri has been enriching herself by negotiating deals with the targets of the agency’s investigation. “We have reliable information that Mrs. Waziri obtains huge commissions from accused elements, including several bank officials indicted for fraud,” said a member of the Public Accountability League.

Just before going to press, EFCC spokesperson, Babafemi Femi, sent Saharareporters a press statement asserting that the fire did not affect the offices housing sensitive legal documents.




See EFCC text below:

Waziri Orders Probe Into Fire Incident in Lagos Office
Chairman of the the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mrs. Farida Waziri has ordered a probe into a fire incident in the Lagos Office of the Commission.
A statement by the anti-graft agency on Tuesday May 4, 2010 states that after being briefed on the incident, the Chairman said that though not much damage was done to the affected facility, she had to ask for a probe of the incident to be able to establish the cause of the fire.
At about 11:30 am today, Tuesday, three out of the 13 offices occupied by the legal unit in our Awolowo road, Ikoyi, Lagos office were affected by a fire outbreak that reportedly started in one of the offices.
It is however gratifying that the fire was quickly put out through the prompt intervention of men of the fire service in Ikoyi before it could spread to other offices where sensitive case files are kept.
Members of the public are therefore assured that our case files are safe and secure.

Femi Babafemi
Head, Media & Publicity

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