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CACOL faults court on discharge, acquittal of SEC DG
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) has faulted the discharge and acquittal of Dr. Mournir Haliru Gwarzo, suspended Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), who was standing trial, alongside a SEC commissioner, Zakwanu Garuba, at a Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja for alleged mismanagement of about N115 million public funds entrusted in their care and other sundry offences bordering on corruption.
In a statement by the Anti-Corruption Coalition’s Coordinator for Media and Publications, Adegboyega Otunuga, CACOL Executive Chairman, Debo Adeniran, protested: “Sometime in 2014, we wrote a petition to the two main government agencies that are responsible for fighting corruption in the country, the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) and the ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices Commission) on how Mr. Haliru Gwarzo was ‘running the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) into his personal estate and appointed companies with links to him and some of his rookies in office to carry out transactions and provide services to the Commission.’
“Also, we proceeded in the petition (a copy of which was sent to the Speaker, National Assembly and other Members of the House, for their intervention).
ALSO READ: Alleged N115m fraud: Court discharges Gwarzo, one other
Debo identified some companies he alleged have verifiable links to Gwarzo as follows: –
(i) Outbound Investment Ltd, RC NOS. 807317
(ii) Medusa Investment Ltd., RC NOS. 32689
(iii) Northwind Environmental Services REG NOS. BN389176
(iv) Micro-Technologies LTD RC NOS. 173805
(v) Tida International Ltd RC NOS. 26414
(vi) Outlook Communications
(vii) Acromac Nig Ltd RC NOS. 10687864
(viii) Balfort International Investment Ltd RC NOS. 109153
(ix) Interactive Worldwide Nig Ltd RC NOS. 77944
CACOL, thereafter, declared:“ Contingent upon all these information, coupled with documented evidences that were forwarded, we urge the anti-corruption agencies and the Arm of the National Assembly, to take up our petition and institute an investigation towards bringing culprit(s) to book as we alleged. It was after all due diligence had been effected that the ICPC, after suspension of Mr. Gwarzo, arraigned him on those offences for which he stood trial with his commissioner in charge.
“Unfortunately, we were compelled to raise an alert after noticeable shoddy manner in which process to set Dr Gwarzo free of alleged corruption charges and abuse of office was playing out at the trial due to the lack of proper presentation of the case by the ICPC investigator, Taiwo Olorunyomi. This press conference was held on Tuesday, February 19, 2019, in which, inter alia, we queried, “Why would an experienced investigator like Taiwo Olorunyomi come before Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf and begin to express doubt about the body of evidence the agency he works for has put before the presiding Judge? ‘’We don’t have any vested interest in this case other than the desire to rid the country of corruption and abuse of power by officials of government. ‘’We urge the newly appointed chairman of ICPC, Professor Bolaji Owasonoye to immediately order a probe into this matter and ensure nothing is swept under the carpet. We also call on the EFCC, Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-corruption (PACAC) and Special Fraud Unit SFU to beam their searchlight on what is going on with the process.
“Ironically, what we feared most has happened by this final judicial outcome. We are however, herein calling on the Chairman of ICPC, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, whom we are convinced is a man of much integrity, to appeal this unacceptable judgment and institute a fact-finding team to investigate and ascertain what must have led to this obvious, shoddy prosecution that traded this high profile corruption case away…”