Controversy over EFCC’s fresh investigation of Saraki after IHRC foreign appointment

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) resumed investigation of the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on the years he was Governor of Kwara State. The Commission re-activated the investigation after the President of the Senate was offered an international appointment as Ambassador at Large of the International Human Rights Commission (IHRC).

National Daily learned that The renewed investigation of Saraki generated suspicions, leading to controversy between the EFCC and THISDAY Newspaper. Thus, the EFCC, protested a media report of THISDAY on Sunday with the headline; “Again, EFCC Moves Against Bukola Saraki.”

The commission protested that the publication in ThisDay Newspaper of Sunday, May 5, 2019 captioned “Again, EFCC Moves Against Bukola Saraki,” was falsehood and misinformation, indicated its wishes to correct the deliberate falsehood and misinformation the medium served the general public.

The publication read in part: “A few days after the International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) announced the appointment of the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, as its Ambassador at large, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has initiated a fresh investigations, which seek to probe all salaries, allowances, estacodes and payment he received as Governor from 2003 to 2011.”

National Daily further learned that the commission contended that “with this, the writer strived to create a misleading nexus between the Senate President’s IHRC ambassadorial appointment and EFCC’s inquiries into his financial earnings as Kwara State governor.”

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EFCC in a statement on Monday by Tony Orilade, Acting Head, Media and Publicity, explained: “For the avoidance of doubt, investigation into the Senate President’s activities while he held sway as the Governor of Kwara State started long before his nomination and emergence as IHRC ambassador.

“In fact, the Commission’s letter to the Kwara State Government House which sought an inquest into Saraki’s earnings as the state governor, from 2003 to 2011 was dated Friday, April 26, 2019, predating his announcement as IHRC ambassador at large which came on Sunday, April 28, 2019 with two clear days.”

The commission, accordingly, declared, “We, therefore, urge members of the public to disregard the false connect the writer sought to establish between Saraki’s IHRC ambassadorial appointment and our inquiries into his earnings as a state governor.

“We wish to restate our resolve to resist distractions from any quarter in our efforts to rid the country of corruption and corrupt elements.”