The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has denied a story the Punch carried on Chief Justice of Nigeria Walter Onnoghen as being under investigation by the anti-graft commission.
In a lengthy story seven reporters of the newspaper did, quoting an anonymous source within the commission, and a document the agency sent to the office of the attorney-general of the federation, the CJN and over 100 other politically exposed people were said to be on the list of corrupt people the EFCC has been digging into.
The EFCC Thursday denied that the report emanated from it. The commission described the newspaper’s attribution to “an EFCC source” as “diversionary and mischievous.”
According to the commission, cases under investigation it communicates to the AGF are classified information, adding it was “troubling” that such a list could have been leaked to the media.
It said the mastermind of the report wanted to create disaffection between the commission and the judiciary.
In the dossier the Punch claimed it sighted are ex-First Lady Patience Jonathan, ex-Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Solid Minerals Minister Kayode Fayemi, Senators Godsill Akpabio and Jonah Jang, Kogi Gov Yahaya Bello and his Ekiti counterpart Ayo Fayose, and a host of others involved in the 2015 $2.1 billion armsgate.
All the investigations, according to the report, were initiated by whistleblowers, petitions, and intelligence.
But the commission said it actually received some petitions against the CJN, but it discarded them because on investigation, they had no merit.
However, the Punch report cannot be entirely discredited. The EFCC didn’t deny investigating others suspects. It even admitted the classified document was leaked.
“Indeed, much damage has been done to the Commission’s investigation activities by this leak especially as some of the cases mentioned are still at preliminary stages of investigation,” the commission said.
Nigerians are not unaware that many of those on the list have been fighting it out in court with commission even before the Punch got out its scoop.
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