Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) Chairman Ibrahim
Lamorde yesterday said former Central
Bank of Nigeria(CBN) Governor Charles
Soludo has been cleared of complicity in
the N750m Polymer scandal. Nothing was
found against him, he declared.
He also assured Nigerians that the EFCC
will remain neutral throughout the
elections.
Lamorde, however, denied knowledge of
any watch-list by the anti-graft
commission, as being speculated
He advised Nigerians to be cautious of the
modus operandi of fraudsters in order not
to fall victim of their antics.
Lamorde, who made the clarification
while presenting “Red Alert on Scam”, a
special publication of the EFCC, in his office,
said: “We invited Charles Soludo in respect
of the printing of currency notes. From the
investigation conducted, we did not find
anything Soludo was involved in.
“Our partners from the United Kingdom (UK)
wanted certain information. So, Soludo has
been exonerated.”
Reacting to his clearance, Prof. Soludo was
quoted by online medium Premium Times as
saying: “I am impressed by the
professionalism of the Commission,
especially in making the result of its
investigation public. In early November last
year (2014), I wrote to the Commission,
demanding for the outcome of the
investigation, and it replied, stating that its
investigation did not establish any
culpability on my part. I simply put the letter
in my file.
“Well, I always knew that there was nothing
to it as far as I was concerned, and I did not
know anything about the said allegations.
What impresses me is that the Chairman and
the Commission have displayed professional
integrity by making its findings public,
especially in the light of the negative
publicity that attended my invitation and
interview at the Commission in January
2013. I left office six years ago, and I believe
that this is good for Nigeria.”
On alleged watch-list foisted on the agency
by the Presidency, Lamorde said there was
no such document.
He expressed worries over the circulation of
a fake letter purportedly from the office of
the Chief of Staff to the President directing
the Commission to investigate some political
figures.
He said the list was unfounded and
unfortunate.
He said the agency had made up its mind to
remain neutral during the electioneering to
avoid being accused of bias.
He said: “They said there is an order to
arrest the leadership of the party. We do not
want to get involved in any political
discussion.
“We have tried to remain neutral since the
campaigns started. Let us do the last lap
peacefully.
“I like to sound a note of warning here that
the Commission will no longer tolerate
people dropping its name to further their
political ends. The EFCC is not a political body
and will not allow itself to be dragged into
political fray by desperate politicians”,
Lamorde warned.
“The EFCC does not need the prompting of
anybody to open investigation against
anyone that has violated the law. But it does
the nation no good when politicians seek to
use the name of the Commission to further
their political objectives”.
The EFCC boss said the prosecution of
politicians with cases in court will continue
after the poll.
He said: “Corruption has become an issue in
this political campaign. We cannot stop
people from talking. The irony of it is that,
some of them talking about corruption are
standing trial. They are busy playing to the
gallery. It is unfortunate. They do not see
themselves first.
“Some of them have no business taking
about corruption. They are corruption
personified. We want to remind them that
they still have their day in court.
“If the media had been covering these cases
in court, these politicians would not have
been talking? The criminal justice
administration of the country has to be
looked at. You cannot fast track criminal
cases in court.”
He asked Nigerians and government
agencies to beware of increasing activities
of fraudsters including employment
racketeers.
He said: “Many agencies of government are
targeted by syndicates of fraudsters who
send out false notices of recruitment and go
ahead to demand fees from unsuspecting
members of the public to process their
applications.
“Another dimension to the scam is for the
fraudsters to create a website, purporting to
be a portal for employment processing.
“Such would include a phone number,
which the job seeker is told to call. As soon
as the job-seekers call, the fraudster begins
to make financial demands, requesting the
caller to deposit money in a particular bank
account.”
