Cleric says EFCC is too dramatic about recovered $50m

dimeji akinloye

April 20, 2017 6:30 AM

Bishop Kukah said it is an embarrassment to the nation if the EFCC is unable to disclose owners of the monies recovered.

EFCC official sweats it out while counting cash hid in an Ikoyi apartment

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop

Kukah was reacting to the $50 million cash the anti-graft agency recovered in an apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos, last Wednesday.

He said the Commission must look for a better way of communicating its work to Nigerians without being dramatic about it, noting that its current method would do more harm to the anti-corruption fight than good.

He said the inability of the EFCC to reveal the owners of the recovered monies is a dent on the nation's image.

Kukah also expressed disappointment at the humongous 'loot' recoveries, saying that he feels humiliated as a Nigerian that monies that can pass as the budget of some African countries are concealed in rooms and shops in Nigeria.

The cleric stated this in Kaduna while speaking at a national anti-money laundering/counter financing of terrorism sensitization seminar organised by the Inter-governmental Action group against Money laundering in West Africa (GIABA).

He said: "I feel more demoralized and very humiliated as a Nigerian but the confusion is that we are dealing with monies that are of the sizable budget of some African states. I think it’s unthinkable that we are having such money running into billions of naira and we don’t know who owned such monies.

"Frankly, like I said, if I were a foreigner my respect for Nigeria will dwindle seriously. Even me as a Nigerian I feel quite violated and I don’t really know if all this theatre is the best way to go.

"I think that the agencies concerned should have less dramatic but effective way of telling us the work they are doing, rather than this endless washing of linen whose owners we don’t know. It’s not helping the fight."

The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) had laid claim to the Ikoyi cash haul, saying that the money was meant for 'covert operations' of the agency.

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Consequently, the Presidency on Wednesday, April 19, announced the suspension of the NIA Director-General, Ayodele Oke, pending the outcome of investigations on the matter.

Presidential aide, Femi Adesina, simultaneously announced that President Muhammadu Buhari has constituted a three-man panel headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, saddled with the responsibility to launch a full-scale investigation into the $50 million found in a flat in Osborne Towers.

The two other members of the panel are, the Attorney-General Abubakar Malami and the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno.

dimeji akinloye