BY SHOLA OSHUNKEYE
President Muhammadu Buhari may have finally made up his mind to prosecute and bring to justice Alhaji Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, and Ambassador Ayo Oke, the disgraced erstwhile Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, both of whom were sacked for monumental fraud.
The Crest learnt from a credible source in Asaba, the Delta State capital, Friday, that the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo Committee that investigated the malfeasances by both men indicted them on all counts and has since sent its findings to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for further action.
Lawal, as SGF and chairman of the Presidential Initiative on the North-East, PINE, an ad hoc intervention body tasked to provide succour to the traumatised Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, abused his high office to commit fraud.
A Senate Investigative Committee, headed by Senator Shehu Sani, discovered that Lawal used his position to award a whopping N200 million contract to Global Vision Engineering Limited, a company in in which he had proprietorial interest, “to clear invasive plant species” at an IDP camp in Yobe State.
Oke, on his part, had warehoused a staggering US$43 million, in addition to other huge sums in other currencies, in his posh apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Now, the chicken seems to be coming home to roost. If everything goes well, The Crest learnt, both men may soon have their day in court.
When contacted, Friday, EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren said: “There is really nothing to say for now. I’m not aware of that at the moment.”
