The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday
declined comments about whether it had launched an investigation to find
out how former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu, came about the bullion vans
that drove into his home in February.
Nigerians have mounted pressure on the anti-graft office to open
money laundering probe against Mr Tinubu, after the ruling party
chieftain was seen on February 22 receiving at least two armoured
vehicles believed to be bearing cash.
The development raised controversies because it came a day to the presidential election on February 23.
Mr Tinubu is a senior leader of the ruling All Progressives
Congress (APC), and a strong ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, who was
seeking reelection at the time.
Critics said there was no doubt the vehicles were conveying cash to
bribe voters with, especially since such trucks are used in Nigeria
almost exclusively to convey cash by banks, government institutions and
cash-in-transit firms.
Mr Tinubu’s action was widely deemed contrary to Nigerian
anti-money laundering laws, which places a cap of N5 million ( about
$14,000) on cash handling by individuals.
The former Lagos governor admitted the next day that the bullion
vans were conveying money to his house, but he defended his action as
out of public’s interest because he was not a government official.
Transparency deferred
Many Nigerians expected the EFCC to investigate the incident for possible violation of Nigerian laws.
But the anti-graft office has declined to comment on the matter — and there is no evidence it is investigating it.
The first comments from the agency on the scandal came during a
tweet meet on Thursday, during which the agency found a convenient
opening to circumvent explanation.
“It is a matter of principle by the EFCC not to discuss in public, issues that border around investigations,” the agency said during the hour-long chat organised by the Tap Initiative in Abuja.
The Tap Initiative, an Abuja-based public policy think-tank, had
asked whether or not the EFCC saw potential violations of anti-money
laundering regulations in Mr Tinubu’s conduct.
The agency only confirmed that it had secured convictions over
vote-buying offences, while several other investigations were ongoing
around the same crimes.
It was unclear whether acting-chairman Ibrahim Magu took part in
the tweet meet, but EFCC sources told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday night that
the responses of the agency came from a senior anti-graft official.
Contributors dismissed the EFCC’s explanation during the tweet
meet, saying the agency was reluctant to investigate Mr Tinubu because
of his status as an ally of the president.
Martin Obono, the director of Tap Initiative, said the organisation
does not engage in partisan commentary about its guests’ submission
during a tweet meet, but the citizens have a right to challenge any
replies they deem unsatisfactory.
“We have brought the EFCC as a guest on our May 23, 2019,
edition of tweet meet, and asked questions that we believe were in the
public interest,” Mr Obono said. “But if Nigerians found some of the
responses insufficient, they can challenge them to move the conversation
forward.”
It was the second time the EFCC would participate in the tweet
meet, which Tap Initiative introduced in 2018 to engage public officials
for updates on their activities.
Its first appearance came in November 2018, during which the agency
similarly declined comments about Abdullahi Ganduje, the Kano State
governor who was caught on video receiving wads of dollars in alleged
bribes from public works contractor.
Source: PremiumTimes
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