ECONOMIC and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has debunked
as baseless the allegation of witch-hunt over the commission’s arrest of the
Managing Director of Katakar Civil Engineering
Company, Mr. Azibaola Robert and Dakoru Atukpa simply due to the close
relationship of the former to the ex-President.
The duo was quizzed by the anti-graft agency on account of
the $40million pipeline scam awarded to the company through the office of the
office of the National Security Adviser under Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd).
According to the reports from EFCC sources, the two suspects
played active roles in the diversion of $40m through Oneplus Holdings, a sister
company to Kakatar Construction and Engineering Company Limited and were
therefore under investigation alongside other 300 firms shortlisted in the
treasury looting of the public fund during the previous administration.
EFCC spokesperson, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren emphatically dismissed
the allegation stating that the arrest has nothing to do with biological
affiliation but a clear case of diversion of public funds adding that it was a
pity that one of the accused is a cousin to the former President, nevertheless,
the commission is under a duty to do its job irrespective of is involved.
“This is not a witch-hint. He (Robert) is not Jonathan’s only
cousin. The truth of the matter is that they are being held for $40m contract
he received from the ONSA. The mandate for the payment read, ‘Purchase of
Tactical Equipment for Special Forces’.
“Two days after their arrest, they were offered bail. The
condition was that the sureties must be on the level of civil service directors
and a N250m bank guarantee. They must also have landed properties in Abuja and
provide tax evidence of two years. But they could not meet up.
“So the EFCC went to court for a remand order. They are being
held pending the conclusion of investigation.
On the other hand, they accused responding through their
lawyer; Mr. Gordy Uche (SAN) insisted
that the incarceration was traceable to their close relation to the erstwhile
President adding that the contract being relied upon was transparently awarded
accordingly and that the firm was still owed $4million on the deal by the
Federal Government for securing the oil pipelines.
“My client is being persecuted and punished because of his
DNA, as a relative of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. We have a civil dispute and then
you turn round and lock up the party with whom you have a dispute.
“Then, you went ahead to give him impossible bail conditions;
two serving federal directors, each with properties in Maitama or Asokoro and
original of their Certificate of Occupancy. The four directors are also
required to present bail bonds of N250m each from reputable banks. Robert and
Atukpa are also required to deposit their passports”, Uche lamented.
Meanwhile, a Federal High Court sitting in Maitama Abuja
yesterday in an ex parte application ordered the anti-graft agency to release
the accused on bail with two sureties.
According to the bail condition, each of the two sureties must
be a serving or retired Director of the Federal Government’s ministries or
parastatal and resident in Abuja adding that the applicant must deposit his
passport to the Chief Registrar of the court.
Justice Olasunbo Goodluck has ruled on the ex parte
application by Robert that the applicants continued detention for over two weeks
was tantamount to breach of his fundamental human rights enshrined in the
African Charter and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
as amended.
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