Alleged corruption: Protesters storm EFCC office, petition agency against Lagos Speaker

Placard-bearing members of a group, Civil Society Network Against Corruption, on Tuesday, stormed the Lagos office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to submit a petition against the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa.

The peaceful protesters, who were received by the EFCC Head in Lagos, Mohammed Rabo, urged the anti-graft agency to investigate allegations of financial impropriety against Obasa.

Presenting the petition to the Lagos EFCC boss, CISNAC Coordinator, Shina Odugbemi, said, “Our mission here this morning is to present you a letter about an issue in the city, Lagos State. Everywhere is awash with the accusation that the Speaker of the state House of Assembly is squandering money. We pick issues and we ensure that we follow issues to logical conclusions. This is one of the steps.

“We have come here today to present to you our petition that contains a catalogue of allegations. The truth is that these allegations until they are investigated and until a court of competent jurisdiction rules over them, we can’t say somebody is a thief or not. But what we are against is that in the Lagos State House of Assembly, there is a conspiracy to sweep these things under the carpet.”

In his response, Rabo assured the protesters that the EFCC would look at the petition.

But he noted that allegations do not automatically translate into guilt.

Rabo said, “I have received your petition and in our usual way, we don’t segregate if there is any allegation. But like you rightly said an allegation does not confirm the guilt of a person until investigations are well established.

“So, I want to assure you that like every other petition we receive, we will give it the required attention.

“We have our process here. This is the first process, you have submitted a petition; we will go into it and we will commence earnestly.”

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