…I’ll rather resign than being influence negatively –EFCC boss
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said it has recovered $153 million and $80m worth of properties from the Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
This was revealed by the chairman of the commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, in the April edition of the commission’s magazine.
He also expressed worries over bringing the former minister to justice, especially as she stays outside the country.
“There are several cases surrounding Diezani’s case. I was part of that investigation, and we have done quite a lot. In one of the cases, we recovered $153 million; we have secured the final forfeiture of over 80 properties in Nigeria valued at about $80 million. We have done quite a bit on that.
“The other cases as it relates to the $115 million INEC bribery is also ongoing across the federation. We are looking forward to the time we will, maybe, have her in the country, and, of course, review things and see what will happen going forward. The case has certainly not been abandoned”, Bawa said.
Speaking on how he intended to deal with powerful elements in government in delivering his duty, the EFCC boss said he would rather resign from the job than being influenced illegally.
“I am not going to pay allegiance to individuals in the government.
“I rose through the ranks. The only job I know after graduation is the EFCC, which I joined in 2004. I rose through the ranks from an ordinary team member to the first EFCC team leader from the regular staff of the EFCC.
“I became a sectional head, became the zonal head in Ibadan, zonal head in Port Harcourt, and zonal head in Lagos. Lagos is the biggest operational hub of the EFCC with over 600 personnel. Port Harcourt is next to it in terms of complexity and staff strength. I happen to be the first EFCC regular staff to head three different zones before my appointment as the chairman.”