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•Ekweremadu cries out over plans to frame him
•It’s a lie –EFCC
From Fred Itua, Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the Senate, has alleged plans by those it described as members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabal, to intimidate and arrest former governors who are critical of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government.
Addressing newsmen after a closed-door meeting, yesterday, the lawmakers revealed that the unnamed former governors who have been penciled down for persecution were drawn from both the APC and the PDP.
Spokesman of the PDP caucus, Enyinnaya Abaribe, decried the clamp down on members of the opposition who have spoken out against President Buhari.
This is even resident of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, yesterday raised the alarm on the floor of the Senate over plans by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to invade his country home in Enugu and other apartments, under the guise of searching for looted funds.
Ekweremadu who read a letter, reportedly written to him by an unnamed Nigerian, informing him of EFCC’s plans, said the anti-graft agency also planned to ‘plant’ ammunition in his apartment during the raid.
He said the move was to force him out of office and give the impression that he is a corrupt politician, unfit to hold any public office.
He said plans have also been perfected by the EFCC to use groups to protest in major cities across the country, calling for his resignation and prosecution.
Reading the letter, Ekweremadu said: “Distinguished Senator, there is a grand plan from the cabals in the presidency, using the EFCC as an anti-graft agency to indict and remove you from office. These cabals in the presidency have mandated the EFCC chairman to carry out this evil operation within two weeks.
“On the 6th of May, 2017. That is between Saturday night and Sunday morning, the EFCC alongside with local and international media, both print and TV, will raid an apartment under the guise of whistle blowing policy of the Federal Government.
“They will come with a search warrant already obtained from a Magistrate Court to search an apartment alleged to be one of your guest houses in Enugu, the state capital or any available apartment in your senatorial district that will serve this evil purpose.
“EFCC is claiming to have received a tip-off from a whistle-blower in your state alerting the agency of a large huge amount of money of different currencies in the said apartment belonging to you, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, the Deputy Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They will say that the money is a proceed which is likely to be illegally obtained and acquired, which constitute abuse of office and corruption.”
But the anti-graft agency in a statement by its spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said the alleged plot by EFCC to raid Ekweremadu’s house on May 6 2017, existed only in his fertile imagination.
“If any agency is plotting to plant monies and guns in Ekweremadu’s residence, it is certainly not the EFCC as such antics are alien to the Commission.
“Nevertheless, the Commission is worried by the alarm and the fact that the highly-regarded Deputy President of the Nigerian senate would go public with such unverified information without first double-checking with the Commission. This is not only very strange but smacks of a scripted propaganda campaign to distract the Commission by putting it on the defensive.
“It must be emphatically stated for the benefit of Senator Ekweremadu and others who share similar misconception and jaundiced views of the EFCC, that the Commission does not need any grand plot to arrest and prosecute him if he is found to have violated any law that EFCC enforces. He does not belong in the category of public officers that enjoy immunity from arrest and prosecution by law enforcement agencies.
“The Commission’s candid advice to Ekweremadu is to sleep easy if he is not involved in the looting spree that seems to be the pastime of many Nigerians in the corridors of power. Let it be known however, that there will be no amount of scare-mongering that will dissuade the EFCC from vigorously enforcing its mandate to rid Nigeria of corruption.”
While calling on Nigerians to be aware of the antics of the cabal, Abaribe added that the country was gradually returning to military era, where freedom was trampled upon.
The PDP lawmakers who vowed to resist any form of intimidation called for the immediate release of three former PDP governors currently in the custody of security agencies.
“The detention of Sule Lamido, Gabriel Suswan and Babangida Aliyu raises a very big question about human rights compliance and it’s a worrying trend about happenings in our country today.
“A situation where you can be set up through security agencies and put in prison for nothing sounds the death kneel on democracy and human rights in Nigeria,” they said.
On planned invasion of Ekweremadu’s apartments, the caucus noted: “The matter of the alleged plans by some persons in the presidency to use the EFCC to harass, intimidate and place the Deputy President of the Senate in detention in the next two weeks is condemnable and must be disallowed.
“We hereby call on peace loving Nigerians to be aware of this insidious plans to cow any dissenting voices in Nigeria.”
The media briefing was attended by Ekweremadu, Minority Leader of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, former governors who are serving PDP Senators, among others.
He went further: “A huge amount of money with different currencies, such as British pound sterling, US dollars, Indian rupee, South Africa rand, and Malaysian Ringgit will be ‘discovered’.
