Activist and convener of #EndSARS, #EndRC and #RiseAsOne, Segun Awosanya has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, why the petitio
Activist and convener of #EndSARS, #EndRC and #RiseAsOne, Segun Awosanya has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, why the petition submitted by concerned Nigerians to probe the ruling party leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu as well as the bullion van seen entering and exiting his house in Bourdillon, Ikoyi on the eve of the 2019 presidential elections was yet to be attended to.
The question is coming on the heels of the EFCC setting up a special panel to probe the embattled Air Peace Boss, Allen Onyema who has been indicted for $44.9 million wire fraud and money laundering hours after his indictment in the United States.
Awosanya in a series of tweet asked, “Isn’t @officialEFCC a pathetic class act? Nasir Danu was caught & deported on foreign soil with fake Maltese passport and hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash. He landed in Nigeria and simply sublimed. Not a word from EFCC nor statement in the News! What a country While we understand US Dept of State’s position, what exactly is the hypocritical position of the political tool of Govt called EFCC?
“I strongly advise that they read the US deposition and not waste cenbank funds on any rubbish panel. What did you do about Nasir Danu? Have you probed the Bullion Van Exhibition on Bourdillon on the eve of a critical election? You once claimed there weren’t petitions in this regard and @ConcernedNIG made that happen yet you went mute since then. No probe & no Newspaper headlines. EFCC is an aberration!
“The @NGRPresident should at this point make a decisive move to pressure the named officers of the firm to excuse themselves from the firm so as to salvage @flyairpeace from this. The indictment is deep enough & the dependable airline should be saved. This should not be a Govt take over but a call for investors to take over after the indicted persons have been shown the door to answer for their actions.
“The Nigerian economy & the sanity of the aviation sector cum jobs should be our priority. Also the image of the country. The chain reaction should this be managed poorly will not only affect those indicted but cause an investment slump that may sink the aviation sector while taking some banks with them. This is not a time to play to the gallery but act in the interest of Nigeria and common good.
The probe, according to The Nation, would cover the activities and inflows into the accounts of four non-governmental organisations (NGOs) /non-profit groups sponsored by the Air Peace Boss. They are Foundation for Ethnic Harmony, International Centre for Non-Violence and Peace Development, All-Time Peace Media Communications Limited and Every Child Limited.
“The EFCC team is working on what I may term the ‘Nigerian components’ of the indictment including suspicious huge transfer of funds abroad, alleged abuse of letters of credit and money laundering. In fact, the Acting EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu directed the team members to work round the clock at the weekend because it is a case we must work on with speed, according to a source.
“We are also interested in the roles played by two banks in the country including one that has been on our radar for a while for money laundering. This same bank was implicated in the $115million poll bribery scam in 2015 for which former Minister of Petroleum Resources Diezani Alison-Madueke is wanted for trial. We need to act because in the indictment, the US indicated its plans to freeze some funds linked with Onyema in some accounts within and outside its jurisdiction. It is standard practice to have collaboration with sister organisations all over the world. We cannot wait till the last minutes before playing our roles.”
The source added: “The EFCC may also investigate other persons or groups that have assisted Onyema in one way or the other on the allegations against him. The indictment spoke of known and unknown persons.”
Onyema has since denied the allegations against him and stated his readiness to travel to the US to defend himself. His lawyer, A. O. Alegeh, said in a statement that Onyema “strongly denies and will vigorously defend himself against the allegations made against him by the US Attorney in Atlanta, Georgia in relation to the purchase of aircraft, aircraft spares and aircraft maintenance”.
The US government is seeking the forfeiture of $14,246,536.6million left in some accounts linked with Onyema in the US and Canada. The funds comprise $4,017,852.51 in JP Morgan Chase Bank in the US and $4,593,842.05 and $5,634,842.04 in the Bank of Montreal, Canada.
