EFCC goes after Jonathan

Still pumped up on its renewed vigour to bring corrupt public officials to book, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is soon to dust its file on petitions of fraud against public officers who served under the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Findings showed that former ministers, special advisers, heads of parastatals and those of other Federal Government agencies would be invited for interrogation by the EFCC in few weeks from now.

The Punch learnt that the Chairman of the commission, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, has directed that all petitions against former public officers at the federal level should be forwarded to him to be acted upon.

Findings revealed that the anti-graft agency would focus on those whose establishments attracted huge allocations from the Federal Government when Jonathan was in power.

Such ministries and agencies, it was learnt, included defence, petroleum resources and power.

Three top sources in the anti-graft agency confided that Lamorde was “determined to expose any corrupt act during the administration of the former President.”

One of the sources said, “I am not aware of anybody who has been summoned or interrogated by the commission. Those to be interrogated would be determined by the gravity of the allegations against them as contained in the petitions.

“What happened last week was that a directive was issued to move all petitions against public office holders under the former President to the office of the Chairman.

Read also: EFCC boss, Lamorde under fire

“The files will be studied and assigned to units to handle the investigations. It is based on the petitions that people will be summoned.

“Most likely next week, action would be taken on those petitions…”

But the Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwajaren, denied knowledge of such a directive when contacted on the telephone on Monday.

“I am not aware of the directive you are talking about. It is not to my knowledge,” the agency’s spokesman said.

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