OBONO-OBLA: ICPC has become an instrument for victimization, oppression

The suspended Chairman of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP), Okoi Obono-Obla, on Sunday described the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) as an institution for corruption, blackmail, and victimization.

Obono-Obla also claimed he has not received a letter informing him about his suspension as SPIP boss since the news was made public.

The ICPC had last week urged Obla to appear come and clear his name on the corruption allegations hanging on his neck.

But, Obla in a chat with journalists, accused the ICPC of witch- hunt and ethnic cleansing.

He further alleged that the Commission was hobnobbing with some highly placed corrupt persons in society and turning against him because of his courage and patrotism to go after those who had looted the nation’s treasury.

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He said: “Unfortunately, the ICPC has become an instrument of oppression, victimization, theatrics, impunity, infringement of fundamental rights, lawlessness, ethnic cleansing and political blackmail against me.

“ICPC should please respect the authority and integrity of the courts. I don’t have any business with ICPC. Let the ICPC meet me in the law court where I have instituted two cases against her. ICPC should go after the army of looters and plunderers of our national patrimony in the country and desist from chasing shadow.”

He insisted that the Commission’s leadership has allegedly become a crony of one of the big men that is settling scores with him because he did his job “with integrity and patrotism.”

Obono-Obla added: “As I talk to you, I have two pending cases in the Federal High Court challenging the ICPC. One of them is for declaring me wanted. Why should ICPC declare me wanted, what have I done?

“We have an army of plunderers and looters in Nigeria and ICPC has not gone after them. They are busy chasing shadows, chasing Obono-Obla who did his job with a lot of patriotism and uncommon courage.

“I should be commended but because I am from the minority (tribe), they want to oppress me. They don’t want me to take credit. Today, they are doing some of the cases I investigated and they go to the media to say we have done this and that.”

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