QuickRead: CBN investigator’s claim on Emefiele’s alleged fraud. Four other stories we tracked and why they matter

The final report of the Special Investigator on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and related entities, Jim Obaze, last week revealed alleged monumental fraud perpetrated under Godwin Emefiele’s watch.

A Niger Delta elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, the same week criticized President Bola Tinubu’s intervention in the River State crisis.

These and three other stories we tracked dominated public discourse in Nigeria last week.

1. CBN investigator’s claim on Emefiele’s alleged fraud

On December 22, the special investigator in his report revealed that the former CBN governor opened 593 bank accounts in the United States, United Kingdom, and China without the approval of the apex bank’s board.

Obaze found that Emefiele allegedly lodged £543,482,213 in fixed deposits in UK banks alone without authorisation.

The report read: “The former governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele invested Nigeria’s money without authorization in 593 foreign bank accounts in the United States, China, and the United Kingdom, while he was in charge.
“All the accounts where the billions were lodged have all been traced by the investigator.”

Why it matters

The investigator’s claim on the activities of the disgraced Nigeria’s ex-number one banker again speaks to the culture of corruption in Nigeria where the stealing of public funds has been accepted as a way of life.

Until those managing Nigerian affairs develop the political will to punish adequately indicted public officials involved in barefaced corruption, the anti-graft campaign brandied by successive administrations in the country will be lip service and a huge joke.

The recent revelations about Emefiele’s shady deals in the past and his trial are a reminder that the law will ultimately catch up with rule breakers even though its wheel grinds slowly.

2. Clark faults Tinubu’s intervention in Rivers crisis

A former federal commissioner for information, Chief Edwin Clark, on December 19 condemned what he termed an “imposed” settlement of the political crisis in Rivers State by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In a statement issued on the matter, the elder statesman said the people of Ijaw land would resist the “oppressive action” using all available constitutional and legal means.
The statement read: “The terms of settlement as contained in the communiqué issued at the end of the reconciliatory meeting are baffling, appalling, and unacceptable to the people, especially, the Ijaw ethnic nationality. “

Why it matters

The event of the last few weeks has once again thrown up Rivers State as the theatre of absurdities with the descent of a few selfish individuals into lawlessness in their craving for power and control of state resources.

In all honesty, what happened at the State House in Abuja could not be termed a settlement meeting, but an opportunity by the president to enhance his party’s fortune in a state known as the PDP cauldron in the South-South.

3. PDP vow on Wike, other rebels

The acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Umar Damagum, said on December 19 that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, other rebels in the party would be sanctioned by the party’s leadership at the appropriate time.

Damagum, who spoke at a press conference in Abuja, stressed that the former Rivers State governor and others in his group are not above the party.

READ ALSO:QuickRead: Supreme Court ruling on Kanu. Four other stories we tracked and why they matter

He said: “Our stand about Wike, I have always said that as long as you are a member of the PDP, there is a time for everything. I must stabilise this party and not cause a crisis. And I will continue to do that within the confines of reason.”

Why it matters

The PDP as it is has not fully recovered from its failed bid to reclaim power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) after eight years in the doldrums.

In a political grouping with various tendencies, each pulling at narrow interests, the PDP leadership will have to tread cautiously in its post-election efforts in order not to plunge the party into a greater crisis that may lead to its extinction.

4. IOM on stranded Nigerians in UK

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on December 19 more than 1,000 Nigerians were stranded in the United Kingdom after they fell victim to fake employment offers by fraudulent syndicates.

IOM’s Chief of Mission in Nigeria, Laurent De Boeck, who disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Monday, said some of the victims lost as much as $10,000 in their desperate attempts to secure non-existent foreign jobs.

He said: “There are some of them who lost over $10,000 only to be given fake employment letters, which allowed them to get visas.
“They get there, present the letters, and the organizations tell them that the letters did not emanate from the organizations. Over a thousand people are affected.”

Why it matters

This shows the desperation of Nigerians to escape from a country known for all kinds of impunity.

This singular reason is poor leadership, a problem that has dragged the country to its knees and made it a laughing stock among its peers in Africa and beyond.

5. Police dismisses two operatives for extorting Dutch tourist

The Oyo State police command on December 21 dismissed two special constabularies for alleged extortion.
The dismissed operatives are – Kareem Fatai and Jimoh Lukman.

The state’s Commissioner of Police, Adebola Hamzat, who addressed journalists at the command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, said the two men were captured on video soliciting money from a tourist from the Netherlands, Ms. Noraly Schoenmaker, along the Moniya-Iseyin road on October 23.

He said: “We have always been warning you against extortion. We have been warning you that this administration has zero tolerance for corruption.
“That is the stand of the Inspector-General of Police and my stand as the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State.
“You are very aware that we don’t condone corruption and don’t want the Command to be given a bad name.”

Why it matters

It particularly points to the rot in Nigeria’s police system, regarded as a cesspit of corruption.

It is, indeed, a sad reminder of the true state of the larger Nigerian society where moral decadence has become the new normal and right values eroded.

The development, therefore, reinforces the call for the strengthening of public institutions, and more importantly, a comprehensive reform of the country’s police system to flush out the bad eggs on its payroll.

By Hamed Shobiye

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