THE recent saga in Imo State that culminated in the
impeachment of the former deputy governor, Jude Agbaso, is taking a
fresh turn, with the arrest Thursday of the Commissioner for Finance,
Okafor Chike John, and the Accountant General, Eche Ezenna George, in
connection with the same N1 billion construction contract scam.
Both
officials are currently being interrogated at the Abuja office of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which arrested them
over the contract allegedly awarded to JPROS International Limited.
The EFCC also quizzed about three members of the Imo
State House of Assembly over the crisis rocking the yet-to be-disclosed
alleged disappearance of about N600 million.
According to sources,
those being interrogated are Simeon Iwunze, the chairman of the recent
probe panel that “investigated” JPROS International Limited on road
contracts award, Ikenna Eme and Samuel Anyanwu. They are to explain what
they know about the scandal.
Also invited was an in-law to
Governor Rochas Okorocha and his Special Adviser on Project Monitoring
Committee, Macdonald Akano. He is being held for his alleged role in the
shares of JPROS.
In another development, the Nigeria Customs
Service (NCS) and the Nigerian Copyrights Commission (NCC) have
impounded 16 containers of pirated goods worth about N6 billion.
This
was disclosed yesterday in Abuja by the NCC Director General, Afam
Ezekweli, at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the
EFCC. The MoU is meant to foster greater relationship with the
anti-graft agency and to formally enlist its cooperation in the fight
against piracy in Nigeria.
On the Imo officials’ arrest, a top
official of the EFCC informed that due process was not followed in the
award of the contract, adding that “the contract value was paid to the
contractor before commencement of work.”
According to the EFCC
official, more persons involved in the scam would be invited for
questioning as investigations progress. The commission’s spokesperson,
Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the arrest.
Meanwhile, Ezekweli said
the NCC “has a focus for strategic partnership with other agencies
through collaborations,” adding: “We want to stop the inflow of pirated
items into the country and we want a robust relationship with EFCC”.
EFCC
Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, said the signing of the MoU was to formalise
the relationship between both agencies even though they had been
working together. He pledged the commission’s support to stamp out
piracy in the country, stating that “no agency or enforcement outfit can
get it right by working alone, so this inter-agency cooperation is very
important to achieve results.
“The ultimate thing in what we do
is to make sure that we stop these pirated items coming into Nigeria.
Most people don’t seem to appreciate the magnitude of the crime that is
being committed. Pirating materials that people have created is one of
the worst crimes that all of us should try to address in this country.”
To
the NCC, he said: “I think you are doing a wonderful job from the
various reports that we are getting. These arrests and interrogations
being made have greatly reduced the number of pirated materials coming
into the country and even the ones that are locally produced.
“It
is a shame that some people take pleasure in just stealing the works of
others and making money out of it while the original owners of such
intellectual property end up in abject poverty.”
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