Date Published: 01/28/10

Police Equipment Fund Scandal: Before Ex- IGP  Mike Okiro  Is Made A Scapegoat. By Emeka Oraetoka

 what appeared as a sponsored story on PEF S100m scam written in Sunday Sun of January 10, 2010; with the title, Inside story on why Okiro, Martin parted ways, has apparently led to exposition of the reason behind Okiro must die move by Police authorities in Louis Edeth House in Abuja, and the actor[s] in PEF scandal, by saharareporters.com. Incidentally, the two stories were written on the same January 10. While the Sun was trying to paint the picture that former Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, was after Kenny Martins to settle personal score, saharareporters.com, gave account of the reason for the volt face by Ogbonna Onovo led Police force on the PEF scandal.

 Saharareporters.com publication on PEF with the caption: Kenny Martins tears Onovo,  Waziri Apart, perhaps explained issues hitherto unknown  to many Nigerians about Onovo led police force and Martins, and tended to suggest that the current police leadership is not interested in the fight against corruption in Nigeria. For instance, part of the report has this to say,--- Martins, in a recent interview with a national daily, The Guardian, claimed that he enjoys a cordial relationship with Onovo whom he said was in support of the Foundation even before he assumed the plum position of  IGP. “We have a man like Ogbonna Onovo as the Inspector General of Police and his management teams, who are all in along in support of the foundation, but by the constraints of their position then, they could not do much. We are already talking to them and having meetings at the Force Headquarters and informally”---. Based on this, it will be safe to say that, it is either Kenny Martins dropped Onovo’s name for the purpose of mischief or that Onovo is in league with Martins to rubbish Okiro and reverse the effort made by Police under the ex- IGP in the area of fighting crime.

Further, the report has this to say; ---- Informed sources revealed that the friendship between Onovo and Martins dates from his years as Commissioner of Police. “On assuming office as the IGP, Onovo was already loyal and promised to help him in his travails as Martins had done him endless favours in the past. They met and perfected a plan on how the IGP will use his influence as the police boss to drop all the charges against Martins by the police as well as order for the release of all the PEF vehicles confiscated by the police and EFCC,” the source who craved anonymity alleged.--. This comment further exposed the report in Sun Newspaper as stage-managed one to water down the impact of saharareporters.com’s expose, or so it appears.

More grievous allegation against the office of IG in respect of PEF scandal in the report is this comment; --Onovo, it was alleged, in September 2009, wrote memos to Aondokaa requesting the withdrawal of all criminal charges against Martins and his accomplices pending in some federal courts, claiming that the charges had been hurriedly sent to court by his predecessor, Mr. Mike Okiro. He also claimed that the police lacked evidence to prosecute the cases. In November 2009 in an Abuja Magistrate court, Judge Abubakar Talba discharged Kenny Martins and his associates. They got a reprieve as the court  upheld the “no case” submission by Johnny Ucheaga, counsel to the accused persons, that none of the witnesses from the EFCC established ingredients of conspiracy, breach of trust and mis-appropriation as contained in the criminal charges against the accused persons. That ruling sparked the feud that is now brewing between Onovo and Waziri ----. While this writer is not competent in vouching for the authenticity of saharareporters.com position on the current IGP and the ex- IGP over Kenny Martins PEF scandal, it will be of great advantage to our dear Onovo to refute the report in saharareporters.com as failure to toe this path could send wrong signals to his admirers and supporters alike with respect to his integrity. This has become imperative in view of the report about PEF scandal, in Vanguard Newspaper of Wednesday, January 20, 2010, which suggested that saharareporters.com expose on the fight between Onovo and waziri over Kenny Martins, was dead right.

Could Sun report on why Onovo led Police Management team is not pleased with the actions taken by Okiro in respect of the PEF and their subsequent resolution to maintain a distance from any case he initiated against Martins and other PEF officials while in office, be correct? Can the Police under Ogbonna Onovo, in all honesty claim that PEF and associated scandals started under Mike Okiro? Is the police under the current IGP not aware of the existence of one Godson Ewulum, and also the existence of his petition to National Assembly over PEF scandal? Is the current police leadership not aware that ex-IGP inherited PEF problem from his predecessor, Mr. Sunday Ehindero? Can one honestly talk of Police Equipment Fund in isolation of Police Equipment Foundation? Here is an extract on the genesis of the PEF scandal, contained in www. nigerianvillagesqaure.com, with the caption: How Kenny Martin, OBJ’s Brother-in-Law Corned N50billion Police Equipment Fund;--- On the 21st of March 2007 while Senator David Mark was the Senate Committee Chairman on Police Affairs, he, wrote two letters; one was addressed to Chief Broderick Bozimo while the other went to the then Inspector General of police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero. The letters had one subject in common; the police equipment fund project. While he tried to plead with the Chairman of the Police Equipment Fund project, Chief Bozimo, to have a meeting with one of the members of the project he raised his fears of what might be the outcome of some complaints he has been getting from some quarters.  His words “the allegation made by chief Ewulum are quite serious I believe the issue involved can be amicably resolved if you intervene. I would suggest that you do this at the earliest possible time to avoid embarrassment.”----. Another point worth looking at in this report is the allegation of forgery levelled against Martins and Co. Again, this is the position of the report: --- To achieve his aim, Martins became a director in NIGERSTALG in a resolution that smells of forgery as the signature of Agharite, the deceased pioneer member, was signed five months after his death, when the deceased corpse was never found in the Bellview crash of 2005-----. It is quite obvious that Okiro could not have acted selfishly on the PEF issue as he inherited it from his predecessor; just as he did not write petition against Martins and Co. in the first instance.    

To cap it all, report has it that when the scandal broke out, the Sultan of Sokoto, resigned his Chairmanship of the board of Trustees of PEF. If there was no foul play on the part of Martins, the Sultan would have come to his aid. For the single fact he dissociated himself from the Foundation, shows quite clearly that it was fraught with problems. The Police should find a better excuse to send Okiro to the slaughter slab if they are so desperate, the PEF angle is a bad sell any day, any time, if the report in the Sun Newspaper should be relied upon.

Emeka Oraetoka

Information Management Consultant & Political Researcher

Wrote in from Garki-Abuja

P.O Box 18928

E-mail: oramekllis@lycos.com