RIBADU ARRESTED OVER INDICTED GOVERNORS FILES …AS FG orders immediate award of his Certificate

The determination by former Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC”S czar, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu to safeguard the war on fraud and corruption, by having personal possession of copies of case files on indicted Nigerian officials may be the reason for his arrest at the weekend.  

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According  to sources, the under current behind the momentary arrest of Ribadu, an incident that led to his arrest at the convocation of the Nigerian Institute for policy and Strategic Studies Kuru, Jos, was said to have been carried out because of his uncompromising grip on the files containing indicted politicians and officials.  

The arrest said to have been orchestrated by current EFCC boss, Mrs. Farida Waziri (Currently in the United Kingdom) and the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa was, allegedly, aimed at “softening him up” so that he could let go of the files.  

Mr. Aondoakaa and Mrs. Waziri have been working hard to ensure that all the indicted former Governors and politicians are cleared by various courts where they are being tried for corruption. Specifically, while the new EFCC boss have refused to continue the prosecution of indicted former Governors and was recently quoted as saying that the case files of the 32 indicted Governors were missing, the Attorney General is said to be busy negotiating with the Courts within Nigeria and abroad to have the indicted politicians free.  

However, sensing possible backlash and wide spread public criticism, the Federal Government immediately announced through a press statement from the office of the Vice President that the former EFCC boss be awarded his graduation certificate from the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies.  

The press statement signed by Ima Niboro, Special Assistant Media to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan was silent on whether any punishment awaits the masterminds of the disruption and arrest of Ribadu at the NIPSS graduation ceremony. Ribadu’s arrest stemmed from his personal possession of case files against most of the indicted former Governors and politicians.

  Impeccable sources told pointblanknews.com that Mrs. Waziri and Aondoakaa may have been paid huge sums by some of the indicted officials to “burry Ribadu to Ground Zero”, but that President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua may be materially benefiting from the drama against Ribadu.  

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Yar’Adua is said to owe enormous political debt to some of the corrupt persons on whom Ribadu has damaging investigative reports.  

Many of the corrupt officials were said to have defrauded their various states and agencies to fund Yar’Adua’s campaign in 2006 to 2007. Waziri and Aondoakaa have not hidden their insincerity in the war on corruption. They both allegedly connived and recently indicated to the London Metropolitan police that Nigeria has no case against indicted officials.  

Also, Mrs. Waziri recently pronounced all case files missing. To therefore allow Ribadu to continue to have personal possession of any file on the indicted individuals, according to observers, would undermine the moral hypocrisy of the Nigerian government.   Farida is still in London trying to lobby against the prosecution of the officials already indicted.

According to the Federal Government’s statement:

“ The Federal Government is concerned about reports that it was involved in the decision to prevent Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the former Chairman of the EFCC and Mr. Allen Briggs from participating in the graduation ceremony of NIPSS after successfully completing the Senior Executive Course.”

“For the avoidance of any doubt whatsoever, the Federal Government wishes to affirm that it gave no such directive that Mallam Ribadu or any other person be barred from the NIPSS graduation.”

“Consequently, the Presidency has ordered the Institute to immediately award the certificate of participation in Senior Executive Course 30 to him and the other participant who was said to have been absent at the graduation ceremony.”

“The Secretary to the Government of the Federation has also been mandated to investigate the circumstances of Mallam Ribadu’s removal from the graduation venue and report back to the Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who oversees the Institute and was at the ceremony.”