AGF comes for former Governors in Fresh Corruption Probe

Nigeria’s attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, has written a letter to Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies listing 31 former governors who were in office between 1999 and 2015 for a fresh corruption probe.

Factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ali Modu Sheriff (Borno); Senate President Bukola Saraki (Kwara); and Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) and 28 other ex-governors made the list.

According to a report by Punch, the AGF had written a letter to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) to reopen the cases of the 31 former governors.

Other former governors listed for the fresh corruption probe include Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia); Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu); Saminu Turaki (Jigawa); Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Joshua Dariye (Plateau); Ahmed Yerima (Zamfara); Gabriel Suswam (Benue); Martin Elechi (Ebonyi); Danjuma Goje (Gombe) and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa).

They also include Ikedi Ohakim (Imo); Obong Victor Attah (Akwa Ibom); Achike Udenwa (Imo); Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa); Gbenga Daniel (Ogun); Jolly Nyame (Taraba); Boni Haruna (Adamawa); George Akume (Benue); Rashidi Ladoja (Oyo); Attahiru Bafarawa (Sokoto) and Adebayo Alao-Akala.

Others are Usman Dakingari (Kebbi); Adamu Mu’azu (Bauchi); Peter Odili (Rivers), and Lucky Igbindedion (Edo).

The AGF in his letter had noted that a number of the former governors had been the subject of one corruption probe or the other in the past but had never been formally charged to court.

“It is the position of the present administration that all ex-governors, who the ICPC had long concluded investigations into the various allegations levelled against them, should be immediately prosecuted,” the AGF said.

In his letter to the ICPC, Mr Malami gave the agency a 14-day ultimatum to “remit the duplicate case files concerning the politically-exposed persons investigated by the ICPC over the years” to the office of the AGF.

He further said that the fresh corruption probe was in exercise of his powers under section Section 174(1) of the 1999 Constitution as well as sections 105 (3) and 106 (a) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.