Lawyer urges EFCC to probe Buhari’s cabinet members

Buhari, the previous president, served a two-term of eight years from 2015 to 2023.

In a press release on Friday, Olajengbesi, the Managing Associate of Abuja-based legislation agency Regulation Hall, mentioned that the probe had become crucial due to the startling revelations arising from the trial of ex-Governor of the Central Financial Institution of Nigeria Godwin Emefiele.

According to him, the EFCC should audit the monetary transactions of all presidential officers who served below former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Also Read: I hope a lady turns into Nigeria’s president — PDP Chair

He additionally counselled the EFCC for exposing the alleged forgery of Buhari’s signature and that of ex-Secretary Common of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, by the embattled former apex financial institution boss, who’s entangled in a $6.2m fraud for overseas observers within the final ballot.

Olajengbesi mentioned, “The audacity of these in energy and their felony effect is becoming excessive and should be stopped.

“The EFCC should not stop at simply the previous CBN Governor Godwin, Emefiele. It ought to perform a whole audit of principal actors who served under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. There ought to be a deterrent for unhealthy habits.

“Once more, the case of the suspended Managing Director/Chief Govt Officer of the Rural Electrification Company, Ahmad Salihijo, over alleged N1.2bn fraud is recent and a pointer to the gross abuse of energy by those that served below Buhari.

“Emefiele and all those that served below the Buhari adminis8⅞ÿÿtration ought to be correctly audited and allowed to clear their names because the corruption that manifested below those authorities is gargantuan.”

Already, three witnesses have testified towards Emefiele, with the most recent being an EFCC official and a forensic doc examiner, Bamaiyi Haruna, who informed the Federal Capital Territory Excessive Courtroom in Maitama on Thursday that his evaluation of some paperwork used to launch $6.2m from the CBN in February 2023 confirmed that the paperwork had been cast.

The opposite witness was ex-SGF Mustapha, who informed the court docket that neither he nor ex-President Buhari had been conscious of the $6.2m, including that Buhari’s signature was cast to manoeuvre the cash-out. The third witness was a deputy director of the apex financial institution,  Onyeka Ogbu.

The EFCC arraigned Emefiele on June 18, 2023, on amended 20 counts, in which he was accused of impersonating Mustapha to illegally transfer $6.2m from the CBN vault.

Within the prices, the EFCC alleged that on February 8, 2023, Emefiele connived with one Odoh Ocheme, who’s now on the run, to acquire $6.2m from the CBN, claiming that the SGF requested it “vide a letter dated twenty-sixth January 2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/”.