Ekweremadu raises alarm over plot to frame him up

…. Allegation baseless, pack of lies – EFCC

The Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has raised alarm over plan by certain individuals within the corridors of power to use security agencies to frame him up.

Ekweremadu on Wednesday told the Senate that he received an anonymous letter from a good Samaritan that his house will be raided in Enugu by EFCC and that some huge amount of money in different currencies including pounds, US dollars, Indian Rupees and South African Rand will be discovered to constitute proceeds of corruption, and that it would be used as evidence against him.

The letter, according to the DSP, quoted the “good Samaritan” as giving him the information out of concern for him and wished him well in his political career.

It also added that while the raid is expected to take place on May 5, (Friday), the team will also find among other things, caches of live ammunition including AK 47 rifles and framed pictures to prove that the raided house belonged to him.

“Consequently sir, you will be invited by the EFCC to answer some questions and then detained. While you are being detained, a group of people will sponsor some Ibo youths to protest your detention and demand your release. The purpose of this is to establish a corruption case against you, discredit you and put an end to your political career,” the whistle blower wrote.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senators caucus have immediately condemned what they described as alleged plan by some persons in the Presidency to use the EFCC to intimidate and detain the DSP and other opposition members by planting either money, weapons, etc, in any place that they would call his house and use it as a guise for his arrest. The caucus which went into an emergency meeting immediately after plenary on Wednesday, said that the plan also targets all PDP former Governors.

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South), who briefed Senate Correspondents on the outcome of the meeting, expressed worry that “the plan which is an assault on human rights in this country tends to silence voices that have been kicking against what is happening today in this country.”

He referred to the arrest of the former governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswan, former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido and the former Governor of Niger State Muazu Babangida Aliyu, who were recently at arrested and detained by the EFCC on similar allegations.

“This has to stop,” Abaribe said.

But the EFCC has debunked the claims of Ekweremadu, saying that his allegations are baseless and pack of lies.
Speaking through its spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC insisted that its operation and activities are guided by the law, adding that the Deputy Senate Dresident should realise his position before casting aspersions on agency doing its best in the war against corruption.

The Commission insisted that it was not aware of any plot to set up Ekweremadu for any arrest, saying that, “If any agency is plotting to plant monies and guns in Ekweremadu’s residence, it is certainly not the EFCC as such antics are alien to the Commission.”

The EFCC further raised the alarm over the penchant of highly placed Nigerians to levy serious allegations against anti-graft agencies without confirming the veracity of such issues with the concerned agency.

The commission said: “Nevertheless, the EFCC is worried by the alarm and the fact that the highly-regarded Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate would go public with such unverified information without first double-checking with the Commission.

“This is not only very strange but smacks of a scripted propaganda campaign to distract the Commission by putting it on the defensive.

“It must be emphatically stated for the benefit of Senator Ekweremadu and others who share similar misconception and jaundiced views of the EFCC, that the Commission does not need any grand plot to arrest and prosecute him if he is found to have violated any law that EFCC enforces.”

Reminding the deputy senate president that he is not covered with immunity, the EFCC stated that it will move against him if he commits any financial crimes.

It said: “He does not belong in the category of public officers that enjoy immunity from arrest and prosecution by law enforcement agencies.

“Once again, the alleged plot by EFCC to raid Senator Ekweremadu’s house on May 6 2017, exists only in the very fertile imagination of the Distinguished Deputy Senate President’s questionable “source”, whom he claims is “Close to the EFCC”.

Advising Ekweremadu to be circumspect over spurious investigative journalism, Uwujaren said: “The Commission’s candid advice to Ekweremadu is to sleep easy if he is not involved in the looting spree that seems to be the pastime of many Nigerians in the corridors of power. Let it be known however, that there will be no amount of scare-mongering that will dissuade the EFCC from vigorously enforcing its mandate to rid Nigeria of corruption.”