Family of detained GEJ’s cousin kicks, slams EFCC

Thirty-three days after he was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), a brother of Azibaola Robert, Faith, on Sunday alleged that his brother was being kept in the agency’s custody because he refused to implicate his cousin, former President Goodluck Jonathan. Faith, a medical doctor who addressed the press in Lagos, also raised the alarm that EFCC might be contemplating of killing his brother for his failure to indict the former President.

In a press address entitled “Before My Brother is Poisoned”, Faith Robert said: “It is with great concern that I address you on a matter capable of greatly destabilizing our beloved country. “The media has been awash with stories of the arrest and detention without trial for over a month of my elder brother, Barrister Azibaola Robert, Managing Director of Kakatar Engineering and Construction Company Limited, and it’s sister company, One Plus Holdings Limited, by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“As I speak EFCC have yet to state my brother’s offence. Out of the past 32 days Azibaola Robert has been in EFCC custody, their operatives have questioned him only thrice on a $40 million contract the ONSA (office of the National Security Adviser) awarded One Plus Holdings Limited to secure oil pipelines across the Niger Delta. As we speak, the ONSA is still owing One Plus Holdings $4 million being the final payment for the said contract.

Even though EFCC have yet to formally charge my brother to any court of law10 months after launching investigation into his companies, and 32 clear days after taking him into custody, his interrogators have told him in clear terms to “say something to implicate” his cousin, former President Goodluck Jonathan or rot in EFCC custody. “On several occasions, his tormentors in EFCC have told some of us, close family members, to advise Azibaola to finger Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as a beneficiary of the security contracts and regain his freedom or keep quiet and remain in detention. “For your information, Azibaola was taken into custody on March 23, when he went to honour EFCC’s invitation.

This was preceded by a gestapo-like raid of his house with scores of armed mobile policemen in the dead of the night as if he was a Boko Haram kingpin. During the raid, the operatives subjected his wife and young children to a most traumatic ordeal. “From the 23rd of March to 4th of April (a period of 13 days) my brother Azibaola was denied access to his family, lawyers and medicare. Afterwards, EFCC surreptitiously got a magistrate remand order for another 14 days, which stretched his detention to 27 days. “Azibaola Robert’s lawyers managed to file a suit for the enforcement of his fundamental human rights asking for bail which a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) granted on April 7th. The same High Court served a production warrant on EFCC on the 12th of April after meeting its bail conditions.”

Faith Robert further said: “It is instructive to note that even the remand order by a Magistrate Court which EFCC relied on to detain my brother expired on the 19th of April. After several surreptitious attempts to renew the order in several magistrate courts failed in Abuja, they sneaked him to Lagos and obtained a fresh remand order from another Magistrate court even when there is a subsisting order and production warrant from a court of superior jurisdiction.

“In EFCC custody, Azibaola, has been repeatedly bullied, harassed, threatened and psychologically traumatised to either implicate Goodluck Jonathan or be ready to face the Dasuki treatment. Some have even taunted him to get his fisherman cousin (Former President Jonathan) beg President Muhammadu Buhari to release my brother ‘if Jonathan indeed has any clout.’ “They claim that my brother holds enough evidence to lead to the arrest and prosecution of former President Jonathan before May 29th, 2016, and must produce such by “all means.”

“Seemingly reinforcing the get-Jonathan-at-all-costor-languish-in-detention theory is the sudden and surprising release by EFCC, last Thursday, of Mr. Atukpa Dakoru, who had been detained alongside Azibaola. The only plausible reason Azibaola hasn’t been allowed to breath his air of freedom is because of his blood ties with Dr, Goodluck Jonathan.” Faith Robert further said that “The condition under which EFCC seeks to obtain statement from my brother is worse than duress. They want him to manufacture evidence against Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. “They cannot charge Azibaola to court simply because he has not manufactured the kind of information they want to use against former President Jonathan. As the waiting game continues, I, as a trained medical doctor, have begun to observe significant changes in my brother’s demeanour, countenance, coordination and cognition.

“In fact, Azibaola’s personal physician told me that such conditions could could be indicative of a systematic poisoning with psychotropic/psychoactive and other lethal drugs by EFCC operatives. Not to mention the psychological abuse that he is daily subjected to. Even terrorists haven’t been subjected to such treatment.” Faith Robert therefore urged the EFCC to: “immediately charge Azibaola before a court of competent jurisdiction, let him enjoy the bail already granted by a High Court of the FCT or free him unconditionally. “Conduct a full toxicological examination on Azibaola’s blood in at least three internationally recognised laboratories in three different countries to ascertain the level of possible poisoning by EFCC operatives. “Get international experts to conduct comprehensive psychological assessment on my brother.”