I Did Not Forfeit Any Property To EFCC —Bafarawa

Former Governor of Sokoto State and a presidential aspirant of the Action Congress  of Nigeria (ACN), Attahiru Bafarawa, has said that he did not forfeit any properties  to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as suggested in a report.

In a statement he released on Sunday evening, Dr. Attahiru Bafarawa, said: “While  Yusuf Alli’s report in The Nation newspaper did not specifically say I had forfeited  any houses or business to EFCC, the reporter used my name and some former governors  in his report. This clever trick by the reporter was not necessary as no discerning  mind can point out the reason for my name being in that report given that my case is  yet to be decided and therefore I could not have forfeited any assets to the EFCC.”

“As we inch closer to 2011 elections, one would expect the highly respected and  trusted men and women of the media to be restrained, crosscheck their facts, and be  frugal in publishing information that are likely to show their bias and sympathies.  This report did not do the journalism profession any credit.

Dr. Bafarawa’s statement recalled the events leading up to his arrest and subsequent  arraignment by the EFCC. “It will be recalled that shortly after I left office as  governor of Sokoto State, I wrote a petition to the EFCC urging it to investigate my  claim that I left over N13billion in the coffers of the Sokoto State government. The  EFCC did not respond to my petition until one year later when I was invited for  questioning by the agency. After my first interview with the EFCC, my international  passport was confiscated by the agency. From then on, I became and was treated as an  accused instead of a complainant. This ordeal continued until I sued the EFCC to  recover my international passport. The judge who presided over my case urged EFCC to  file charges against me if they feel I have any case to answer and he subsequently  ordered the release of my passport.”

The former Sokoto governor’s statement stated how the EFCC filed spurious charges  against him and abandoned the matter in court. “EFCC forgot about Bafarawa until the  Yar’Adua/Jonathan government became uncomfortable with my association with Vice  President Atiku Abubakar, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and former Gov. Bola Tinubu in our  bid to form a credible opposition to the fumbling and ideas bereft government of  Yar’Adua/Jonathan. It was then I was arrested at a meeting of opposition political  leaders and kept in detention for one week without being told of my offence. After  that, I was bundled to Sokoto where spurious and frivolous charges were made against  me. The matter is still in court and I wonder what would have led to my forfeiting  assets to the EFCC, especially when I know and every Nigerian of conscience knows  that the charges against me are politically motivated and lack merit,” Bafarawa  stated.

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