23rd June, 2011
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is still compiling dossiers on some immediate past state governors perceived to be corrupt.
A source at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria’s Capital, told P.M.NEWS this morning that the commission started discreet investigation of the former governors even before they left office on 29 May.
The source said the commission’s office was inundated with petitions from their states alleging massive corruption against the governors under probe.
Although he declined to give the number and names of the former governors under its searchlight, the source said some of the newly sworn-in governors who took over from the alleged corrupt ones were assisting the commission with information with which the former governors could be arrested and prosecuted.
The source told P.M.NEWS that the commission wants to carry out a thorough investigation before arresting and prosecuting them.
P.M.NEWS gathered that at least nine former governors may soon be arrested and prosecuted for corruption. Some of them governed states in the Southwest, Southeast, Northcentral and Northwest.
Several state governors who left office in 2003 and 2007 were arrested and prosecuted by EFCC for alleged corruption and money laundering. They include James Ibori, Joshua Dariye, Abubakar Audu, Orji Uzor Kalu, Lucky Igbinedion, Chimaroke Nnamani, Rasheed Ladoja, etc.
Cases against most of them are still pending in courts.
—Ada Owojela