The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of ‘witch-hunt’ and ‘clamping down on mostly Igbo and Southern private estate developers’ in its operations.
The HURIWA, however, urged the Abdulrasheed Bawa-led EFCC to beam its searchlight on government functionaries like Minister of State for Labour, Mr. Festus Keyamo SAN, who it said had confessed to “purchases of multi-billion Naira worth of exotic and expensive housing assets offshores including the mansion in the United States of America at this same time that he is a cabinet level public officer.”
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“Instead of going after genuine private estate developers because of some anti-Igbo, anti-Southern Nigerian agenda”, the rights group admonished EFCC “to focus on public functionaries such as the Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo.”
HURIWA also said “the EFCC should be even arresting many rogue ministers some of whom have frittered public funds”. The rights group stated that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management “should also constitute a strong focal point for EFCC if the anti-corruption body is patriotically committed to eradicating corruption and abuse of office and must avoid such distractions and shadow chasing gambit of waging Economic stagnating warfare against genuine private estate developers who are largely from Southern Nigeria.”
The group, in a statement it issued, on Tuesday, wondered why the EFCC “has left public officials with allegations of heists of public fund but is rather seeking to destroy the private housing sector in this post Covid-19 era when businesses are folding up.”
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Continuing, the rights group said in the statement signed by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, “EFCC should stop acting as government lap dog and for once be decisive, courageous, independent and apolitical by arresting or at least inviting the minister of state of labour Festus Keyamo who on his own volition, boasted that he actually purchase several assets even as a serving minister.
“Keyamo’s cock and bull story of how he amassed unpardonable and humongous amount of offshore assets from proceeds of his law firm before assuming public office as a Minister is a red herring because it is a notorious information that Keyamo was just a garrulous and noisy lawyer who ironically became media savvy after he worked under the successful Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) legal offices but is not truly a very proficient lawyer to have attracted such humongous amount to an extent that they (huge cash ‘were lying idle in his accounts’ so much so that he had to buy mansions from such proceeds even as a public office holder. The conspiratorial silence of Abdulrasheed Bawa is unpardonable and abominable.”
HURIWA was asking EFCC to investigate since investigative media reports indicate that Keyamo bought the houses after news of the controversial N40 billion 774,000 jobs project hit the internet.
HURIWA said the EFCC must carry out forensic investigations into the special works initiative handled by Keyamo “against the background of multiple accusations that he bought those choice assets same time that the Presidential assignment took place.”
