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The Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has
condemned the murder of one of its top
officials in the early hours of Tuesday
September 14, 2010 in his residence in
Kaduna.
While condemning the
dastardly murder of Mr. Abdullahi Muazu,
who until today was the officer in
charge of its forensic unit, the
anti-graft agency in a statement on
Tuesday also accused Rivers State
government of sponsoring planned attacks
on its officials and office in the state
capital, PortHarcourt.
According to the
statement, “ïnformation reaching the
Commission today confirms that our head
of forensic unit was killed in a cruel
manner in the early hours of today by
unknown assailants.
“Those behind this
attack may have succeeded in killing a
strategic hand and a key witness in some
of our on-going cases but their act has
failed to dampen our spirit or deter us
from continuing our investigation and
prosecution of all forms of economic
crimes and corruption in the country.”
The Chairman of the
EFCC, Mrs Farida Waziri has already
directed a team of operatives from the
Abuja headquarters office of the
Commission to proceed to Kaduna to
assist the relevant security agencies in
the investigation of the murder.
Meanwhile, the
Commission has said that information
available to it indicates that the
Rivers State government is sponsoring
well planned attacks on its officials
and office in PortHarcourt.
“Information
available to us indicates that public
funds are again being diverted in Rivers
to sponsor attacks on our men and office
in PortHarcourt. These attacks are to
begin with the mobilization of 1000
persons from each of the 23 local
government areas of Rivers State to
stage a protest against the EFCC on
Wednesday September 15.
“This is to be
followed by yet another protest by
various women groups rejecting the
presence of EFCC in the state. The real
motive behind these sponsored protests
is to set ablaze the Commission’s zonal
office in PortHarcourt in a desperate
bid to cripple the EFCC’s activities in
the state and the entire South-South
region.
“The Commission
wishes to assure all that while it will
continue to do its work within the ambit
of the law, it has the right to defend
itself and its officials against
hirelings who have been paid to attack
us under the guise of staging protests.
“The EFCC remains a
creation of the laws of the Nigerian
Federation and as such, no force of
gangsterism in any part of the country
will stop it from carrying out its
statutory responsibilities.”
Femi Babafemi,head,
Media & Publicity EFCC.
RIVERS GOVT TO
EFCC:YOU ARE DESTROYING NIGER
DELTA REGIONAL ECONOMY
GENTLE .C. WOKE
Wed Sep 15,2010
Contrary
to the spurious claims by the EFCC that
the Rivers State Government plans to
attack its offices, it is the EFCC that
has embarked on a vendetta and witch
hunt of the Government of Rivers State.
Speaking
to newsmen today while reacting to an
EFCC Statement, the State Commissioner
of Information, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari
said, “not only has the agency taken on
the unenviable role of distracting the
Rivers State Government, but it has
employed de-marketing tactics to destroy
the regional economy and has added to
itself the task of making the state
ungovernable”.
The
Information Commissioner said, Rivers
State as a government, would not have
joined issues with EFCC, but it has
become clear to us that what was meant
to be a noble institution may have
become a tool of oppression, mischief
and cheap blackmail in the hands of
unpatriotic and diabolical elements.
In her
words, “institutions of state are
important and indeed venerable, and
should be revered if our democracy must
be strong” adding “they must remain
above board and not become political
tools or pawns in the hands of mischief
makers whose sole purpose is to take our
beloved country and state back to the
infamous years of violence, corruption
and bad governance”.
According to her, “this recent ploy is
not only preposterous, but definitely a
figment of someone’s imagination,
adding, Rivers State, under the focused
leadership of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi
Amaechi would not be deterred from
delivering on its mandate to give Rivers
people a Rivers State that works”.
“Rivers
State is open for business” she said,
adding “crystal clear change is here
today, let men of good conscience be
true to themselves”.
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