The Former Chief of
Naval Staff has released a copy of Open Letter he addressed to Acting
Chairman of Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial crimes
commission (EFCC). The copy of the letter which was submitted Friday May
the 19th to the EFCC is below:
Mr Ibrahim Magu
The Acting Chairman
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
5, Fomella Street, Off Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent,
Wuse II,
Abuja. May 2017
THREAT
TO MY LIFE, INCESSANT/INDISCRIMATE HARASSMENT AND PLANS TO PLANT
INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE AGAINST ME BY OPERATIVES OF THE ECONOMIC AND
FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION
1.
I regret to state that my life has been under threat by operatives
of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) since my
retirement from active service of the Nigerian Navy on the 14 July 2015.
This is sequel to the fact that some cabals are hiding under the
executive orders of Mr President to settle scores against me on the
perceived injustice allegedly meted on them by the Nigerian Navy during
my tenure as the Chief of the Naval Staff. I decided to put my thought
in writing because of information made available to me from very
reliable sources that plans have been concluded to plant incriminating
evidence against me by operatives of the EFCC. This revelation has
pushed me to the wall to speak out as I have observed that silence may
not be golden after all in the face of some suspicious activities going
around my properties by unknown elements. My life is at stake, my
dignity is at stake, my integrity is at stake and my name is at stake. I
respect the rule of law and detest injustice. Fairly minded officers
and men of the Nigerian Navy and those in other Services who worked
closely with me could attest to this assertion.
2.
Let me hastily state that the kernel of my letter to you is to draw
your attention to the fact that I now have it on good authority that
your organisation is been used by a cabal who are very uncomfortable
with my freedom and threatened by my unblemished record as the former
Chief of Naval Staff who fought them to a standstill in their illegal
bunkering and oil theft. They have found your Commission as the right
tool to bring me down at all cost. Of course, your organisation working
in tandem with the directives issued by these cabals who have concluded
plans to plant incriminating materials, including foreign currencies,
arms and ammunition, in any or some of my premises/properties and then
come up with a trump up charge of financial crime or treasonable felony
or illegal possession of weapons/firearms against me. This latest
machination is to satisfy the cabal that the Commission has fulfilled
its bidding as well as justify all the raids which failed to produce any
expected result.
3.
It is imperative to state at this juncture that no one has accused
me of corruption or at least I am not aware of any written petition
against me alleging any wrongdoing in my capacity as the former Chief of
Naval Staff. I believe that EFCC has a procedure for investigating
allegations against any individual which is mostly predicated on a
written petition which leads to investigation culminating into
invitation of the alleged offender or arrest as the case may be.
Subsequently, such offender is charged before a court of competent
jurisdiction. Ironically, EFCC has never disclosed to me if there is
any petition against me or the subject matter of their investigation
against me that necessitates the surprise unending searches on my
properties. It is worth noting that EFCC has conducted searches on me in
8 locations without discovering incriminating evidence bordering on
financial crimes. In most cases, my assets were destroyed in my absence
without a single apology from the Commission or explanation as to why my
properties were raided. In all Eight (8) instances, no search warrants
were produced before these raids were conducted neither was I notified.
Please find enclosed photographs of the series of raids on my premises
and the destructions therein. When will the everlasting investigation,
which commenced in July 2015, come to an end for me to have my peace in
life after active service?
4. Suffice it to
quickly note that under my watch as Chief of Naval Staff, I arrested
over 60 vessels carrying out oil theft and illegal bunkering between
January 2014 to July 2015, while discharging my constitutional
responsibilities and handed over same and their owners to EFCC for
prosecution. However, to my utter consternation, many of these suspects
have been released and without prosecution except for 2 being prosecuted
as at February 2017. Could it be that the cabals which the EFCC under
your watch is acting their script against me are also beneficiaries of
the proceeds of the oil theft and illegal bunkering which I stopped.
Perhaps in your famed words which you have repeatedly stated in
different fora "corruption is fighting back" and this time, it is coming
after me. Please quote me any time any day; I never collected a Kobo
bribe from oil thieves or illegal bunkers all through my service. I can
also beat my chest and state that I never collected a Kobo bribe from
any Navy contractor either when I was Chief of Logistics (COL) or Chief
of the Naval Staff (CNS). Furthermore, I was never involved in any
maritime crime including oil theft and illegal bunkering. I find it
extremely difficult to decipher exactly what operatives of the EFCC must
be looking for. I must state that EFCC has never told me that I either
took or accepted any bribe from the Oil thieves or contractors
respectively.
5. In view of the
aforementioned, permit me to ask you, Mr Acting Chairman; where did I go
wrong to deserve the current intimidation and harassment and the
heightened plan to plant incriminating evidence against me by the
operatives of the EFCC and the cabal. Why would the EFCC decide to use
the media to fight me in the face of the glaring proofs that I
discharged my duties as Chief of Naval Staff with utmost integrity and
to the best of my ability.
MY PRAYERS/DEMANDS
6. As the Acting Chairman, you are please requested to consider the following prayers/demands:
a.
Put a stop to this threat to my life and consistent
harassment and destruction of my properties under the guise of some
undisclosed investigations.
b. Come out clearly on
the allegations against me and officially inform me of any petition
against me in which I am being investigated to enable me defend myself.
c.
Put a stop to any plans to plant incriminating evidence in
any of my premises aimed at incarcerating and putting me out of
circulation.
d.
That you convey acceptance of an open invitation from me to the
Commission that you personally lead a team to conduct a search on all my
properties between 18, 19 and 20 May 2017 in the presence of the
Police, DSS and the Press. Kindly refer to the list of my premises in
your possession.
e. That you stop the media war
being waged against me wherein you have consistently labeled me a common
criminal which you know I am not.
f. That you
provide Nigerians with full details of all the vessels handed over to
you for investigation and prosecution and the status of each of them,
including evacuation of the products therein.
7.
Finally, let me remind you that the Commission has already charged
me to Court over a Navy Guest House which was a safe house bought by the
Navy under my watch which I am currently standing trial and defending
myself. Before the determination of that suit, I will like to have my
peace in retirement hence the above demands. Contrary to your
perception, not all Nigerians are corrupt. I have never been involved
in politics, hence one wonders whose interest my present predicament is
been served. I have taken the liberty to copy the Acting President, His
Excellency, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), Senate President, Speaker
House of Representative, Kogi State Governor, Honourable Minister of
Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff, Service Chiefs, other Security
Agencies and NBA to be aware of my ordeal and call your Agency to
order.
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