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Tag: ‘whistleblower’

  • False alarm: Whistleblower remanded in prison for N700m pension, tax fraud

    An Ikeja High Court, Lagos has remanded a whistleblower, Lord Umoh Archibong Edem, in prison custody for raising false alarm over an alleged N700 million pension and tax evasion fraud.

    Edem was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count charge bordering on making false statement to a public officer before Justice Hakeem Oshodi.

    EFCC prosecutor S. O. Daji told the court that the defendant committed the offence on August 7, 2019 in Lagos.

    Daji said the defendant provided a false information to a public officer and the EFCC about the involvement of a company, Starsonic/Sacvin Group of Nigeria, where he is an employee, in a pension and tax evasion fraud.

    “The defendant claimed that the management and staff of the company was involved in a massive pension fraud, tax evasion and other fraudulent activities to the tune of N700 million,” Daji said.

    The prosecutor added that the offence of making false statement to a public officer contravened Sections 96 (a) of the criminal law of Lagos State, 2011.

    According to informstion before the court, “Edem had on August 7, with an intent to cause arrest and prosecution of the management staff of Starsonic/Sacvin Group Nigeria Limited given information he knew to be false to the EFCC and Mrs. Patience Kalu, a public officer, that the company was involved in a massive pension fraud, tax evasion and other fraudulent activities running over N700m”.

    Edem pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    The Vacation Judge, Justice Oshodi, thereafter, remanded the defendant in prison custody.

    Justice Oshodi ordered  the case file to be remitted back to the registry for re-assignment.

  • ‘Kaduna Assembly to pass whistleblower, anticorruption bills next week’

    The Kaduna State House of Assembly says it will pass the Whistleblower Protection Bill and the Anti-corruption Bill by next week, as part of commitment to open governance in the state.

    The Speaker of the House, Malam Aminu Shagali, made the disclosure at the opening of a meeting with relevant stakeholders on “Open Government Partnership (OPG)” in Kaduna on Thursday.

    The meeting, supported by DFID-Supported Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL), was organised for people of the state to engage OGP community on the status of the state’s Action Plan and the journey so far.

    Shagali, who was represented by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Nuhu Shadalafiya, explained that the effort was to help open governance in Kaduna State to strengthen transparency and accountability.

    ““As representatives of the people, we have a duty to make necessary legislation that will aid open government process with a view to carry the people along and make their voice count.

    “The whistleblower bill, when passed will provide a cover and protect people who provide information on anomalies and unlawful conduct by persons, public officials and corporate bodies in the state.

    Read Also: APC Primary: Appeal Panel upholds Nwosu’s election

    “The anti-corruption bill will also help in the fight against all forms of corruption in the state,” he said.

    The Speaker said that Freedom of Information Bill will also be passed in the state in no distant time.

    He restated the support of the legislative arm of government in the state in ensuring inclusion, transparency and accountability in governance with a view to improve the lot of the people.

    He urged Kaduna citizens to take advantage of the OGP to make their voice count in demanding for better services from government intervention.

  • Nigeria recovers N7.8 billion, $378 million £27,800 through Whistleblower’s Policy – Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday said that Nigeria has recovered about N7.8 billion, $378 million and £27,800 through the Whistleblower’s Policy launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in December 2016.

    He made the remark at the opening of the Open Government Partnership, (OGP) week holding at the Nigerian Airforce Headquarters, Abuja, where he represented President Buhari.

    According to him, the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit, PICA, which oversees the Whistleblower’s Policy in the Ministry of Finance, has also helped the government save over N200 billion by eliminating ghost workers.

    In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Laolu Akande, the Vice President noted that PICA was established to clean up the payroll and pension system across all the ministries, departments and agencies.

    He said government has included recovered assets in the country’s annual budget since 2017 and invested them in the development of infrastructure as well as in the Social Investment Programme.

    “All funds forfeited to the federal government are being included in our yearly budget proposals, for appropriation by the National Assembly,” he stated.

    According to him, an executive bill has been sent to the National Assembly for the purpose of enacting a more comprehensive legislation on proceeds of crime.

    Osinbajo said the Nigerian government was leveraging technology in a way that it has not been done before to underpin the President Buhari’s commitment to transparent and accountable governance.

    He said: “Nigeria’s experience has shown that technology and innovation tools as well as social media platforms are changing the ways in which citizens engage with government, and empowering citizens and non-state actors to take a more active role in holding government to account.”

    Professor Osinbajo also said that the measures taken by the government to fight corruption since the inception of the administration in May 2015 included the implementation of the Single Treasury Account, TSA, “that existed mainly as an idea, without the appetite for serious implementation” and the establishment of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PACAC.

    Other measures, according to him, were a National Open Contracting Platform (NOCOPO) developed by the Bureau for Public; the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) launched its Public Private Partnerships (PPP) Contracts Disclosure Portal in September 2017 to ensure the timely disclosure of contract information from project initiation through to implementation; and the Citizens’ I-Monitor Portal developed by the Budget office through the open Budget Survey Index.

    He said Nigeria was committed to joining the OGP “an international multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving transparency, accountability, citizen participation and responsiveness to citizens through technology and innovation” at London Anti-Corruption Summit in May 2016 and became the 70th member of the organization in July 2017.

    Following this, the OGP Nigeria developed its first National Action Plan, NAP, of fourteen commitments with focus on four thematic areas of Fiscal Transparency, Anti-Corruption, Access to Information and Citizens’ Engagement.

    “One of the remarkable things about the OGP is that it was designed to function as a partnership between governments and the private sector. Without this coalition-building, I doubt that much progress would be achievable. Regardless of whether the goal is improving infrastructure or fighting corruption, it is clear, and

    it has always been, that governments cannot do it alone”

    In his welcome remarks, Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who is the Co-chair OGP National Steering Committee, said five states in Nigeria has keyed into the OGP programme.

    The states include Kaduna, Kano, Anambra, Ebonyi and Niger.

    The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Paul Arkwright, announced that the UK ministers have approved a new funding stream of 12 million pounds for priorities like Nigeria to deepen and implement open government reform committee.

  • Ikoyi cash whistleblower to be paid, says minister

    Minister of Finance Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has said whistleblower who provided the tips that led to the recovery of funds stashed away in a property in Ikoyi, Lagos State will be paid in the next batch of payment planned for this month.

    In a statement, the minister said the Federal Government has not withheld any fund due to any whistleblower.

    “The Ministry has in place detailed procedures for processing payments due under the Whistleblower Policy. The procedures were designed to prevent abuse and legal disputes and to ensure protection of the information providers,” she said.

    The statement, signed by Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance, Oluyinka Akintunde, said: “These procedures include an application by the agency,  which recovered the funds including evidence of the recovery, confirmation that there are no pending legal issues on the recovery, verification of the identity of the information provider, calculation of the amount payable and computation of relevant taxes.”

    She said payments are made in monthly batches to ensure control and to protect the identity of information providers.

    “To date, over 20 of such persons have been paid. From available records, the payment due on Ikoyi is among those being processed in the November batch, which will be released within the current month,” the minister said.

    Adeosun said the Whistleblowing Policy of the Federal Government remains one of the present administration’s successful initiatives and that the government is fully committed to ensuring that all those who responded to the policy and partnered with it in the recovery effort are paid in full and most importantly have their identity protected.

    The Whistleblower Policy was introduced in December 2016 by the Federal Government as part of the initiatives to wage war against corruption.

  • $43.4m NIA cash whistleblower gets reward

    $43.4m NIA cash whistleblower gets reward

    Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim  Magu on Wednesday said the government has rewarded the man who blew the whistle on the $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218,000 recovered on April 7 in an apartment at 16, Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

    He said the whistleblower had never owned N1m  before he got the reward for his action.

    He said the whistleblower  was undergoing counseling on how to make good use of the money.

    Magu urgd Nigerians who are desirous of  a positive change  to take advantage of the whistle blowing policy of the government.

    Magu spoke on this at the ongoing 7th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption holding in Vienna, Austria.

    He said aside contributing to the eradication of corruption, potential whistle blowers would benefit from the illicit acquisition by the looters.

    A statement by the Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, quoted Magu as saying: “The young man who blew the whistle on the $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218,000 recovered on April 7, 2017 by the EFCC in an apartment located at 16, Osborne Road, Ikoyi is already a millionaire by virtue of the percentage he is officially entitled to.

    “We are currently working on the young man because this is just a man who has not seen one million naira of his own before.

    “ So, he is under counseling on how to make good use of the money and also the security implication. We don’t want anything bad to happen to him after taking delivery of his entitlement. He is a  national pride.

    “We encourage more whistle blowers to come forward with genuine information that will lead to recoveries from looters of public treasuries. That is part of the ways we can put an end to the looting madness in the public sector.

    “When they know that they have no place to keep the loot, as all eyes are on them, they will find looting of public treasuries unattractive “.

    A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos and presided over by Justice Muslim Hassan on June 7 ordered the final forfeiture of the total sum of $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218,000 to the federal government.

    Read Also: Whistleblower on Ikoyi money now a millionaire — EFCC

  • ‘Unarmed robbers’: Our position on Obasanjo has not changed – Reps’ spokesman

    ‘Unarmed robbers’: Our position on Obasanjo has not changed – Reps’ spokesman

    The House of Representatives does not intend to issue a formal response to the fresh label of ‘unarmed robbers’ pinned on federal legislators on Thursday by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, it was learnt Friday.

    Obasanjo,speaking at a book  presentation in Ibadan on Thursday had described the legislators as a bunch of  unarmed robbers because,as he said, “they are one of the highest  paid in the world where we have 70 per cent of our people living in abject poverty.”

    The House said yesterday that its response to an earlier accusation in the heat of the budget padding controversy in 2016 is sufficient for the latest accusation by the former President.

    House spokesman Abdulrazaq Namdas, contacted by The Nation said: “There is nothing to say because the House has responded to the former President previously.

    “The accusation this time is the same as before, so there is nothing to add. Our position has not changed from what we said in 2016.”

    Besides, Namdas said that on a personal basis, he was not prepared to cross fire with Obasanjo in view of his age and position as a former President.

    His words: “He is an elder and in my culture, you don’t respond to elders every time.

    “You don’t banter words with your elders. Having responded once and he accuses you again and again, what you do is you keep quiet.

    “Remember he is a former President and an elder statesman. I will not say more than that.”

    Several other lawmakers contacted by The Nation also declined to respond saying that the former President has not said anything.

    One of them who chose not to be named said: “I will not like to respond to this allegation on the basis that his is an elder and a statesman but that does not validate his claim.

    “I can only describe the accusation as coming from people seeking relevance. Not that Obasanjo is seeking relevance but the fact remains that if anyone wants to be in the news, all you need do is to hit members of the National Assembly.

    “For instance, someone like former President Ibrahim Babangida who has found a new love for restructuring.Why did he not make it happen when he had all the opportunities in the world as the head of the military government then?

    “What did he do? Nothing.But it is now convenient to shift the blame. You know we like playing the blame game in this country.

    “As such, I will rather not comment on it, I will give him that respect but that does not mean what he said is true.”

    Another lawmaker seen by The Nation as he left a Committee meeting said: “In my place, we don’t respond to elders like that. Moreover, Namdas has given the position of the House. Thank you.”

    A lawmaker from the North Central said the former President should be allowed to express himself and enjoy it while it lasts.

    “You know, he is an old man. Let him enjoy himself.

    “Responding to him will only spark an unnecessary debate, and since he has a fixated mind about us, so be it’.

    Namdas in responding, on November 24, 2016,   to Obasanjo’s description of federal lawmakers as corrupt at the height of budget padding controversy, called him a blackmailer, acting as a lifetime opposition leader.

    He said: “He ventured to accuse the National Assembly of budget padding, accused the House of criminal activities of threatening the life of a “whistleblower”, lampooned constituency projects which he approved as President, ventured to discuss the budget of National Assembly which is highly underfunded?

    “The House of Representatives would ordinarily not join issues with the former President as he has held an office that deserves respect and reverence.

    “However, because of the material misstatement of facts, outright lies and falsehoods, and mischievous innuendo introduced in his statement, we are left with no option but to correct him.”

    Mr Namdas went on to address all issues raised by the ex-President during the controversial lecture:

    “We have repeatedly maintained that there was no “padding” of the 2016 Appropriation Act, which is a legitimate document passed by the National Assembly, authenticated by the Clerk to the National Assembly as provided in the Acts Authentication Act and assented to by Mr. President…

    “For the avoidance of doubt, there is no crime that was committed by the National Assembly by exercising its constitutional function of appropriation.

    “If Chief Obasanjo has an issue with the execution of the 2016 Budget or indeed other Appropriation Acts, he should direct his anger elsewhere.

    “He claimed that the National Assembly Budget is very high, when by all standards, the National Assembly is grossly underfunded and is hampered from effectively and legitimately carrying out its constitutionally assigned functions. The National Assembly Budget funds a bureaucracy of about 5,000 civil servants.

    “It has some other agencies under its preview such as the National Assembly Service Commission with its own staff of about 500, even the Public Complaints Commission is now a parastatal of the National Assembly.

    “National Assembly Budget also funds the National Institute for Legislative Studies, which is a legislative think-tank and highly rated academic institution that serves both National and State Houses of Assembly and even international legislators.

    “All these agencies also have their capital budget including development of their headquarters, procurement of office equipment, procurement of regular items for running their offices; the National Assembly maintain legislative aides of about 3,000 in number, that aid the work of the Assembly; it also conducts regular public hearings involving the media and stakeholders and oversight activities, involving huge sums of money.

    “The cost implications of running the National Assembly is high because of the nature of our Presidential democracy.

    “Then of course, there are 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives that require proper equipment to function effectively. They require adequate travel and transport support to carry out legislative functions.

    “The National Assembly also has buildings and offices to build and maintain. National Assembly staff and members attend conferences, trainings, seminars to keep abreast of legislative developments worldwide. The activities are very encompassing and expensive.

    “It is also unbecoming of a former President to quote figures of sums of money that are factually incorrect. No member of the House of Representatives receives N10m every month.

    “The salaries and allowances of members of the House are as determined by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

    “Of course further sums of money are spent as running costs, that is, the cost of running the office of a member.

    “If a Minister, Chief Executive or Director in a Ministry travels on official duties, for instance, do you include the cost of his ticket and accommodation as part of his salary or allowances?

    “Does the cost of stationeries and maintenance of equipment like computers used in their offices, form part of their salaries and allowances?

    “These are some of the costs that must be taken care of by the National Assembly and the media calls these costs “jumbo pay”. For goodness sake, the National Assembly is an arm of government, not just an ordinary agency of government.

    “The budget of many agencies in the Executive Branch are indeed higher than the current Budget of the National Assembly that is an arm of government.

    “Examples abound, CBN, NNPC, NCC etc. Allowances paid to even junior staff of some of these government agencies cannot be compared to what members of National Assembly enjoy.

    “Undoubtedly, the former President Obasanjo is understandably angry with the National Assembly as an institution having foiled his ambition for a third-term in office even after trying to corrupt the members with a bribe of at least N50m each.

    “Lest we forget, the person who introduced corruption to the National Assembly is Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

    “He birthed the 4th Republic National Assembly with corrupt practices from day one; indeed the first day of the Republic. He bribed PDP, ANPP and AD legislators on their inauguration in 1999 to vote against the majority candidate of PDP, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo. That was how Senator Evan Enwerem became Senate President.

    “Have we forgotten the sacks of money displayed on the floor of the House of Representatives being bribe money paid by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to some Honourable members to impeach Speaker, Rt. Hon. Ghali N’abba?

    “Have we forgotten that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo used his position as President to extort money from businessmen and contractors with his government to build his presidential library?

    “The list of his corrupt acts while in office is endless. Unquestionably, he is the greatest corrupt person ever to hold office in Nigeria.

    “He remains the grandfather of corruption in Nigeria and lacks the moral authority to discuss corruption or indeed abuse of office in Nigeria as he remains the most corrupt Nigerian on record.

    “It is unfortunate that he has started his very familiar method of bringing down governments. He did it to Alhaji Shehu Shagari, he did it to Gen. Buhari, he did same to Gen. Babangida, he attempted to bring down Gen. Abacha before he imprisoned him for treason; he made frantic efforts to derail the government of President Ya’ardua when he couldn’t use him.

    “He supported President Goodluck Jonathan but when he refused to take dictation, he turned against him. He supported President Buhari, but since he has sensed that Nigeria is having economic difficulties under him, he has pounced to derail his government.

    “The way Chief Obasanjo talks gives the impression that he is a lifetime opposition leader who has never held any office. What did he do about the issues he raised in his 8 years as President?

    “This is a man with unlimited access to President Buhari. Or is it because he has not appointed all his cronies as requested? We may never know. His stuck in trade is blackmail, subversion and treachery.

    “We wish him well.”

  • Whistleblower policy: Fed Govt revising recruitment procedure, says Adeosun

    Whistleblower policy: Fed Govt revising recruitment procedure, says Adeosun

    Following the commendable actions of whistleblowers in recent times to recover stolen monies, the federal government says it is revising its procedure for approval of recruitment.
    Minister of finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun made this disclosure in Abuja on Tuesday at a seminar on “The whistleblower policy and its implication for public servants” organized by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR).
    According to Adeosun, “we are revising our procedures for approval of recruitment, which will improve our budgeting and control.”
    “The work is to analyse trends and take corrective actions. For example many of the salary, tax and pension under remittance cases shared a common thread. Several cases where Institutions were found to have insufficient funds to meet there obligations often had illegal recruitments which bloated the wage bill and agencies responded by part paying or short paying salaries, whilst applying to FG for salary shortfall payments.”
    The Minister also noted that “in many cases where revenue has been diverted to accounts outside TSA, we have reviewed our reconciliation and receipting processes. So the information being provided is useful in driving process improvements.”
    Adeosun stated that much of the success of the whistleblower policy has relied on the decision of the whistleblower to do the right thing.
    She then revealed that “of the 365 actionable tips we have received, over half of them have come from public servants touching on issues such as contract inflation, ghost workers, illegal recruitments, misappropriation of funds, illegal sale of Government assets, diversion of revenues, and violation of TSA regulations, amongst others.”
    In reviewing the information, the federal government she said has received and noticed “that certain type of tips are recurring, for example; 39% (144) of the actionable tips relate to misappropriation and diversion of funds/revenue, 16% (60) relate to ghost workers, illegal recruitments and embezzlement of funds meant for personnel emolument, 15% (56) relate to violation of TSA regulation, 13% (49) relate to contract inflation/violation of the procurement act and failure to carry out projects for which funds have been released and 9% (34) relate to non-remittance of pension & NHIS deductions. Others include concealed bail-out funds and embezzlement of funds from donor agencies.”
    Overall, the volume of tips received Adeosun said “has been greater and of higher quality than expected when the programme was first adopted. We continue to receive information everyday with total communication reaching above 5,000 in July through our various reporting channels.”
     
    Adeosun assured civil servant who “have information about a possible misconduct or violation that has occurred, is on-going, or is about to occur, we implore you to come forward and report it. You can submit your information anonymously and confidentially through the online portal, by email or by phone and if you choose to disclose your identity, I assure you that it will be fully protected. All information you provide will be reviewed, analysed and referred to be treated either administratively or criminally, through the investigative agencies.”
     

    “If for any reason after a civil servant has made a disclosure you feel that you are being treated badly because of your report, you can file a formal complaint through the same confidential channels and the matter will be dealt with immediately with the seriousness it deserves. Also, where you have suffered harassment, intimidation or victimisation for sharing your concerns, the whistleblower policy makes provision for restitution of any loss suffered,” the minister said.

    She further assured potential whistleblowers that “the risk of corruption is significantly heightened where the reporting of wrongdoing is not supported or where those who report wrongdoing may be subject to retaliation, such as intimidation, harassment, transfer, dismissal or violence by their fellow colleagues or superiors.”

    “The protection of public sector whistleblowers from retaliation for reporting in good faith is therefore, integral to our effort to combat corruption, safeguard integrity, and enhance accountability.” 

    These she said “are not just words, as you must have heard, the Senate recently passed the Whistleblower Protection Bill which gives a whistleblower, protection under the laws of Nigeria. This is a great step in the right direction in our fight against corruption”.

    Adeosun noted that “the reward scheme has also acted as an incentive for disclosures – a whistleblower is entitled to between 2.5% and 5% of the amount recovered if the information provided is original and directly leads to the recovery of stolen or concealed funds or assets. Even in the payment process we have built in protection to ensure that whistleblowers identity remains confidential and that bank and other details can not be used to trace information providers.”

    However she cautioned that, “balance is necessary in every policy and you will note, that as keen as we are for officers to provide information, there are serious consequences for providing false or malicious information including the possibility of prosecution. We must ensure that people are not victims of personal grudges or private misunderstandings.”

    Government she said recognises “that whistleblowing alone is not a solution to corruption, it is one of the tools that can improve governance in the public service. In line with ensuring that government continues to build the right capacity and follow best practice, the Whistleblower Unit consisting of representatives from the various investigative agencies, is expected to go on a study tour to Australia to understand how they have been able to successfully implement the policy.”

    Government she added “will continue to evolve and improve on the programme based on our experiences and learnings from other jurisdictions.”

  • Whistleblower arraigned for giving false report

    Whistleblower arraigned for giving false report

    The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has arraigned Abubakar Sani for providing false information to the commission.

    Sani’s information had led to the raid on the residence of former Vice President, Namadi Sambo, on June 28, in Kaduna by ICPC and Directorate of State Services (DSS) operatives.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that since the raid on the property, the ICPC had not said if anything incriminating was found.

    The whistleblower, who was arraigned yesterday before Justice Aliyu Tukur of the Kaduna State High Court, is facing a two-count charge of providing false information and misleading a public officer while on lawful duty.

    Counsel to the commission, Elijah Akaakohol, said the accused had provided the false information to an official of the commission on June 21, 2017.

    Akaakohol told the court that Sani had claimed to have transported boxes of money in local and foreign currencies from Abuja airport to the house at Ungwan Rimi GRA, Kaduna in 2013, which he suspected to be ill-gotten wealth and still at the house.

    The counsel added that it was based on the claim that the accused “made officers of the commission to carry out a sting operation that turned out to be false”.

    Sani, who appeared at the court without legal representation, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    The judge directed that the accused be remanded in prison custody and adjourned the case till Thursday, November 2, for hearing.

    Before the adjournment, Justice Tukur advised the accused to get a counsel to stand for him at the next adjourned date.

  • Ekweremadu hails arraignment of ‘whistleblower’

    Ekweremadu hails arraignment of ‘whistleblower’

    Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu yesterday asked the police to conduct thorough investigation to determine the masterminds of the raid in his Abuja guest house.

    Ekweremadu stated this while hailing Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris on the prosecution of one of the false whistleblowers, who the police claimed misled them into raiding his official guest house in Abuja on Friday.

    Reacting to the arraignment of the suspect, Ahmed Echodo, before an Upper Area Court, Gudu, Abuja, yesterday, Ekweremadu said such would serve as a lesson to other false whistleblowers and agencies of government.

    The Deputy Senate President, in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media)  Uche Anichukwu in Abuja, noted that beyond the arraignment, the police should dig deeper to determine if there were influential masterminds behind the incident.

    Ekweremadu said: “I want to give the police hierarchy the benefit of doubt that it did not authorise the impunity, harassment and witch-hunt executed by police officers on my official guest house last Friday, and that the police were misled.

    “I hope the swift arraignment of the alleged whistle blowers will be emulated by other security and anti-corruption agencies and also serve as a deterrent to those who lend themselves as willing tools to people out to intimidate and persecute others as well as tarnish their image for whatever motives.

    “But beyond the arraignment, I urge the police to dig deeper to determine if there were influential masterminds behind the incident as a bird does not dance by the roadside without a drumbeater somewhere in the bush.

    “Perhaps, if the attempt on my life on November 17, 2015 was taken seriously by the security agencies, those who desperately seek to destroy me by all means possible would have been fished out or had a rethink.”

    He noted that although the Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, earlier insisted that the raid during which nothing incriminating was found was not carried out by men of the force, the police, however, yesterday arraigned Echodo for allegedly conspiring with one Maiwada Adamu, now at large, to mislead them into the raid.