EFCC receives petition against Tinubu

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has received a petition asking it to investigate the source of the money conveyed in bullion vans to the home of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the eve of the 2019 presidential election.

The petition, written by Concerned Nigerians, was acknowledged at the reception desk of the Executive Chairman’s office yesterday, a copy of which was sighted by The Guardian.

The Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, had said in a press briefing on November 12, 2018, that the Commission would investigate Tinubu anytime it receives a petition to do so.

Speaking shortly after submitting the petition, Deji Adeyanju, who led other petitioners, said: “I have decided to take up your challenge after you called for a petition through your social media account on Twitter.”

He stated that the group wants the EFCC to launch an investigation into the appearance of bullion vans in the compound of a private citizen, Tinubu, on the eve of 2019 presidential elections.

He regretted that other Nigerians had repeatedly drawn the Commission’s attention to the same matter to no avail.

The petition read: “The Commission would recall that it was reported all over the news that bullion vans allegedly containing an undisclosed amount of cash were seen entering the home of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State on the eve of Nigeria’s presidential election. Tinubu himself admitted to this fact while responding to questions by journalists.

“It is pertinent to note that section 7 (1) (b) of EFCC Establishment Act 2004 gives the Commission the power to investigate properties of any person that it appears to the Commission that the person’s lifestyle and extent of the properties are not justified by his source of income.
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To the best of our knowledge, Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a private citizen who ordinarily should not be seen with a convoy of bullion vans.

“The questions begging for answers are: What were bullion vans doing in the house of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu? Who owns the content, believed to be cash in the bullion vans that were seen entering the house of Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the eve of Nigeria’s presidential election? Has the Commission, based on its core mandates, investigated the source of the bullion vans? Is Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s house now a bank where bullion vans take money?” 

Adeyanju called on the Commission to as a matter of urgency begin an investigation into the appearance of those bullion vans.

He added: “You will recall that the Commission has been very hard on members of the opposition including detaining them for weeks on allegations of corruption and has now turned its focus on Yahoo Boys. We cannot as a nation have two separate rules for fighting corruption, one for those opposed to the ruling party and another for supporters of the government.”