Group urges Buhari to investigate 1.3 trillion pension fund recovered under Ex-EFCC boss, Lamorde

A civil right group, the Legislative Watch, on Wednesday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to commence investigations into N1.3 trillion allegedly recovered by Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms (PTFPR) under the Ibrahim Lamorde’s Leadership of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The group alleged that the recovery was recovered under the leadership of Abdulrasheed Maina as the Chairman of the task force.

Executive Secretary of the group, Ihuoma Ngozika, in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja said, Nigerians want to see the fight against corruption taken to the doors of the anti-graft agencies too.

Ngozika recollected that a former DG, DSS told the National Assembly that the PRFTT under the leadership of Maina worked with the DSS and gave the intelligence that led to the recovery of N1. 3 Trillion to the Buhari administration.

“what the entire workforce of both ICPC and EFCC cannot boast of since their inauguration as anti-corruption agencies in 2000 & 2002 respectively,” Ngozika said.

The group noted that the inability of EFCC to secure conviction of the 43 pension suspects which Maina caught, was attributable to blatant refusal by the commission’s compromised staffers investigating the suspects to release required evidence and information to the Chairman to enable the Commission secure Conviction of the suspects.

“The Efcc staffers working on the case, have refused to release the true position of the report.

We are not unaware of the fact that Maina has copies of the core evidence required to secure conviction of the 43 Pension suspects.

We urge Maina to team up with the Commission by releasing required evidence to secure conviction of the 43 Pension suspects who have been in court since 2012″.

The Secretary further enjoined President Buhari to ensure that the current EFCC leadership works with Maina to secure convictions of the Pension looters (Both those under prosecution now, and those not yet identified by the Commission and brought to book).

It called on the federal government to immediately pay the former Pension boss the five percent commission promised him for exposing and helping the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration recover the sum of N1.3 trillion

The group said it was aware that the federal government through the former AGF, Abubakar Malami (SAN), the DSS and the National Security Adviser (NSA) approached Maina with a promise to pay him a five percent commission if he recovers funds to the Government.

“We appeal to President Buhari and the International Community Human Rights Organisation’s, to among others, intervene in ensuring that justice is served for Maina; while also ensuring that his whistle-blowing of N65bn commission is paid to him.

The right group also urged the President who he described as a respecter of the law and one with a reknown stance against corruption to also ensure the enforcement of the five court judgements secured by Maina against various offices.