News sources have revealed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has decided to investigate the immediate past Director General of the Department of State Service, DSS, Lawal Daura over an alleged N12.9 billion funds received by the agency during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The EFCC is raising questions about the funds Daura received and what exactly happened to it as it discovered through the investigations of one time DSS Director General, Mr. Ita Ekpeyong who was succeeded by Daura that the DSS actually returned more than N3 billion unspent operations funds during the tenure of Ita Ekpeyong which was inherited by Daura.
The EFCC had earlier invaded the home of Mr. Daura in the hopes of recovering incriminating evidence but failed to do so; this is why the EFCC decided to shine some light on the funds inherited by Daura at the DSS according to a source within the EFCC.
According to the EFCC source,
“With the apparent lack of substantial evidence in the searches conducted so far in the residences and guest houses of Daura, investigating authorities are holding on to suspected depletion of funds he took over from his predecessor, Ekpenyong Ita.
The monies handed over are a public knowledge. When the Director General of such Service hands over, copies are customarily sent to the President, the National Security Adviser, the Service itself, the incoming and outgoing directors general would have their copies.”
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The source further revealed that some of the funds already accounted for included the various sums $21.23m and N12.96 billion in pension fund, N2.2 billion in serial account, and another N2.2 billion earmarked for insurance.
The source further revealed that former DSS Directot, Ita Ekpeyong has been cooperating fully with the EFCC in their investigations adding that he visits the EFCC headquarters frequently.
The source also revealed that the EFCC was tracking some huge movement of funds from the central account of the FDSS which stood at only N6 billion compared to the N12.9 billion handed over by Ita Ekpeyong.
“The EFCC is only interested in just some basic questions that he (Daura) may need to provide answers to. Mind you, this is not a probe of the DSS, we are only seeking clarifications,” the source further explained.
The current EFCC investigation however is not going down well with other security agencies.
This is due to the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari had issed a directive last year that investigations regarding the DSS, the National Intelligence Agency(NIA) and other Secret services must be carried out by only close insiders in order not to avoid exposing Nigeria to ridicule within the International community.
“This (investigations of DSS) would be a clear case of blatant disregard of the Presidential directive arising from the report of the committee, and the norm all over the world.
If it goes this way, nobody would volunteer information that could be processed into intelligence, there may be no bilateral collaboration between Nigeria intelligence agencies and some known cracked foreign agencies in the world like the FBI, CIA, MI5, MI6 and more, for fear that they could be exposed, compromised and the lives of their operatives compromised in the course of open probe. And I know that we (Nigeria) have enjoyed that goodwill over years.
“An open investigation by outsiders might just be penny wise, pound foolish; a bubble of Pyrrhic victory that would evaporate and expose Nigeria to ridicule. Either way, even if there’s misdemeanor anywhere, any inquiry without a presidential imprimatur in line with the world best practices and as recommended by the committee would be a bastardized effort.” A source revealed.
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