The independent probe committee instituted by
the Senate to investigate the activities of the Petroleum Trust Development
Fund [PTDF] is expected to unravel the circumstances surrounding the
accusation and counter accusation of corruption involving President Olusegun
Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar. And the whole thing started at
the instance of the President. But from the way events have turned out in
the last few weeks that the matter erupted, it can be concluded that the
matter has gone out of hand of Mr. President. This is certainly not what he
bargained for. It is a clear case of the hunter becoming the hunted.
In any investigation,
distortion of evidence is criminal and wicked as it would have defeated the
essence of the whole exercise. Therefore, the minimum expectation is the
preservation of the material facts to lend credence to whatever findings are
finally arrived at.
In this case, it is the Vice
President that is on the spot. He is the one that is accused of corruptly
enriching himself, though he can not be assumed guilty until proven beyond
reasonable doubt. Going by Atiku’s defence to the Senate, it is clear that
Obasanjo has a Herculean task ahead to establish his case against Atiku.
Aside from this, Obasanjo too has a case to answer on the same corruption
charge he is levelling against Atiku. As mentioned Atiku Abubakar is the one
on the spot because he is the culprit, and at the same time the President
has all it takes to manipulate the exercise. He has the State’s institutions
and resources to use to his advantage.
The President seems not to
be leaving anything to chance as he tries relentlessly to tidy up but to
Atiku’s detriment. This is the position of Atiku Abubakar as presented by
his Media Campaign Organisation. At the first instance, the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC] stormed Bank PHB branch in Lagos and
carted away vital documents relating to the banking transactions of the Vice
President. This is obviously what the late Chuba Okadigbo would call
executive rascality. EFCC concluded its investigation into the alleged fraud
consequent upon which the President set up a panel to consider the report.
What evidence was EFCC looking for in Bank PHB that it had not gotten during
its own investigation?
Another issue that came up
when the President closed the PTDF account. Atiku Media Campaign
Organisation alerted the nation that the action of the President is another
effort to obstruct justice. Since the matter was before the National
Assembly, common sense demands that he would have allowed the National
Assembly to conclude its investigation before the hasty closure of PTDF
account.
As if the President and his
team have not gotten what they wanted, the State Security Service and EFCC
went after Mallam Garba Shehu and Otunba Fasawe respectively carting away
vital documents. Lending credence to Atiku’s claim of the President’s
intention to destroy evidence is the fact that these State’s institutions,
which are at the beck and call of the President, are always after documents
anytime they come calling.
The campaign office also
drew the attention of Nigerians to the delay tactics being employed by the
management of the PTDF in submitting its memoranda to the Senate Committee.
The PTDF management was obviously buying time to alter, distort and
disorganise all material facts before forwarding whatever is left to the
Senate Committee. When Atiku’s camp cried out, the Executive Secretary of
the Fund stated that he will cooperate fully with the Committee. Though, no
one expected anything short of that statement from him.
Again the Atiku Campaign
Organisation alleged that there are attempts to eliminate large numbers of
documents from the records of the PTDF and that other batch of documents are
being taken to various federal ministries for accelerated due process stamp
to be affixed on them. This, according to the group is to legitimise
decisions and expenditures that run foul of financial guidelines, statutes
and the constitution of Nigeria.
The following day that the
statement was made available to the press, EFCC raided Bank PHB again
carting away records of Vice President Atiku Abubakar. As in its other
raids, original copies of all documents of transactions of the Vice
President, his personal aide and that of Marine Float account were removed.
EFCC is an interested party in this matter and could therefore not be
trusted with any vital document in its possession.
What the Nigerian public
expect from the Senate Committee is summed up in the press release of the
media office of Atiku Abubakar. In their words, the committee should ‘take
appropriate measures to secure all authentic documents of the PTDF from its
inception to date from being tampered with’. Nigerians are waiting to see
how events will turn out at the upper legislative house.