Probe $12bn Missing Oil Windfall under Babangida, Falana Urges EFCC, ICPC
Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, has again resurrected the issue of the alleged missing of the sum of $12 billion oil windfall under administration of General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) military government, calling on the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to launch an investigation on the disappearance of the funds.
Falana also sought the investigation of the $16 billion purportedly spent on generating electricity in the country, as promised by President Muhammadu Buhari.
He stated this in a keynote address delivered yesterday at the conference on ‘Agenda Setting for Citizens’ Interaction with Stolen Assets Recovery: Abacha Loot Recovery and Utilisation as Case Study,’ organised by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) in Abuja.
The human rights lawyer wondered why the anti-graft agencies have not investigated the disappearance of the sum of $12.2 billion from under the Babangida’s military junta.
He reminded Nigerians that a few years ago, the SERAP and other five NGOs sought to compel the federal government to recover the huge fund.
But the Federal High Court struck out the case for want of locus standi on the part of the plaintiffs.
Falana noted that since the anti-graft agencies have the statutory power to recover stolen public money it is high time that the missing $12.2 billion was traced.
He said: “Since the probe has been delayed on the grounds that the federal government could not locate a copy of the report of the Pius Okigbo Panel on reorganisation of the Central Bank. Happily, a human rights body, which has found a copy of the report will not hesitate to collaborate with the anti-graft agencies if they are willing to investigate the missing fund.
“During the electioneering last year, President Buhari threatened to probe the $16 billion allegedly purportedly spent on generating electricity in the country. This allegation ought to be investigated without any further delay.
“Following the death of the then military Head of State, General Sani Abacha on June 8, 1998, his successor, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), ordered a probe into the looting of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 1993-1998. At the end of the enquiry it was established that the late dictator stole over $5 billion from the vaults of the CBN through his National Security Adviser (NSA), Mohammed Gwazo. A substantial part of the stolen fund has since been traced to over 140 bank accounts in western countries and some remote islands in the world.”