Okoi Obono-Obla, former chairman of the Special Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP), has written to President Muhammadu Buhari, saying he is being persecuted by the office of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo for his loyalty to the president.
In a letter to the president, the ex-SPIP chairman alleged that some principal members of the office of the vice-president asked him to compromise an investigation but he refused to do their bidding.
He said, “My travails started with my appointment as Chairman of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property in July 2017!” the letter read.
“The Panel was constituted when the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo was Acting President. He accordingly appointed one of his Special Assistants, Adeniran Gbolahan, as Secretary. Later I had a bitter disagreement concerning whether or not the Panel should wait for mandates from the Vice President before it can commence any investigation.
“The Secretary enjoyed the support of the Vice President through the Deputy Chief of Staff, Ade Ipaye. Mr. Ipaye sided Mr. Gbolahan against me.”
“Mr. Ipaye then wrote a letter stopping an investigation of a case of contract scam reported by Nigerian Ports Authority….. In April 2018, Mr. Ipaye invited me to his office and instructed me not to proceed with the investigation of some members of the National Assembly,” he wrote.
“In February 2019, Mr. Ipaye wrote to me instructing me to suspend the activities of the Panel on the purported ground that Government was reviewing its operations.
“When the Secretary of the Panel, Mr. Gbolahan left in 2018, he was replaced by Mr. Obinna Ogwuegbu, a nominee of the Vice President who started another bout of antagonism and malice against me on the prompting of Mr. Ipaye.”
“I have suffered so much persecution and witch-hunting because of the fact that I have carried out my assignment with patriotism, dedication, commitment and conviction. I don’t deserve this persecution and witch-hunt because of my refusal to be disloyal to Mr. President and allow the office of the Vice President to use the Panel to serve vested interest,” he said.
“The ICPC which is now being used against me is under the protege of the Vice President, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye. Professor Bolaji Owasanoye was part and parcel of the conspirators against me!
“I was also persecuted by the National Assembly! The whole issue of my purported certificate forgery was masterminded by the House of Representatives to get back at me because I had the guts to initiate an investigation against some powerful Senators.
“I am open to any probe but also the matters I investigate are facts against the Nigerian people and I’m not deterred. Someday Nigerians will know who their true enemies are,” he said.
“I had briefed Mr. President on the 13th June 2018 on all these interference and challenges but no action was ever taken to address all the concerns raised by me.
“In all of it all, I strove to do my job in a dedicated and committed manner. However, the most painful aspect is the hostilities I have faced ridicule and embarrassment to my person when I was being hounded and harassed without due process of being heard concerning any allegation against me.
“If I have done anything wrong, I should be removed from office but I should not be humiliated and reduced to nothing. It sends a wrong signal to me that I was given a job which merely exposed me to hatred and attack. And why should that be?”
Meanwhile, the Office of the Vice President has stated that Obono-Obla was sacked over violation of the panel’s mandate and abuse of office.
The source added that the Panel was set up pursuant to the provisions of the Recovery of Public Property (Special Provisions) Act Cap. R4, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004 (the Act) with the limited and specific mandate of discreet investigation of cases expressly and specifically referred to the Panel in writing by the President or his designate.
Disclosed that: “In spite of the specificity of the mandate of the Panel, the Office of the Vice President and the Federal Ministry of Justice are in receipt of numerous complaints, on the part of Mr. Obla, of violation of the specific mandate of the Panel, human rights abuses and conduct unbecoming of an official of government, which conduct and actions had a number of times subjected the Panel and the government to ridicule.
“Excesses of Mr. Obla were not limited to individuals, government agencies and private companies, but extend to foreign missions in Nigeria.
“Following series of violations and the intervention of His Excellency, the Vice President, through the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation (HAGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), Mr. Obla submitted a written undertaking Ref. SPIP/SH/OVP/2017/VOL.1/1 dated 10 November 2017 to the effect that the Panel would thenceforth: Only act on a written mandate received from the Presidency, and will seek authorization from the Presidency to undertake fresh mandates in accordance with extant laws of the Federation.
“Notwithstanding Mr. Obla’s written undertaking to operate within the mandate of the Panel and two subsisting decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court restating the limitation of the mandate of the Panel (Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CR/78/2018 and Suit No. CA/A/278/2018), Obla has continued with the earlier cautioned violations as evident from numerous complaints received by the Office of the Vice President.
“The two courts respectively held that the panel has no powers to apply for forfeiture of properties; the Recovery of Public Property (Special Provisions) Act 2004 did not empower the panel to initiate and prosecute criminal charges against anybody, and that its functions terminate upon its compliance with Section 4(4) of Act which requires it to, at the end of its investigation, submit its findings to the Head of the Federal Government.”
According to the source, there are about 22 different petitions against Obla.
While some of petitions bother on corruption, some were premised on over-reaching the mandate of the panel and some were predicated on abuse of office.