A House of Representatives’ panel has asked the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to arrest President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Adviser on Anti-Corruption and Chairman, Special Presidential Investigation Panel (SPIP), Okoi Obono-Obla, for forgery.
The panel’s report, laid on Thursday by the Chairman of the ad hoc Committee, Aliyu Pategi (PDP, Kwara), indicted Obono-Obla of forgery, arbitrariness and abuse of office.
The report therefore urged President Buhari to relieve him of his duties as Special Adviser, and to dissolve SPIP henceforth.
It also directed the University of Jos, Nigerian Law School, and the Body of Benchers to withdraw all the law degrees awarded to Obono-Obla, “having been obtained fraudulently.”
The report recommends, “That the House do consider the Report of the ad hoc Committee on Need to Investigate the Legality and Modus Operandi of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel (SPIP) and approve recommendations therein.”
“That Okoi Obono-Obla should be arrested by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and charged to court for forgery and misrepresentation.
“That the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, should discharge Obono-Obla of his responsibility as Special Adviser and Chairman of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel (SPIP).”
The report said the Recovery of Public Property (Special Provisions) Act, Cap. R4, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, should be repealed, and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) strengthened to fill the gap in the fight against corruption.
Henceforth, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC) should investigate allegations of corruption contained in the Audit Report of the Auditor-General of the Federation on the financial transactions of SPIP and prosecute culprits, the report added.
The lawmakers’ indictment is coming six months after they commenced investigations into allegations of forgery and abuse of office against the President’s anti-corruption aide.
The House of Representatives began probing Obono-Obla since June 2018, during which he shunned all summons by the Pategi Committee.
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