Lawmakers have called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the suspended Managing Director of the Nigerian Port Authority, Hadiza Bala Usman over alleged mismanagement of N165 billion.

This was revealed in a statement on Monday by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Honourable Ndudi Elumelu.

They insisted that such huge economic crime against the nation should not be left to an administrative panel of enquiry, but committed to an anti-graft agency for an independent investigation.

It, therefore asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately “take in the indicted Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman, and commence a system-wide investigation with a view to prosecuting her, if found wanting”.

“Our Caucus holds that the mere suspension of the indicted Managing Director of the NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman, and the resort to an administrative panel of enquiry even after the report by the Supervising Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, exposed an unremitted and possibly diverted operating surplus of N165 billion, amounts romancing and perfuming corruption by the APC-led Federal Government.

“The Minority Caucus also believes that the recourse to an administrative instead of a full-scale criminal investigation can only serve as a decoy to shield some other APC government officials involved in the looting spree at NPA and other affiliated agencies in the transport sector,” the statement read in part.

The lawmakers expressed concerns that by committing the alleged NPA looting to an administrative panel, political manipulations and partisan influences had taken precedence over what should have been a system-wide investigation into a monumental fraud.

“This is because, apart from the unremitted N165 billion cited by the Minister, other documents and reports from the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation had also uncovered several sleazes, including unremitted deduction to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) amounting to N3,667,750,470. $148,845,745.04, Euro 4,891,449.50 and £252,682.14.

“This is in addition to audit query of N15.18 billion allegedly stolen through inflated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects/programmes under the watch of the suspended NPA Managing Director.

“As representatives of the suffering people of Nigeria, our Caucus is particularly very worried that such monumental lootings are going on at a time terrorists, bandits, unknown gunmen, and criminal militias are reigning supreme across the length and breadth of the country and life has consequently become the cheapest article in the country,” the lawmakers said.

They added that such resources if channelled to the security sector and well managed would have made a world of difference in addressing the problem of insecurity in the country.

Edo Police Arrest Two Men For Taking N5.2m Cash Dropped By Escaping Robbers

The Edo Police Command has arrested two men, Monday Imafidon and Ifeanyi Okafor, who stole the loot dropped by a four-man gun-toting gang that robbed a POS outlet of N5.2 million.

The robbery operation took place in Uromi, Esan north-east local government area of the state, where the hoodlums stormed the POS outlet on a motorcycle.They robbed everyone in sight, including the operator. Moments after the robbery, a detachment of police operatives and some residents gave the robbers a hot chase, following which they threw away their loot.

Though the robbers were arrested, Imafidon and Okafor and some others at large, took advantage of the chaos to steal the money.
One of the suspects confessed to stealing only part of the money.
“I saw people running after some men on a motorcycle and suddenly we saw plenty money. I joined other boys to collect the money. The total money we got was N2.5 million, all of us shared it, and I got N600,000”.

The state’s PPRO, SP Kontongs Bello, who confirmed the incident, said some cash had been recovered from the suspects.