Okoi Obono-Obla, the former Chairman of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP) under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, has made startling revelations about the extent of corruption in the Nigerian government.
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In an exclusive interview on MIC ON Podcast by Seun Akinbaloye, Obono-Obla detailed several cases of high-profile corruption and expressed frustration over the lack of decisive action on them.
Speaking on the magnitude of corruption he encountered, Obono-Obla highlighted a specific case involving the recovery of extravagant assets.
“Some of the things I recovered were returned to the looters.
“For instance, there was this case where somebody had 80 brand new armored S-Class Mercedes Benz cars, along with houses, farms, motorcycles, and more, all discovered in a single location in Jabi,” he recounted.
“We intervened, questioned whether customs duties were paid on these vehicles. It turned out, they hadn’t.”
Obono-Obla also addressed tax evasion concerns, saying: “I wrote to the Federal Inland Revenue Service about these assets, questioning if taxes were paid. They confirmed no records of tax payments.”
He emphasised the panel’s proactive stance in securing a court order to take custody of the assets pending further legal proceedings.
The former chairman further revealed efforts to investigate offshore assets linked to a former senator and governor.
“Through the Panama Papers, we discovered offshore properties worth over £200 million belonging to a prominent former governor and senator,” he disclosed.
Despite submitting detailed reports to the president (Buhari) and the Attorney General (Abubakar Malami, SAN), no actions were taken.
Recall that on August 15, 2019, it was reported that President Buhari sacked Obono-Obla.
His sack letter said Obono-Obla would face “criminal prosecution on matters related to his alleged financial dealings, as uncovered by the ICPC upon investigation”.
“The government may ask the University of Jos to withdraw his law degree and the Nigerian Law School to debar him from practice,” the letter added.
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