The Czar of the Economic and Finacial Crime Commission (EFCC) Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa has said that the agency is investigating the former governor of Lagos state and the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Bawa in an interview on Sunday said that the body had got a petition against the Tinubu and that they were yet to arrest him because they are still doing their investigation.
He also said that thousands of investigations are going on, on a daily basis and that it can take 12 years, to investigate financial crime, and that it can take them to the four corners of the world and back.
He said: You asked me a question earlier about arresting people before investigation and now you’re saying why didn’t we arrest Tinubu? Why didn’t you just say, “arrest him”. Investigation is ongoing. When you are investigating matters like this, they don’t end in a day. Thousands of investigations are going on, on a daily basis. You understand? You know, you are from the media. After you will say we are doing media trial.
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‘No, he submitted it in Abuja. Your predecessor failed to investigate that petition. Instead, they turned the tables on the former MD of Alpha Beta, who alleged that over N100 billion money laundering, corruption, tax evasion by that company linked to Tinubu. Why is nothing being done about it? And are you going to take it on, now that you are the chairman of the EFCC?
‘Well, petitions are normally investigated based on their own merit. Every petition that EFCC receives, we have what is called petition vetting committees in all zonal offices. So, of course, the zonal head and the chairman have the discretion, based on what is their assessment of the petition.
‘On these committees, we have lawyers, we have investigators that will sit down and review all petitions and advise. Some they reject, because they are civil in nature, you know, they communicate that to the petitioners or complainants and some they will advise for investigation and thorough look at the allegations contained and those will be assigned for the appropriate action.
Any petition that comes, based on his own merit, it would be treated.
The petition against Apha Beta is over two years, yet no action on it. I will confirm from the records.
‘Just the way that trial can take you 12 years, investigation, financial crime investigation, can take a bit of time, it can take you to the four corners of the world and back. We always set our target as the court. That is why we have to take our time to do investigation. So, it’s not an issue that you are feeling that an investigation has taken two years, has taken four years, five years… after all, the lawyers will say that time does not run out on criminal investigation. Somebody can be investigated on an action that he did 30 years ago, 40 years ago.
