I’m Not On The Run From EFCC – Obanikoro

A former Minister of State for
Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, has
said that he is not on the run from
the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission.
Speaking with our correspondent
on the telephone, Obanikoro, who
recently bagged a degree in History
from an American university, said
he was not a fugitive running away
from justice.
Obanikoro, who debunked
newspaper reports suggesting that
he fled the country in order to
evade the ongoing $2.1 arms probe
by the EFCC, stressed that the
reports were in the realm of
speculation.
A text by Obanikoro read, “To
begin with, no allegation has been
made against me officially that I
know of. Therefore, I have no
reason to run. I know for sure that
all the accusations in the media are
in the realm of speculation.”
Shortly after former President
Goodluck Jonathan lost his re-
election bid last year, Obanikoro
said he was going to pursue an
academic course in the US,
stressing that life was not all about
politics.
“That’s politics for you; you win
some, you lose some. And there’s
life after politics. I’m going to the
US to pursue a degree,” he had
said.
Troops battling the Boko Haram
insurgents in the North-East of the
country protested unavailability of
arms and ammunition, a situation
that military authorities frowned
on.
This led to the trial of some top
military officers and men, some of
whom were found guilty and
sentenced to death. A number of
the protesting soldiers also suffered
demotion.
A former national security adviser,
Sambo Dasuki, was charged in
December in connection with the
arms probe.
Dasuki was accused of awarding
phantom contracts to buy
helicopters, fighter jets and
ammunition, which he denied.
Twelve senior Nigerian army
officers were handed over to the
anti-corruption agency for their
alleged involvement in the arms
scandal.
The army did not name them, but
said they included six serving
generals.
Army spokesman, Colonel Sani
Usman, said the 12 officers
referred to the EFCC included three
serving major-generals, one retired
major-general, three brigadier-
generals, four colonels and a
lieutenant-colonel.
It is yet to be seen whether the
Lagos-born former senator would
visit Nigeria after the completion of
his degree.