"Security agencies almost through with Dogara investigation"

"Security agencies almost through with Dogara investigation"

- Kano lawmaker Jibrin says the security agencies have almost caught up with Speaker Dogara and other members of the House of Representatives over budget padding scandal

- Jibrin says he has no intention of showing up before the House of Representatives Ethics Committee because the petitions for which he was being summoned were a sham

Jibrin says security agencies are at advanced stage of investigating the House of Representatives leadership

Suspended Kano lawmaker Abdulmumin Jibrin has hit out at the House of Representatives for lifting his suspension just for him to appear before an ethics committee.

In a statement released late on Wednesday, December 7, Jibrin attacked his colleagues after they passed a motion on Wednesday saying his suspension should be lifted just for 24 hours to allow him answer petitions that the Ethics committee received.

READ ALSO: Budget padding: Reps lift Jibrin's suspension for 24hrs

Jibrin claimed that the motion was sponsored by Dogara and so were the petitions that he said originated from ‘a nonentity’.

The statement read: “I have read from several media platforms that Speaker Yakubu Dogara using the House of Representatives has invited me to appear yet again before the ethics committee over two fresh petitions on absenteeism and poor Representation of my constituency and operating a foreign account. These petitions came from a nonentity sponsored by Speaker Dogara that calls itself a youth organization under the guide of the fraudulent Ikenga Ugo Chinyere

“It is curious that the ethics committee refused to admit and rejected 18 petitions against the Speaker and some principal officers of the House bothering on monumental budget fraud, unprecedented abuse of office and massive corruption but shameless have reduced the entire activities of the ethics committee to witch hunt Hon Jibrin.”

Jibrin claimed that the move by the House was out of desperation on the part of Dogara because security agencies investigation the budget padding scandal has reached an important stage in their scrutiny.

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“This latest assault is coming because the security and anti-graft agencies have made advance progress on investigation which has lead to the freezing of the accounts of some Principal Officers including the Minority Leader Leo Ogor where large sums of illicit funds were found. This development has created a huge tension in the House of Representatives and the man to blame and who must be dealt with decisively through any means is Hon Abdulmumin Jibrin.

“This is in addition to the international dimension the issue has taken through my effort and that of other well-meaning Nigerians. While thousands of Nigerians in diaspora are at the moment signing a global petition calling for the arrest and prosecution of Speaker Dogara and others, a team of competent lawyers in the United Kingdom have concluded plans to file a petition at the Interpol and FBI over 500 billion naira stolen through the running cost scheme designed by Speaker Dogara as Chairman House services in the 6th Assembly. The lawyers have identified various instances and laws under which people who created such scams can be prosecuted at the international level.

“I have reacted to the lies and misinformation regarding the issues of the accounts in a statement I released two days ago to lay the matter to rest and also, the issue of poor representation and absenteeism is simply laughable.

“I will make a formal statement on the invitation and petitions when I receive an official communication from the Speaker or his agents. But in the meantime, I wish to state categorically clear that this disgraceful action is an extension of the witch hunt launched against me by Speaker Dogara and his corrupt cabal in the House to paint me in a negative light and divert attention away from the allegations of massive budget fraud and corruption hanging on their necks.”