A former governor’s $200 million offshore assets were protected from prosecution by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, according to Okoi Obono-Obla, the former chairman of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP).
This discovery was revealed by Obono-Obla during a Mic On Podcast interview. Eighty S-class Mercedes Benz cars were recovered, and some of the items I found were given back to the original owners. Click the following link to learn more:[t.co/AdkWayzira] The entire episode is available to view on our YouTube page. View the following link: tweet.com/uVZSGe38hQ— @Themiconshow (@MIC ON PODCAST) June 29, 2024
He expressed his dissatisfaction with the government’s lack of decisive action by citing a number of high-profile incidents of corruption. Obono-Obla emphasised a particular case with the seizure of lavish assets while highlighting the extent of corruption he came across. For example, he mentioned a scenario in which eighty brand-new armoured S-Class Mercedes Benz cars, as well as homes, farms, motorbikes, and other items, were found in one place in Jabi.
“We stepped in and inquired as to whether customs charges had been paid on these cars. As it happened, they hadn’t,” he said. “I wrote to the Federal Inland Revenue Service about these assets, questioning if taxes were paid,” Obono-Obla stated in a speech concerning tax avoidance. They verified that there were no tax payment records.
He praised the panel’s proactive approach in getting a court order to seize the assets while more legal action was taken. The former chairman disclosed attempts to look into offshore holdings connected to a former governor and senator.
“We found offshore properties worth over £200 million belonging to a prominent former governor and senator through the Panama Papers,” he declared. Remember that following the probe, the former chairman sent thorough reports to President Buhari and the Attorney General (Abubakar Malami, SAN).
However, it is alleged that on August 15, 2019, Obono-Obla was fired during the government of President Buhari. Obono-Obla would be subject to “criminal prosecution on matters related to his alleged financial dealings, as uncovered by the ICPC upon investigation,” according to his sack letter.The letter further stated, “The government may request that the Nigerian Law School bar him from practicing law and that the University of Jos withdraw his law degree.”
