The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission on Thursday told the Senate that the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation were too sophisticated for it to investigate.
The anti-graft commission said it would require the services of financial experts to investigate the government oil corporation’s accounts.
“The account of NNPC is so sophisticated that it would require hiring financial experts to study it for needed investigation, the cost of which however cannot be afforded by us due to underfunding, ” chief executive of the ICPC, Prof. Olu Aina, said while defending the commission’s budget before the Senate committee in charge of the nation’s anti-graft agencies.
Aina said the ICPC had refrained from investigating the NNPC accounts over the years because doing so was beyond its capacity.
The oil corporation has always been at the centre of suspicious management of funds derivable from the nation’s oil wealth, including a recent allegation of the suspended Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi that the corporation failed to remit $20bn oil money to the Federation Account.
Meanwhile, ICPC’s sister outfit, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said it was awaiting the report of the on-going probe of the alleged missing oil funds by the Senate before beaming its searchlight on the NNPC accounts.
Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, told the senators during the defence of his agency’s 2014 budget that the issue relating to the alleged NNPC missing oil revenue was already being investigated by the National Assembly and that his agency would have to wait for the report of the investigation.
Lamorde explained that his agency commenced the fuel subsidy investigation and charged many people to court after the National Assembly had concluded and forwarded its report to his office.
He said, “For every investigation, once the National Assembly is on it we have to wait until they conclude.
“We can’t just jump into something that is still being investigated by the National Assembly. It would be a mob kind of thing. There must be a sequence of events that would lead us to taking decision.
“Let the hearing of the National Assembly be concluded. Normally when it is concluded it is forwarded to us for investigation. I think people are in a hurry. We know that is what people want to hear but we don’t do investigation based on media reports.
“When we are ready to charge the individuals to court we would do so. But when the investigation is going on let it be concluded. Otherwise we will jump into a market place situation where everybody is shouting at the same time.
“Law enforcement investigation is not like that. It’s supposed to be systematic and you work towards getting evidence to sustain your case if eventually you go to court. You can’t just go to court based on assumptions.”
Lamorde explained that his officers had gone very far with some of its investigations on oil subsidy and that “very soon when we are ready you will see us in court.”
He noted that various figures emerged when the oil subsidy controversy started and that his agency was faced with about three figures.
He said, “One figure would emerge today, it would change to another figure tomorrow and we will arrive at another figure the next day. Now we have settled more or less on $20 bn.
“The Minister of Finance said that they wanted to commission an audit firm to do a forensic auditing of the finances of the NNPC. You need a professional firm to handle this. This is not a common investigation.”
via nigerianeye
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