The renewed anti-corruption war by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has shifted to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), with the arrest of a serving Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr Victor Onofiok, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged multi-billion naira fraud, abuse of office, inflation and diversion of contracts among others
Sunday Tribune authoritatively gathered in Abuja on Saturday that the arrest and detention of the suspect who until last week was the Commissioner of Police in Charge of “C” Department (Works Department) at the Force Headquarters Abuja, was reportedly ordered from above.
According to our source at the EFCC, the arrest was said to be after series of cover ups by the Police Service Commission, the police authorities and other agencies of the Federal Government such as the ICPC and the Code of Conduct Bureau earlier petitioned on the alleged activities of the suspect.
The police officer was alleged to have favoured companies close to him in the award of contracts, payment for contracts either executed or not at the detriment of genuine contracts executed over the years running into several billions of naira which had remained unpaid for years.
Our source further revealed that the suspect had earlier been recommended to the Police Service Commission (PSC), for compulsory retirement by the immediate past Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase following the investigate once carried out on him as a result of heap of petitions against him from various quarters which indicted him.
It was learnt that the recommendation by Arase could not see the light of the day due to the former’s closeness to the Commission and some powerful government officials until recently when a private investigator wrote to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Mallami and sought for fiat to further investigate and prosecute the suspect .
In the letter to the Justice Minister dated October 12, 2016 and signed by Alfred Kissinger Darosha, the private investigator said, “Sequel to my mini report to your office dated 1st September,2016,we hereby apply for fiat to prosecute and further investigate the above serving Commissioner of Police Victor Onofiok bothering on abuse of office, official corruption, recklessness, circumventing/diversion of funds, inflation of contracts etc.
“We have gathered evidences for prosecution of the officer in question sir; the fiat will assist us to prepare and file criminal charges before a competent court of law and unravel other clumsy investigation due to bureaucratic bottleneck.”
In the same vein, the private investigator in a petition to President Buhari on the matter dated October 14, 2016, titled “Lack of confidence in the Nigeria Police Force, Police Service Commission, ICPC, and Code of Conduct Bureau, to investigate CP Victor Onofiok” informed him why the above government agencies could not be trusted in the investigation of the police boss.
The private investigator among other things intimated the President all the steps had earlier been taken in seeing that the suspect was investigated and brought to book including the petitions written to the agencies against him which were ignored and frustrated by the leadership of the affected agencies.
According to him, “I applied to the Minister of Justice/AG, a God-fearing and upright man for a fiat to investigate and prosecute the said officer on 12th October, 2016. I started getting calls from some of the agencies I wrote to in the past since then. He may have informant there.
“I have been able to trace billions of naira to one of the officer’s illegal accounts and some of his properties in Abuja and outside I have been able to track, I either get a reliable agency I can trust and work with or grant me a fiat to investigate and prosecute the officer to a logical end,” he pleaded with the President.
Sunday Tribune further gathered that it was the prompt intervention of the Presidency that led to the arrest and detention of the CP by the EFCC.
A top source in the anti-graft agency confirmed to Sunday Tribune the presence of the office at the Commission since Monday, saying, “A serving Commissioner of Police, Victor Onofiok, is being grilled by our operatives over alleged fraud and other sundry allegations.
“The officer, who has been CP Works since 2014, is alleged to have awarded contracts worth over N1.9 billion to ‘companies’ in which he has interest.
“The companies include Dutse Allah Construction Ventures; Nne-Edak Technical Ventures; Puristic Adherent Company; Quality Watch Construction Company and Faksene International
“These entities were found to be mere business names and not limited companies as was being made to be believed by the officer.
“All I can tell you for now is that the CP is still in detention, but we cannot rule out likely accomplices. We are considering all clues but we can assure you that all those connected with the alleged fraud will be brought to book. We have, however, intensified investigation.”
However, a top police officer told the Sunday Tribune in confidence that the affected officer was handed over to the EFCC on the orders of the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris following the intervention of the Presidency in the matter.
“This matter has been generating bad blood within the Police in the recent time as it was turning out that the CP was untouchable. Series of petitions had been written against him and investigations carried out.
“The next thing we heard last week was that the Presidency had waded in. The next thing we saw was that he was to hand over his duty post to an assistant commissioner of police above other two Deputy Commissioners of police who were hurriedly moved out of the Department and he himself to a nonexistent officer at the Force Headquarters annex, Lagos where he was summoned to Abuja to report at the EFCC.”
When contacted to confirm the veracity of the report, the Head Media and Publicity of the anti-graft agency, Wilson Uwujaren, told Sunday Tribune that it was true, saying “It is true, a serving Commissioner of Police is still with us.”
Though efforts to seek the reaction of the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Donald Awuna, over the matter proved abortive, another very senior officer told Sunday Tribune that it was true that the EFCC was grilling the affected officer on certain allegations bothering on fraud, but “he reported himself to the Commission on the orders of the IGP based on the orders from above.”
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