Preliminary investigation into
embattled former pension boss Abdulraheed Maina’s case has shown that it may
lead to a repeat of the episode of the sacked Secretary to the Government of
the Federation, Babachir David Lawal, senators have said.
Lawal’s trouble started in senate
when he was indicted in a grass cutting scandal and finally sacked last month
by President Buhari.
Senators who are probing Maina’s scandal
revealed last night that three incriminating evidence have been received
against the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice,
Abubakar Malami.
The Senate on October 24, this
year resolved to probe the scandal following a point of order by Senator Issah
Hamma Misau (APC, Bauchi) on the issue.
A probe panel chaired by Senator
Emmanuel Paulker (PDP, Bayelsa) had held series of closed sessions with top
officials of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Minister of Interior,
General Abdulrahman Dambazau, the AGF and other parties.
Twice the panel held secret meetings with the AGF. The first meeting was held on Tuesday and the
second one yesterday. It was from the first meeting that it emerged that the
AGF met with Maina in Dubai.
A member of the committee said three incriminating evidence
against the AGF are in their possession.
“The issue is more than his meeting with Maina in Dubai, it
is about the documents. When he appeared on Tuesday, we showed him the
documents. He accepted one but say he should be given time to look into the
remaining two. This is why he appeared again today (yesterday),” he said.
Our correspondent reports that yesterday’s meeting was
conducted at the office of the panel’s chairman. Sources at the committee said
the panel relocated from the hearing room to the office following the leak of
their Tuesday’s meeting to newsmen.
Another member of the panel said: “ we felt may be you
people (journalists) hid your recorders at the hearing room when we excused you
on Tuesday and that was why you got the information on what transpired in our
closed session.
“Our finding is going the way of the sacked SGF and we will
not allow you the media to jeopardize it,” the Senator said, pleading not to be
named.
The source who said it would be difficult for Malami to
survive the scandal, said Dambazau knew nothing about how Maina was secretly
reinstated and promoted into the civil service.
In an interview, Paulker told our correspondent that nothing
would be swept under the carpet in Maina’s probe.
Malami could not be reached for comments last night, but
Paulker said the AGF will appear again before the panel next week, assuring
that, “our report will be ready before Christmas break. We are conducting the
investigation in this way because we don’t want our report to be coloured by
the media.”
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If really he has hand into the maina's scandals he should go for it
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