President Muhammadu Buhari has
appointed a private consultant, Victor Uwajeh, being accused of fraud, to trace
and recover undeclared assets and proceeds of fraud as part of the ongoing
fight against corruption in the country.
The London based Nigerian private
investigator is said to be facing a four-count charge the Federal Government
preferred against him for attempting to obtain money through fraudulent means
from Senator Andy Uba, who is representing Anambra South Senatorial District.
The office of the
Attorney-general of Federation (AGF) instituted the suit against Uwajeh on
behalf of the government.
Uwajeh was said to have been
indicted by a crack team of the Nigerian Police Force which conducted
investigations into a petition that was written to the Inspector General of
Police, IGP, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, by Senator Uba.
The embattled lawmaker had in his
petition, accused Uwajeh of attempting to use bogus and illegally procured
documents to extort money from him.
Nevertheless, the defendant
insisted that Senator Uba engaged his services for an assignment in the United
Kingdom Border Agency and in the United States of America.
Uwajeh said he previously dragged
Uba to court over his alleged refusal to pay him the debt of £1.9million that
was remaining from their agreed fee.
In the said suit, the defendant
accused Uba of parading fake academic credentials.
He said he got details of Uba’s
alleged dubious qualifications from documents he was exposed to while he worked
as a private investigator for the lawmaker.
However, the appointment of
Uwajeh was conveyed in a letter signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the
President on Prosecution matters, Okoi Obono-Obla.
The letter said Uwajeh’s
application has been considered for engagement as special investigator to his
panel.
Uwajeh’s letter of engagement
reads: “Reference is being made to your letter dated 15th March 2018,
“I am pleased to inform you that
you application has been considered for engagement as a special investigator to
the panel.
“Consequent upon this
appointment, you are to trace and where necessary recover undeclared assets and
proceeds of fraud for the Federal Government of Nigeria in line with the
mandate of the panel. This appointment is subject to terms and conditions as
may be expressed in a duly executed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).”
Meanwhile, the Federal High Court
in Abuja, on April 18th, issued order for substituted service of criminal
summons on Uwajeh.
This development stands to
question the potency of the anti-corruption mantra of the Buhari
administration.
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