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A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, on Sunday slammed the
Nigerian secret police, the State Security Service (SSS) for wading into
the unfolding budget padding scandal that has engulfed the House of
Representatives for more than a week.
Mr. Falana, in a statement Sunday, said the SSS’ mandate was strictly
limited to protecting the country against internal security threats,
adding that the agency acted outside its powers launching criminal
findings into the alleged fraud.
“Having regard to the recent activities of the SSS and the clear
provisions of the relevant laws on investigation of corruption and other
economic and financial crimes the SSS lacks the moral right and legal
powers to interfere in the investigation of the criminal allegation of
padding of the budget in any manner whatsoever,” Mr. Falana said.
The SSS had on Friday reportedly launched a sweeping investigation
into the scandal, which blew out after a lawmaker from Kano State,
Abdulmumin Jibrin, was removed as chairman of House Committee on
Appropriation.
Mr. Jibrin was announced removed from the position by House Speaker,
Yakubu Dogara, on July 20, 2016, on allegations that he betrayed the
House leadership and members and committed fraud.
Mr. Jibrin denied the allegations a day after his removal and
launched a campaign to force Mr. Dogara out of office, accusing him and
other principal officers of overseeing massive fraud in the parliament.
Mr. Jibrin also took documents to law enforcement agencies, including the SSS, triggering the agency’s investigation.
But in his statement Sunday, Mr. Falana said the SSS was far from
being the appropriate agency to investigate the matter, saying any
action its operatives take on the matter would be nullified by the
court.
“More importantly, by virtue of the provisions of the National
Security Agencies Act the powers of the SSS are strictly limited to the
“preservation and detection within Nigeria of any crime against the
internal security of Nigeria.”
Since the padding of the national budget is a straightforward case of
economic crime which is not concerned with the internal security of the
nation the SSS should not play into the soiled hands of the criminal
suspects in the House of Representatives as they may later turn round to
challenge the legal validity of any criminal charge arising from a
faulty investigation report,” Mr. Falana said.
“The SSS should be called to order as the nation cannot afford to
bungle the investigation of the highly placed politically exposed
persons involved in the padding of the budget.”
Mr. Falana, therefore, called on the Nigerian government to allow
appropriate law enforcement agencies to continue with the case without
the SSS, saying only this option would withstand the test of the law.
“In the light of the foregoing, the Police and the anti-graft
agencies should be allowed to get to the root of the criminality of
budget padding in the national assembly. To facilitate and accelerate
the investigation the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
House of Representatives should be compelled to set out the details of
the budget of the national assembly.
“However, it ought to be pointed out that the investigation would not
be complete if it is not extended to cover the allegation criminal
diversion of over N300 billion via constituency projects purportedly
executed by past and serving federal legislators. However, to carry out a
thorough investigation the President of the Senate and the Speaker of
the House of Representatives should be made to give details of the 2016
budget of the national assembly.
“At the end of the investigation all the suspects who are indicted
should be charged to court while the funds allegedly stolen by them
should be recovered. In addition, the top civil servants who colluded
with the legislators to alter the 2016 national budget should be handed
over to the Police and anti-graft agencies for investigation and
prosecution. This is the time to stop the looting of the treasury
through the padding of the budget by civil servants, ministers and
legislators.”
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