By Yemi Oyeyemi, Abuja
He marched out majestically, with his wife, out of the Rivers State Government House and the video (below) trended on social media; but now, just barely 48 hours out of power, former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has a case involving N117 billion to contend with.
A Federal High Court has been asked to compel the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) to probe the deployment of Rivers State’s funds during the tenure of Wike.
The request is contained in a suit filed by a prominent indigene of the state, Sir Precious Elekima, and a group, Incorporated Trustees of Peoples Life Improvement Foundation (PLIF), in which they accused Wike of allegedly diverting huge funds belonging to Rivers State.
In the suit marked: FHC/PH/CS/199/2023 filed on May 30 in the Port-Harcourt division of the court, Elekima and the PLIF said their resort to the court was as a result of the alleged failure of the IGP, the EFCC and the ICPC to act on their petition, dated May 23, 2023, which had since been submitted to them.
Elekima and the PLIF want the court to among others, declare the 1st to 3rd respondents (the IGP, the EFCC and the ICPC) have the statutory duties and powers to investigate their petition against Wike and some named bankers of Rivers State “and to prosecute any of them found to have contravened any law within their respective statutory mandates.”
They equally want the court to issue “an order of mandamus directing the 1st to 3rd respondents to investigate the criminal allegations made to them against the 4th to 16th respondents (Wike and the banks) in the said petition and prosecute them or any of them found culpable of the said criminal allegations.”
Elekima and the PLIF claimed that they possess information and documents showing that huge funds were diverted from the Rivers State’s coffers during Wike’s tenure.
They stated that in the course of their official activities they “became aware and have reason to reasonably suspect and believe that the 4th respondent in his capacity as Governor of Rivers State, during his tenure conspired with officials of the Public Service of Rivers State and officials of the 5th to 16th respondents (the banks) to fraudulently withdraw and encash the humongous sum of N117,000,000,000,00 (One Hundred and Seventeen Billion Naira) funds belonging to the Rivers State Government in excess of the threshold permitted by extant laws and financial regulations with intent to misappropriate and divert same and did in fact divert same for his personal benefit.”
Elekima and the PLIF added that they “reasonably suspect that the 4th respondent, in conspiracy with other officials of the Government of Rivers State and 5th to 16th respondents fraudulently withdrew, laundered and embezzled huge funds from the Rivers State internally generated revenue collected and domiciled in several accounts with the 5th to 16th respondents.”
They stated that they “reasonably suspect that the 4th respondent also diverted and fraudulently misappropriated huge public funds belonging to the Government and people of Rivers State to his private use, and deployed same in the construction of his expansive palatial private property and residence located along Ada George Road Port Harcourt Rivers State which property and estate is worth and valued far Beyond his legitimate earnings.”
Filed along with the suit for judicial review, is a motion ex-parte in which they are seeking leave to apply to apply for an order of mandamus.
The named Rivers State’s bankers are: Access, Ecobank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Fidelity, Guaranty Trust, Unity, Union Bank, Wema, Zenith, First Bank and Heritage Bank.
