The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has said it was in possession of documents and petitions on the stewardship of Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, as governor of Kwara State, hence its decision to probe his tenure as governor of the state.
The financial crime body insisted that the probe was in the public interest and not a witch hunt against the Senate President
In a statement signed by the agency’s acting spokesman, Tony Orilade, and issued in Abuja on Wednesday, it insisted that given the weight of evidence it has against Saraki, the only option was to put him “through a legitimate forensic inquiry to establish his integrity as a public servant.”
The statement which was in apparent response to Saraki’s claim that the probe was a witch hunt due to his appointment as the International Human Rights Commission ambassador, insisted that Saraki was not above the law, noting that “the commission was obligated by law to enthrone probity and accountability in the governance space.”
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The statement read in part: “It is in the interest of the public, and for Saraki’s personal good, that he is not only above board, but be seen at all times to be so..
“Indeed, all the instances in which the EFCC has had cause to sleuth into his financial activities either as a former governor or President of the Senate were driven by over-arching public interest and due process of the law.
“Against the background of the possession of indicting petitions and other evidence available to the EFCC, even Saraki will agree with the commission that putting him through a legitimate forensic inquiry is the legitimate route to establish his integrity as a public servant.”