Yar’Adua dims Ribadu’s hope - Suspends his re-appointment as EFCC boss

Okey Muogbo, Abuja - 07.01.2008

PRESIDENT Umaru Yar'Adua has reportedly halted moves aimed at getting the Senate to confirm the re-appointment of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

This is even as the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, is set to make Ribadu and 391 policemen attached to the commission face disciplinary action.

The possible disciplinary action, a top police source disclosed to State House correspondents on Sunday, was a fallout of the alleged refusal of Ribadu and the 391 policemen to honour last Thursday's meeting with Okiro.

The source further stated that whether or not they honour today’s meeting with the IG, they are likely going to be sanctioned. Nigerian Tribune further gathered that President Yar’Adua stopped the forwarding of Ribadu's name for confirmation to the Senate because he was angry over the perceived blackmail being employed by Ribadu over the course in Kuru.

When asked to confirm the position of Ribadu after Kuru, the source said “President Yar’Adua was already set to forward Ribadu’s name to the Senate for confirmation, but the perceived blackmail employed by Ribadu over the IGP’s action is regrettable and the president has suspended the presentation.

“Yar’Adua is not a man that can be blackmailed into doing anything that he does not want to do. The president is very unhappy with Ribadu over this, especially for a public office holder of his ranking. What particularly angered the president was the media propaganda which put the president in bad light.”

Okiro had last week summoned Ribadu, Ibrahim Larmode and the other policemen attached to the EFCC to a meeting at the Police Headquarters, Abuja, to discuss the decision to send Ribadu to participate in a capacity building course at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Study (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State, but they had all allegedly shunned the invitation.

The source said the top echelon of the police force had directed the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Administration, Ogbonaya Onovo, to write Ribadu and other policemen, inviting them to a meeting today to discuss their future in the police and EFCC.

“The meeting has been rescheduled for 10.00 a.m. tomorrow (today) and will, among other things, discuss the possible disciplinary action against the EFCC boss and the other policemen who failed to turn up for last Thursday meeting.

“The police high command is very unhappy over Ribadu’s behaviour and intends to handle the issue at the proposed meeting with the IGP tomorrow. The belief is that if Ribadu is allowed to go unpunished, precedence would have been set and that will not be good for the police.

“The form the disciplinary action would take is not known, but I can confirm to you that the police high command is prepared to discipline the erring officers. We are waiting for Monday (today) before we know what is going to happen,” the source said.

Ribadu was last Friday summoned by the office of the chief of staff to the president following the brouhaha generated by the IGP’s decision to send Ribadu on one year training at NIPSS.