More light on police pension office fraud

More light on police pension office fraud
about 13 hours agoRecommend
Trial of suspects begins Monday
MORE insight into how the Pension Reform Task Team got to the root of the sharp practices came at the weekend as top officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) spoke on how their initial findings were strengthened by the work of the panel.
They said the Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, in February at a meeting with the Chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices andOther Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta, presented unassailable facts on the corruption in thePolice Pension Office.
Maina reportedly told the ICPC boss that his team uncovered a monthly fraud of N1.1 billion at the Police Pension Office and the recovering of N151 billion for the Federal Government through its scrutiny of the records and conduct of the officials of the office.
The task force boss had reportedly revealed another N28billion fraud at the same Police Pension Office.
According to EFCC officials, Maina also disclosed unacceptable waste of public funds through over-employment, noting that 400 workers instead of 82were employed in the office.
Armed with these fresh facts and others at its disposal, the EFCC proceeded to initiate a case against the then Director of the Police Pension Office, Atiku Abubakar Kigo at the court.
Kigo had been promoted to the position of Permanent Secretary and redeployed to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and recently reposted to the Head of Civil Service Office before his trial started.
The permanent secretary and five others were arraigned before an Abuja High Court last Thursday and remandedin Kuje Prison. The court will today begin their prosecution in the N32.8 billion fraud.
The EFCC had earlier burst the scam at the Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF) Pension Office mid 2011 when in a statement, by it then Head of Media and Publicity, Femi Babafemi, accused the then Director, Dr. Sani Teidi Shuaiu, of misconduct and theft of public funds.