Alleged Corruption Probe: Lawal, Oke to Remain on Suspension

The suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Ba­bachir Lawal, and the Director-General of the National Intelli­gence Agency (NIA), Ayo Oke, will not resume their offices for now.
Even though presidential probe panel headed by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has con­cluded its work and the report, Lawal and Oke remain suspend­ed, a Presidency source has said..

President Muhammadu Buhari, who suspended the two senior officials on April 19, 2017, raised three-man panel to investi­gate the allegations against them.
Other members of the panel are the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Jus­tice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) and the National Security Advis­er (NSA), Babagana Monguno.
The report was scheduled to be present to Buhari on Mon­day but he travelled a day earlier to London to attend to his health. There had been anxiety about what would become of the report following the President’s absence.
But the Presidency source disclosed last night that Osinba­jo discussed the report with Bu­hari at a meeting they held at Aso Rock Villa on Sunday night min­utes before the President jetted out to London. Malami was also at the meeting.
The source, who did not give details of the report, hinted that the two officials had not been ex­onerated by the panel and de­clared that despite Buhari’s trip, Babahir and Oke would remain suspended.
It is believed that Osinbajo might end up implementing oth­er recommendations of the panel with the President’s endorsement.
Lawal came under investiga­tion for allegedly breaching due process and enabling grass cutting contract awards of about N200 million under the Presidential In­itiative on the North East (PINE) to his companies
Oke was quizzed on the $43 million in cash he claimed be­longed to the NIA but was found by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a posh private residence in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The probe panel which was given 14 days to complete its as­signment received presentations from Lawal, Oke, and all the par­ties involved in the matter, includ­ing the EFCC, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and con­tractors handling the affected PINE projects.