President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abuja dissolved the
Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public
Property (SPIP) chaired until his suspension by Mr. Okoi
Obono-Obla.
Obono-Obla was recently suspended over allegations of abuse of
office and gross misconduct.
A statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and
Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said following the dissolution, the
president had directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to take over the functions of
the panel.
He also said the president remarked that he was awaiting the
outcome of the investigation into Obono-Obla’s misdemeanours.
Adesina also said the president thanked all members of the panel
for their services.
The statement added: “The Attorney-General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice has been directed to immediately take over all
outstanding investigations and other activities of the SPIP.
“The panel was established in August 2017 by the then Acting
President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN to investigate specifically
mandated cases of corruption, abuse of office and similar offences
by public officers.
“President Buhari thanks all members of the dissolved panel for
their services.
“The President looks forward to receiving the final Independent
Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC)
report on the ongoing investigations of the dissolved panel’s
Chairman.”
Subscribe ToNairalaw News!
Read more buhari-dissolves-obono-oblas-spip-orders-malami-to-take-over-investigations/
Anti-Corruption Academy Graduates 49 ICPC
Investigators
The Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN), Keffi, Nasarawa
State, the training arm of the Independent Corrupt Practices and
Other Related Offences Commission, (ICPC) has graduated a pool of
forty-nine staff from its Basic Investigation and System Study
Course Number 4.
The graduands who are staff of the Commission were drawn from
its various departments and units to undergo the 4-week course
which contents were designed to equip participants with basic
investigation skills and the capacity to conduct system study which
is one of ICPC’s flagship corruption-prevention tools for
ministries, departments and agencies of government.
The graduation ceremony organised for the participants had in
attendance the Chairman of ICPC, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye, represented
by one of the Commission’s Board Members, Hon. Oluwabukola Balogun.
Present also were two other Members of the Board, Hon. Titus Okolo
and Hon. Obiora Igwedibia; the Provost of ACAN, Prof Sola
Akinrinade; as well as Heads of Departments and Units of ICPC.
Delivering her speech, the representative of the ICPC Chairman
congratulated the participants on their successful completion of
the course, and urged them to ensure that the knowledge gained
would be applied effectively to their assignments whenever they
were called upon to do so. She also urged them to be grateful to
God as it would not have been possible for them to succeed without
His grace. “God has brought you this far; you must thank Him for
this important achievement of yours”, she said.
Also throwing in a few words of advice for the graduands, Hon.
Okolo said as investigators, the graduands should bear in mind
three important guiding principles: “…look with your eyes, listen
with your ears but keep your mouth shut, because if you say more
than you are required to say that’s when problems will arise”.
On his own part, Hon. Igwedibia commended the graduands for
their steadfastness and hard work that had made them to complete
the course successfully. He added that their future in the
Commission would remain bright if they continued to bring these
same attributes to bear on their work.
The Provost of ACAN, in his remarks, said he was pleased that
the graduands had shown great commitment and seriousness all
through the course, and reiterated the Academy’s resolve to improve
the capacity of ICPC staff for the Commission to achieve its
mandate.
Earlier, while speaking on contents of the Basic Investigation
and System Study Course, the Course Co-ordinator, Mr. Richard
Bello, had explained that the course also had components on ethics
and integrity-building as well as a physical fitness regime. He
said the participants, who started out as fifty in number but had
one of them excused from the course on health grounds, were taken
through individual and group theoretical and practical exercises in
addition to fieldwork on investigations and information
analysis.
One of the graduands, Mr. Yilzem Hyacienth Hoomkwap, a lawyer of
the Commission’s Chairman’s Special Unit, gave the vote of thanks
on behalf of his colleagues. He expressed their appreciation for
the opportunity offered them to acquire fresh knowledge and hone
their skills, while promising to always perform their assigned
tasks with diligence and dedication.
The highpoint of the event was the presentation of certificates
to the graduands by Hon. Balogun and the two Board Members present.
It was a spectacular sight to behold as the graduands smartly
marched up to collect their certificates.
Signed:
Mrs. Rasheedat A. Okoduwa, mni
Spokesperson for the Commission