Senate Will Protect Iyabo From EFCC, Senate Claims

The Senate yesterday stood its grounds, insisting that the chairperson of its Committee on Health, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, is innocent of the corruption charges brought against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Consequently, the Senate promised to protect her from unnecessary harassment and intimidation by the anti-financial crimes commission.

The Senate had, through Obasanjo-Bello's lawyer, Chief Afe Babalola, requested Senate president David Mark to prevail on the EFCC not to arrest her over the N10 million her committee collected from the Ministry of Health.

The committee had agreed to have participated in the sharing of the money.
Addressing Senate reporters yesterday, Senator Eze insisted that their colleague Iyabo was not found wanting in any way.

He noted that when the Senate listened to her, they came to the conclusion that she was neither culpable nor found wanting of any misconduct and that if due process was followed she would have no questions to answer.

Read More...

Obasanjo has now garnered the support of the senate in hiding from the EFCC. It seems, though, that if she is truly innocent, she would not be hiding. If she was not involved with the corruption, she should go before the EFCC, and they should bring a legal end to this.

Grade This Post.

N300m Scam: Why I won't Submit to EFCC — Iyabo

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, explained yesterday why she would not submit herself new to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for arrest and prosecution in connection with the N10 million received by the Committee from the Federal Ministry of Health.

She said her decision did not mean that she was above the law. She said the EFCC should let her be since she was already challenging the competence of the two-count charge slammed against her in court.

She said from all indications, EFCC was not really interested in prosecuting her over whatever offence she was alleged to have committed but simply interested in disgracing her.

It was also gathered yesterday that the Presidency might have frustrated EFCC’s initial moves to detain the Senator.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja through her counsel, Mr Bankole Akomolafe of Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) Chambers, Senator Obasanjo-Bello said: “The Ministry of Health paid N10 millionto the Senate and not to Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello. The sum of N10 million was paid to the Senate Committee on Health by the Senate to cover the retreat for the study of a bill. Apparently the EFCC utilizes the same sort of funding for similar retreats, so Obasanjo-Bella is confused as to why they are accusing her of stealing money.

Read the full story...

Senator Obasanjo-Bella has been accused of embezzling ten million naira and is being convicted by the EFCC. She feels that she is being unjustly accused and denies the claim; she says that the money went towards a retreat the the Senate took to discuss a new bill. She is convinced that she is being singled out amongst all of the other senators because the EFCC is trying to disgrace her.

Grade this Post

I’m Afraid for My Life, Says Iyabo Obasanjo

Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, daughter of ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, has said she fears for her life. Obasanjo-Bello is implicated in the N300 million Health Ministry scam and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) now wants her to be prosecuted for the alleged offence.

Her comments came after the anti-corruption agents raided her home in Abuja in an attempt to bring her to face prosecution. She told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) yesterday that EFCC agents slapped her personal assistant during their visit to her house two days ago. "I am afraid of the EFCC... they slapped my PA when they got to the house," she said "I'm not on the run but I feel as if I'm a victim of harassment... I'm afraid for my life," she added.

Obasanjo-Bello, who chairs the Senate's Health Committee, was charged along with ten other top officials of the Health Ministry, including two former Ministers – Prof. Adenike Grange and Gabriel Aduku - for sharing the proceeds of corruption. After charges against Obasanjo-Bello were read in court last week, the EFCC said she had to turn herself in as soon as possible.

She was said to have bolted out of the house through the back door when the men of EFCC came to her house uninvited on Tuesday. She told the BBC she could not understand why her home was raided when she had visited the EFCC offices twice in the past week and made herself available through her lawyer.

Read the full story...

Senator Iyabo Obasanjo, daughter of the former president, fears for her life after the EFCC ransacked her house on Tuesday. There are rumors that she benefitted financially from her father's less than moral practices while in office. She feels the the EFCC crossed a few lines by actually slapping one of her employees in the face while they tore apart her house. If the EFCC really wants to put an end to corruption in Nigeria, they are going to have to do a better job of proving to citizens that they are a legitimate government agency that wants what is best for the country.

Grade this Post

N300m scam: How we shared N10m – Iyabo Obasanjo

Embattled Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello has said that N500,000 was disbursed to each member of the Senate Committee on Health from the controversial N300m scam in the Federal Ministry of Health.

The Senator, who the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission claimed on Tuesday was at large because of her alleged involvement in the scam, said the money was given to the senators to cover parts of their expenses during a four-day seminar and retreat in Ghana.

She said in a statement to EFCC that the retreat and seminar was to facilitate the passage of the Health Policy Bill.

In the statement obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Thursday, Obasanjo-Bello, who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, said it was not unusual for a ministry to sponsor an executive bill.

Read More...

This thinly veiled, terrible excuse for the corrupt use of the health department's use of its greatly needed money is a poor reflection of the justice system in Nigeria. Just because she is the daughter of the former president, this criminal is still free to give excuses.

Grade This Post.

N300m Scam - Grange, Aduku, 11 Others Charged

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday arraigned former Health Minister, Prof Adenike Grange; former Minister of State for Health, Gabriel Yakubu Aduku, an architect; and 11 others on a 56-count charge of graft involving about N300 million.

But the name of the daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Iyabo, which was mentioned as having partaken in the graft, was missing on the list of the accused persons charged to court yesterday.

The EFCC told the court that Iyabo was currently at large and could not be arrested for prosecution but would be arrested and brought to justice once found.

Iyabo, according to count 56 of the charges between December 2007 and March 2008 in Abuja while serving as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health, dishonestly received the sum of N10 million belonging to the Federal Government having reason to believe that same was stolen. Her action is said to have constituted an offence punishable under Section 317 of the Penal Code Act Cap 352, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) Abuja.

Read More...

Corruption remains rampant in Nigeria, as 300 million Naira have been swindled from the government. What is somewhat different is the exclusion of the president's daughter from an accused list, despite proof of her involvement. Officials do assure that even these ties do not exclude Iyabo Obasanjo from justice, which is hopefully true.

Grade This Post.