Operatives
of EFCC and ONSA, have discovered $9 million cash at the residence of
the sacked Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, retired
Brig.-Gen. Paul Tarelah Boroh.
Boroh, who was Special Adviser on Niger Delta to President Muhammadu Buhari has also been arrested.
The discovery of the cash was made
a few hours after his arrest by a combined team of EFCC and operatives
of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Head, Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujiaren, confirmed the arrest and cash recovery.
A senior security agent said Boroh was picked up from his home in Gwarinpa, Abuja, on Monday.
He was reported to have been taken
back to his residence at about 3 a.m. Tuesday by the security
operatives who raided his house for hours and made the cash discovery of
$9 million at his home.
He remains in the custody of the EFCC.
“The former adviser was driven to
his home in an unmarked car after his arrest. His home was searched for
several hours and about $9 million cash was discovered in several safe
boxes in several parts of the house,” the senior security agent stated.
“The combined team of EFCC and the
National Security Adviser operatives were very thorough with the
search. Indeed, at a point, the operatives broke all the locks in the
home including his wife’s closet. The recovered cash has been deposited
at the Office of the NSA.”
Buhari sacked Boroh last week and announced Prof. Charles Dokubo as his replacement.
In the statement announcing
Boroh’s dismissal, it said the NSA, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd),
had been directed to probe the activities of the Amnesty Office from
2015, when Boroh was appointed, especially allegations of financial
impropriety and other acts that were allegedly detrimental to the
objectives of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
According to reports, Boroh’s
sack, investigation and arrest by the EFCC may not be unconnected to a
petition, among others, that was sent to the president last August.
The petition to Buhari dated
August 21, 2017 was signed by one Timi Angalabiri, on behalf of the
Niger Deltans for Accountability and Good Governance (NDAGG).
The group requested the president
to suspend the ex-Amnesty Programme boss “for a credible investigative
inquiry to commence into the non-payment of tuition fees and living
expenses of recently graduated Niger Delta students in universities
across the United States, the United Kingdom and Nigeria.
The petitioner further pleaded
with Buhari to use his good office to prosecute Boroh and others for
allegedly diverting the sum of N70 billion.
Shortly after the petition was
written, rumours swirled about Boroh’s sack by the president, but they
were dismissed by the former Amnesty Programme boss.
“This story about my suspension
and even sack has been off and on in the media, but the truth is that I
have not been sacked and no one should disrupt the relative prevailing
peace in the Niger Delta region with such fake news,” he had said.
“What is happening is the
handiwork of political enemies and those who do not want the region to
be peaceful. The rumours they are peddling are just rubbish and
unfounded. Under my watch, the programme, candidly speaking, has helped
greatly to stabilise the region.”
The Reformed Niger Delta Avengers
and 10 other militant groups Tuesday threatened to attack oil
installations in the Niger Delta if the sacked coordinator of the
Amnesty Programme was not reinstated in four weeks.
According to the News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN), Johnmark Ezonbi, leader of the Reformed Niger Delta
Avengers, said the federal government would “hear from them” if Boroh
was not reinstated.
He said the sacked coordinator of
the Amnesty Programme played a significant role in prevailing on the
militants to end the attacks on oil installations, warning that it was
obvious that the government was toying with the destiny of the Niger
Delta.
The statement by Ezonbi read: “The
federal government will hear from us at the expiration of the four
weeks ultimatum as no single stone will be left unturned as the
administration prefers to go back to the recession period when Boroh
played a major role by visiting the creeks with other stakeholders to
prevail on the boys to drop their arms and embrace peace.
“We will embark on a well
coordinated destruction of all major delivery oil pipelines after the
expiration of the four weeks ultimatum without looking back.
“I want to warn that any intruder
into our planned action in four weeks time, if the federal government
fails to reinstate General Paul Boroh, will be severely dealt with
without mercy because our attacks will make the security agencies in the
creeks very small.
“We are fully ready to take on
anybody as we have the instruments of warfare that will make the biggest
military might marvel at our coordinated attacks.
“We are ready to dirty our rivers
and creeks with our oil, it is better we spill it than allow government
use it to develop other parts of the country.”(NAN)
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