EFCC arrests former speaker Bankole, June 6 , 2011
THE arrest of the embattled former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Dimeji Bankole, by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Sunday evening was not without its drama as the four-hour stand-off between his security details and the operatives had to be broken by the Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim and the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), Ita Ekpeyong, before he was eventually taken away for detention in the commission’s facility.
The commission’s operatives had reportedly stormed his residence at Maitama area in Abuja at about 4.00 p.m. following an alleged security report indicating that he wanted to flee the country on Sunday night and not make an appearance at the commission today as earlier agreed on.
It was learnt that after resisting arrest for about four hours, Bankole was said to have been arrested at about 8.00p.m., following calls reportedly made to the IGP and the SSS DG by the EFCC, requesting the withdrawal of his security details.
The duo were said to have acceded to the request of the commission after being convinced by intelligence report that he was going to escape from the country.
Bankole is being detained in connection with an alleged N10 billion scam that is rocking the House of Representatives.
He reportedly surrendered to the operatives after his security detail, comprising policemen and SSS officers were withdrawn.
In a statement issued in Abuja, on Sunday, by commission’s spokesperson, Mr Femi Babafemi, the commission explained that its operatives had to arrest Bankole ahead of the Monday date he gave to surrender himself, because he was discovered to be plotting not to make today’s arrangement possible.
According to him, “the EFCC chairman, Mrs Farida Waziri, was compelled to order the immediate arrest of Mr Bankole after analysing an intelligence report, which showed that the former Speaker was planning to leave Abuja for Lagos on Sunday evening and, thereafter, flee the country through an illegal route.”
Bankole had twice failed to honour two invitations extended to him in the last two weeks by the commission, while he could not be arrested last Friday, following the intervention of the IGP.
The operatives had to be withdrawn after over five hours stand-off after a commitment from Bankole that he was going to surrender himself on Monday.
“While our men kept surveillance around the former speaker, hoping he will honour his promise to report on Monday, a fresh intelligence gathered by the commission showed that Mr Bankole was not ready to keep his promise, but was rather planning other schemes to escape from the country through an illegal route or obtain a restraining court order early on Monday to prevent the commission from effecting his arrest or prosecution,” the statement added.
Babafemi noted that the former speaker would remain in custody to enable him to have sufficient time to answer questions on the numerous fraud allegations against him.
Reacting to the incident, the speaker, through one of his media aides, Musa Ebomhiana, said he was not arrested but abducted by the EFCC.
Ebomhiana, reacting in a telephone conversation, said “what happened this evening (yesterday) was not arrest but abduction. If he (Bankole) had agreed to appear by 2.00 p.m at the EFCC tomorrow (today), why the hurry to go to his house and abduct him?
“The EFCC has an agenda other than the mandate to fight corruption in this country. We believe the EFCC has turned itself into a tool of political vendetta, because if actually we want to believe the EFCC’s claim that Bankole was planning to run away, then the security surveillance in the country is zero.
“It is unfortunate, they ended up embarrassing the country, if the number four man could be treated that way.”
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