EFCC detains former SGF, Babachir Lawal

Former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, has been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over corruption allegations and diversion of funds when he superintended the Presidential Initiative on the North-east (PINE).

Confirming Lawal’s arrest and detention Wednesday, the EFCC Head of Enlightenment and Reorientation, Mr. Samin Amaddin said: “He was arrested for abuse of office in relation to the diversion of funds meant for humanitarian intervention in the North-east.

“He is still in detention and will be here till tomorrow (today) when we will continue with the interrogation because he has not concluded his statement.”

The Cable reported that Lawal arrived at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja around 11am Wednesday after which he was quizzed.

The development comes 24 hours after ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo accused Buhari of shielding his corrupt allies.

Lawal’s travails began on December 14, 2016, when the senate ad-hoc committee on ‘mounting humanitarian crisis in the north-east’ indicted him of fraud in a contract awarded for the clearing of “invasive plant species” in Yobe state, through the Presidential Initiative on Northeast (PINE).

PINE, which was under Lawal, was at the time unable to account for N2.5 billion allocated to it for the alleviation of the IDPs’ suffering.

Lawal’s crime, according to the ad-hoc committee, included his alleged spending of N570m to cut grass.

Rholavision Engineering Ltd, a company owned by him, was also said to have got suspicious payments of N200m from the contract.

Rholavision’s bank statements and other documents obtained by TheCable at the time had shown how Josmon Technologies Ltd, a company that got the contract from PINE to clear grass for N248, 939, 231, made cash deposits of N10m into Lawal’s company’s account 20 times from March 29.

Although the former SGF had claimed that he resigned from his company on August 15, 2015, and as a result was not a party to whatever business it contracted, TheCable had also confirmed from a document from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) that he was a director of Rholavision until September 16, 2016, when he wrote to the commission informing it of his intention to relinquish 1,500,000 ordinary shares.

After sacking him in October, Buhari said he expected anti-graft agencies to go after him.