The Chairman Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related
Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta, has confirmed that the
commission had commenced the probe of four governors for finance-related
offences which may not be unconnected to fraud and money laundering
offences.
Nta, however, admitted that naming the governors and their states would jeopardise ongoing investigations.
In
a signed statement, the Head of Media and Publicity of the anti-graft
agency, Mr. Fola Olamiti, said the chairman made the disclosure in a
Radio programme over the weekend in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The
statement said: "It should be noted that those invited for questioning
were still innocent until prima facie cases were made against them, so
those who have no case to answer will be allowed to go home free men
with their images intact."
According to him, ICPC is up in arm
with stakeholders to checkmate internet fraud in the country, adding
that the commission's effort in this regard had yielded positive result
when four alleged big-time '419' fraudsters known as 'Yahoo Yahoo' boys
were arrested in Owerri, Imo State in a joint operation between ICPC and
Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
The statement also disclosed that
the alleged 'Yahoo Yahoo' boys had even gone a step further by setting
up a school where they were teaching young minds on how to
professionalise '419' businesses in the country.
Nta said: "It had
become a known fact that apart from internet fraud becoming a big time
business, it had gone beyond ordinary to high technical, but assured
Nigerians that the ICPC was ready to combat the menace."
The ICPC
Chairman in the statement also disclosed that he had proactively, since
2011- shortly after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced cashless
transaction, sent some of the ICPC staff to Canada to be trained in
forensic investigations, adding that he had gone into negotiations with
Canada and United States of America Governments to give more
opportunities to ICPC staff to be trained in that field.
Nta
promised that there would no longer be a hiding place for the Yahoo
Yahoo boys as he would deplore more internet technology experts to fish
them out.
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