The Oba of Benin has accused the EFCC of accepting bribes to sabotage his petition against allegedly corrupt palace personnel. Oba Ewuare II made these allegations during a meeting with the new Benin Zonal Director of EFCC, Effa Okim, at his palace in Benin on Monday, May 20.
In a statement from his Chief Press Secretary, Osaigbovo Ighobaro, the monarch referenced a specific case involving former palace officials detained for suspected fraud and handed over to the EFCC in Benin for investigation and prosecution.
The Oba alleged that certain EFCC agents treated the matter lightly, resulting in the release of the suspects a few years ago. He expressed astonishment that EFCC investigators allegedly ignored clear evidence of wrongdoing by the palace officials.
“We want to draw your attention to one or two grey areas in your operations. No matter how much you try to support the EFCC from the palace, it is very difficult because they seem to listen to other parties. What I have been told is that they take instructions from the highest bidder. You know that I have been known for speaking the truth. I was not happy about certain things that happened with your predecessor. We get news from everywhere. We try to assist the EFCC. I even wrote a letter to the then-chairman who was removed from office. I even sent an emissary to talk to him regarding certain elements in Edo State, particularly the palace. How can EFCC operatives, especially, the lady who handled the case I cited earlier behave like that? If I was asked to comment on her performance, I would score her zero. I do not know if she was doing an EFCC job or just dancing to the tunes of people who were giving her money. At the time we were trying to assist EFCC, the report we kept getting was negative and I was not happy about it,” Oba Ewuare II said.
