Former Presidential Aide to Muhammadu Buhari and former Head of Special Presidential Investigations, Chief Okoi Obono Obla, recently shared an experience during an episode of the "Mic On Podcast." In his interview, he recounted his experience investigating cases that involved high-profile individuals, including a Nigerian Senator and former Military Governor implicated in offshore property holdings via the Panama Papers. Chief Obla revealed that despite initiating memos to the Attorney General, Abubakar Malami, briefing him on these investigations, the Attorney General later denied giving him the mandate to proceed with these cases.
Chief Obla explained that due to the nature of the Panama Papers revelations, which implicated Nigerian public figures in offshore investments, he collaborated with the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to conduct thorough investigations. The reports from these investigations, detailing substantial financial holdings abroad by the Senator and former Military Governor, were duly submitted to Chief Obla, who then forwarded them to the President and the Attorney General for action.
However, Chief Obla expressed frustration that despite the damning evidence presented, no tangible actions were taken on these cases. He disclosed that one of the individuals investigated was reported to have assets amounting to over 200 million pounds sterling in offshore accounts, yet there were no repercussions or legal follow-ups. In discussing these issues on the podcast, Chief Obla emphasized the need for robust institutional frameworks and unwavering political commitment to tackle corruption and hold accountable those implicated in financial wrongdoing, regardless of their status or influence.
According to him: "Since I didn't have the instructions to investigate this issue which is over seas you know, I went to the DG of the National Intelligence Agency to say 'Please, let us work together to do this Investigation' and they did the investigation, the report was sent to me, I sent one to the President and I sent one to the attorney general that this man has over 200 million pounds sterling in offshore Islands but nothing happened, till today".
Watch the video short here