The EFCC has accused Federal Ministry of Justice employees with accepting payments in order to slip the name of a jailed banker, Francis Atuche, into the list of convicts recently given pardons by President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to an EFCC report obtained by journalists on Wednesday, the two indicted officers worked in the secretariat of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy (PACPM).
The PACPM secretariat was headed by Emmanuel Fan, while the other suspect, Lawrence Marinus, was a member of the secretariat. They were both appointed to the PACPM secretariat by the Federal Ministry of Justice.
According to the EFCC, one other yet-to-be-verified individual who reportedly paid the bribe on Mr Atuche’s behalf is being pursued, according to the commission’s report.
The EFCC has indicted two officials of the Federal Ministry of Justice for allegedly receiving bribes to smuggle the name of a jailed banker, Francis Atuche, into the list of convicts recently granted pardon by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The two indicted officers, according to an EFCC’s report seen by PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday served in the secretariat of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy (PACPM).
Emmanuel Fan headed the PACPM secretariat, while the other suspect, Lawrence Marinus, was a member of the secretariat. They were both drawn from the Federal Ministry of Justice to serve in the PACPM secretariat.
One other yet-to-be verified person, who allegedly paid the bribe on behalf of Mr Atuche, is being tracked by the EFCC, according to the commission’s report.
“Investigation, so far, has revealed that Emmanuel Ishaku Fan conspired with Lawrence Marinus to include the name of Francis Atuche in the final report of PACPM submitted to Mr President and the Council of State for consideration and ratification.
“The investigation has also established that Lawrence Minus received money from both Emmanuel Ishaku Fan and a yet-to-be-verified agent of Francis Atuche to perfect the plan, while Emmanuel Ishaku Fan is in direct contact with the so-called agent of Mr Francis Atuche,” the report said.
“Investigation, so far, has revealed that Emmanuel Ishaku Fan conspired with Lawrence Marinus to include the name of Francis Atuche in the final report of PACPM submitted to Mr President and the Council of State for consideration and ratification.
“The investigation has also established that Lawrence Minus received money from both Emmanuel Ishaku Fan and a yet-to-be-verified agent of Francis Atuche to perfect the plan, while Emmanuel Ishaku Fan is in direct contact with the so-called agent of Mr Francis Atuche,” the report said.
“I am not aware of any outcome of EFCC’s investigation over the allegation. We were only invited and questioned. Since then, we have not received any information that I have been indicted.
“I’m shocked to hear that I have been indicted (by the EFCC),” Mr Fan said.
But the second suspect, Marius, could not be reached at his office on Wednesday. He was not available during our correspondent’s visits to his office on the fifth floor of the Federal Ministry of Justice complex in Abuja.
His colleagues turned down our reporter’s request for his phone number.
Other beneficiaries
Two former governors of Plateau and Taraba states, Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame, were among the persons granted pardon by the Council of State in April.
Messrs Dariye and Nyame, who were serving various jail terms at Kuje prison in Abuja, were only released on Monday.
This newspaper reported how President Buhari approved the pardon for Messrs Dariye and Nyame, who had been convicted of stealing public funds when they served as governors.
Both men were sentenced to 14 years each and had only served about three years of their jail terms.
Mr Buhari’s pardon of Messrs Dariye and Nyame was seen as a big blow to his electoral promise to fight corruption.
Another prominent beneficiary of the pardon was Enitan Ransome-Kuti, the former military Commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force, who was convicted by a Special Court Martial in January 2015.
PREMIUM TIMES
