The Coalition of Civil Society Groups on Transparency and Accountability has called on anti-graft agencies to ensure the investigation and prosecution of the embattled former chairman of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, Prof. Yusuf Ahmed, was carried out in a transparent manner.
Addressing newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja the coalition led by the Convener, Civil Society Coalition Comr. Igwe Ude-Umanta and National Coordinator, Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative, Comr. Danesi Momoh, urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to make findings from the ongoing investigation of Prof. Ahmed public.
The Coalition also called on the Department of State Security (DSS), to retrieve the properties and documents of the Commission which Prof. Ahmed allegedly refused to hand over to the Acting Chairman.
The coalition said: “The Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) was under a heavy administrative assault from September 3, 2021 when Prof. Ahmed was appointed by the then President Muhammadu Buhari, to September 3, 2024 when his tenure ended. Even till date, about 1 month and 3 weeks after the end of his tenure, he still parade himself as the Chairman/CEO by granting interviews and that is impersonation punishable by law.
“We are duly informed that he still has in his possession, government properties, including vehicles and official documents. This is outright illegal and criminal, and we do hereby call on the Security Agencies, particularly the Nigeria Police and the Department of State Security (DSS) to urgently arrest him and retrieve those properties.”
While alleging that the emergence of Prof. Ahmed as Chairman/CEO of NAEC was manoeuvred with an alteration of procedures, forgery and mass retirement of directors to pave way for him, the Coalition accused Prof. Ahmed of corruption, diversion, abuse of procurement due process and nepotism in a dimension never known or imagined in the commission.
The Coalition further alleged that the embattled former NAEC CEO had used his resources to thwart investigations into the alleged crimes, including an attempt to get the petitioner to withdraw the petition against him.
“Therefore, the onus is on the EFCC, ICPC and House of Representatives Committee on Anti-corruption to tell Nigerians what their findings were. They are on trial on this matter, and we are dispatching letters officially to them on this matter, effective immediately.
“Particularly, we have a copy of a letter from the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-corruption addressed to Prof. Yusuf A. Ahmed to appear before the Committee after he had earlier ignored their invitation. The letter; HR/10/CT.11/09/36/3 was titled: “Re-Petition Against Prof Yusuf Aminu Ahmed, Chairman Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission for Unlawful Enrichment, Procurement Fraud and Unlawful Acquisitionof Property” was received by NAEC on June 25, 2024. The public wish to know whether he appeared in July as requested by the letter, and what the findings of the Committee were.
“It should be noted that we have hard copies evidence about how Prof. Yusuf Aminu Ahmed tried to persuade the petitioner to withdraw his petition against him because of the hard evidences. He drafted a handwritten undertaken in which his cousin, Director of Nuclear Technology Centre is the first witness. He also offered the petitioner a plot of land along Barracks Road in Jimeta-Yola. A screenshot of the phone conversation/chat he made begging the petitioner and trying to compromise him is also with us.
“The facts of these allegations, which efforts are being made to bury, rather than being refuted make us sick in a country where we pretend that official corruption is not our culture. These are facts, hard copies evidence, specifications, yet sadly, Prof. Ahmed is walking freely. He may even be making effort to return to the office he allegedly looted and abused. Or he may be seeking another appointment rather than facing investigations and possibly prosecution for his suspected crimes.
“We are therefore, going to dispatch several letters to the relevant authorities, especially the EFCC and ICPC who we will be seeking clarification on how the earlier petition written to them was concluded.
“We also urge the DSS to immediately retrieve the properties and documents of the Commission which he refused to hand over to the Acting Chairman. This is a matter of State Security, and we Hope to see an action in that direction with dispatch.
“Gentlemen of the Press! We invite you to join us keep vigil on this matter. It must not be swept under the carpet. We shall follow this matter to see why those who are suspected, with substantial evidence, to have stolen from government and have converted public properties to personal use are allowed to walk freely in a country with so many security agencies and anti-corruption bodies.”
