Waziri, 100 EFCC men storm Lagos to arrest debtors
Headlines Aug 25, 2009 By Innocent Anaba &Abdulwahab Abdulah
LAGOS—The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, led by Farida Waziri, will today storm Lagos with 100 operatives and two Mobile Police units to arrest all loan defaulters who fail to meet the seven-day deadline given by  last Tuesday to pay up or have their properties sealed.


Meanwhile, the umbrella body for Nigerian lawyers, the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has asked  EFCC to follow due process  in the plot to arrest some of the former bank executives, recently relieved of their jobs by the CBN and declared wanted by the commission on Sunday.


Waziri in Lagos
A source close to the commission revealed that seals running into thousands were released to the operatives to seal up property belonging to the loan defaulters.


According to the source, specially designed seals for private jets were also prepared by the agency as most of the defaulters own private aircraft parked at the airports in Lagos.

It was also revealed that the amount paid back so far “is paltry when compared to the magnitude of what the debtors are owing.

The property of the debtors would be sealed up in different parts of Lagos that have been penciled down by the anti-graft agency before the sledge hammer of the apex bank slammed against the banks barely two weeks ago”.

The source explained to Vanguard that “the operatives left early this morning (yesterday) to enable them arrive early and carry out the operations as directed by the chairman as excuses will not be accepted for any failure.”
When asked of the possibility of being influenced by the loan defaulters, the source simply said “our operatives are well paid.

They see this assignment as a challenge than monetary rewards, in short they cannot be influenced by anybody.”
When contacted, Head, Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr Femi Babafemi confirmed that operatives had been sent to Lagos as the deadline elapses by 12 midnight


NBA asks EFCC to follow due process

Lawyers react

Also, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Law, LASU, Gbenga Ojo said the EFCC had no such powers to declare them wanted until they got a court injunction to that effect. Ojo said “ EFCC has no such powers to declare them wanted. It is ultra-vires of the power of the EFCC to do that.

They can only investigate the case, but declaring them wanted could only be possible through a court order.  Also, I need to point out that the issue is of two folds, in as much as the EFCC can arrest the bank officials, they cannot arrest the bank customers, except if they have genuine case of fraud against them.

The matter is pure business and contractual agreements with the individual banks.
Their lawyers, in separatereactions, argued that the EFCC has no right to declare them wanted, especially when the matter is before the court.

Akingbola’s counsel, Mr Tunde Fagbohungbe (SAN) said “they cannot declare him wanted because he has not done anything wrong.

The CBN has not accused him of any criminal offence, so they cannot declare him wanted. All the noise that Akingbola had fled the country is incorrect. He is outside the country for a very important engagement and he will soon return.

“They are now busy examining the books of the banks to find something to nail him. But as far as we know, they have not found anything against him. The examination they are now doing is what they should have done before the CBN made the announcement which removed him from office.”

Mr Adeniyi Akintola, representing Mrs Ibru said: “This is the only country where people go to the media on issues they know nothing about. Mrs Ibru is not ordinary Nigerian, she is an eminent one. They know where she lives. She has not gone to hiding.

How then can she be declared wanted? She was invited by the EFCC, she was there and thereafter allowed home. If they still want her, why did they not go to her residence?”

otokx:

Jimoh Ibrahim likes media talk.

MrCrackles:

I listened to one interview and i thought to myself, how the fucking hell did he rise up so quick?
He sounded really daft and made little sense throughout!. . .

MrCrackles:

I listened to one interview and i thought to myself, how the fucking hell did he rise up so quick?
He sounded really daft and made little sense throughout!. . .

MrCrackles:

I listened to one interview and i thought to myself, how the fucking hell did he rise up so quick?
He sounded really daft and made little sense throughout!. . .

Recession - Print Naira Now - Jimoh Ibrahim

I strongly advise the Federal Government at this time to look at the possibility of printing the naira notes as an urgent solution to recession, if the naira is printed, it's cost of printing will be reasonable as to the cost of depleting the foreign reserve or supporting domestic spending through foreign reserve withdrawal.

If you print our naira now, we would be able to fund government spending, fund infrastructure and fund the seven point agenda. Definitely, printing naira notes will cost inflation; this can be controlled by Treasury bills to mop excess liquidity.

Printing naira notes will reduce interest rates, will increase liquidity, banks will be well funded so as to fund companies, properly funded companies will not cut jobs, they will reduce unemployment, they will fund capacity utilisation and by extension, spending habits will be promoted and this will lead to increased activities at the stock exchange. I know there will be inflation as a challenge but it can be controlled by Treasury bills.

In my view, it will be better to control inflation than to keep spending government reserve.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200902250441.html

mbulela:

i was waiting for someone to pull out one of these.
i have heard him long enough to make an opinion.
even idiots make sense once in a while (without even looking into the contents of your extract).

novaman:

The end will surely justify the means. For those who thinks Sanusi is doing the right thing, we shall see the eventual outcome as only time will tell, same goes to bank chiefs and the debtors. Am on the fence; I don't trust what is going, it could be an agenda by some group of people against another, may be we have fogotten the kind of govt we have, like I said earlier "time will tell" my fingers are crossed

novaman:

The end will surely justify the means. For those who thinks Sanusi is doing the right thing, we shall see the eventual outcome as only time will tell, same goes to bank chiefs and the debtors. Am on the fence; I don't trust what is going, it could be an agenda by some group of people against another, may be we have fogotten the kind of govt we have, like I said earlier "time will tell" my fingers are crossed

mikeansy:

Folks I am no fan of Jimoh Ibrahim

But speak the truth and it shall set you free

the man never said he owed nobody.

IFELEKE:

of course he is not owing anyone in his personal capacity.

TEE ZERO:

[color=#000099]The letter reads: "We write to acknowledge receipt of your transfer instruction of the sum of £11,618,000.00 (Eleven Million, Six Hundred and Eighteen Thousand Pounds) being naira equivalent of N3,000,116,140.00 (Three billion, One Hundred and Sixteen Thousand, One Hundred and Forty Naira only) to be applied on receipt for payment on account of your outstanding balances with the bank in the following accounts:

Global Fleet Oil and Gas Ltd 0011201008448

Global Fleet Industries 0011101028564

Fleet Hotels Ltd 0011201008438

NICON Group 0011101016319

Barr. Jimoh Ibrahim 0013003000359

"The bank undertakes to refund to you any excess charges or debits on the account that is not authorised by you, or interest rate that is not in compliance with our terms of loan as soon as the reconciled account is mutually agreed upon.