EFCC arrests former House of Reps deputy Speaker

EFCC arrests former House of Reps Deputy Speaker
Hauwa Noroh Ali, Abuja

Nigeria’s anti-graft agency has arrested the former Deputy Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Usman Bayero Nafada, in connection with the ongoing investigation into the alleged 10 billion Naira contract inflation scam in the Sixth House of Representatives.

Nafada's arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is coming on the heels of the agency's arrest of the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, whose fate on the application for bail will be determined on June 13, 2011.

Officials of the EFCC have revealed that Nafada will most likely be arraigned in court along with Mr Bankole for their alleged complicity in an alleged Capital Project fraud.

Invited House members

The anti-graft agency had also invited five other immediate past principal officers of the house.

The invited officers are; former Majority Leader, Hon. Tunde Akogun, Baba Shehu Agaie, Sulaiman Kawu, Bello Mohammed, and Ali Ndume, elected into the Upper Legislative Chamber in the last National Assembly polls.

EFCC's sources said the former principal officers were summoned for interrogation based on the fact that their names appeared on some of the official documents under scrutiny.

Bankole was quoted as having said that the money in question was shared out and paid electronically into the account of every member of the House.

The former Speaker is facing a 16-count charge, which includes, among others, inflation of contracts amounting to 894 million Naira (about 5.9 million dollars), breach of provisions of the Public Procurement Act, and other sundry issues.

Williams