Society Gists

Former House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Chairman, Mr. Abdumumin Jibrin, has alleged that his suspension and the invasion of his office by the Sergeant-At-Arms of the National Assembly, on the instruction of the Speaker of the House, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, were done to to enable the Speaker lay hands on and destroy evidence related to the budget padding scandal.

The allegation was contained in a statement issued on Friday by Mr. Jibrin.

“The media witnessed the volumes of 2016 budget documents and 53 files that were carted away from my office and handed to Speaker Dogara. I have exercised extreme caution and refused to touch any document in my office since the crisis started. I have raised alarm that Dogara wants to destroy evidence, but the good news is that we have more than enough already in case of prosecution,” Jibrin stated.

The suspended legislator said the House gave Mr. Dogara over two months to lobby, clear his desk and now, destroy evidence. He urged Nigerians to forcefully demand that Mr. Yakubu Dogara produce all the 2016 budget documents and 53 files carted away from his office.

Mr. Jibrin further claimed that he was not allowed to take away his personal belongings, saying that the Speaker is desperate to have him dealt with and disgraced by all means. His life, he added, has been threatened.

“Speaker Dogara is playing God. I have become vulnerable in the face of frequent threats to my life and some of the security personnel attached to me were suddenly withdrawn,” Jibrin stated.

He said his ordeal is exclusively a product of his desire to expose corruption in high places, adding that if he is left unprotected from Mr. Dogara’s schemes, no Nigerian will want to expose corruption in the future.

“This episode is a defining moment for the fight against corruption in Nigeria I wish to plead to the general public that we should concentrate on the grievous allegations I have raised rather than unfairly attacking me, the messenger. The fact that I am raising corruption allegations does not confer on me any immunity from being investigated if allegations are raised against me,” he said.

He added that any of the 359 members of the House is free to sign a corruption petition against him but, as yet, none has done so “because there is nothing”.

“Only faceless and discredited individuals and groups are used to divert attention by spreading allegations that all turned out false,” he concluded.