EFCC invites Reps’ Clerk over Bankole’s case

former Speaker of the House, Dimeji Bankole

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has summoned the Clerk of the House of Representatives, Mr. Mohammed Sani-Omolori.

Although, details of the invitation were sketchy on Wednesday, The Punch confirmed that he had yet to honour the invitation.

Confirming the report, the EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren said, “It is true we invited the clerk of the House of Representatives, but I cannot comment on the reason.”

It was difficult to get the details of the reasons for the summon of Omolori by the EFCC, a competent source in the anti-graft agency informed our correspondent on Wednesday night that the Reps Clerk was invited to help the commission in the pending case of alleged fraud involving the former Speaker of the House, Dimeji Bankole.

Omolori was a Prosecution Witness in the controversial N38bn loan obtained by the leadership of the sixth session of the House under former Speaker Dimeji Bankole.

Bankole and his erstwhile deputy, Usman Nafada, were slammed with a 17 counts of criminal breach of trust, dishonest use of House of Representatives bank account to obtain loan before Justice Suleiman Belgore.

Justice Belgore had since struck out the case.

Although, Omolori was brought as a witness by the anti-graft agency, he cleared the accused persons of any wrongdoing.

Omolori, the fourth EFCC witness, told the court that the two accused persons did not benefit from the loans taken, as the running costs of their offices were, “drastically decreased to N100m for the Speaker and N80m for his Deputy”.

Under cross-examination by Bankole’s counsel, Wale Akanni (SAN), and that of Nafada, Chief Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), Omolori said, “Sometimes in March 2010, the leadership of the House caused a briefing to be made to the House, in an executive session, about the import of the 2010 budget and members, who were duly briefed expressed dissatisfaction with a number of areas in the budget, one of which was the running cost. They advanced various reasons why the leadership of the House should enhance members’ running cost.”