The government has promised to revisit the care-free wastage and theft of public funds by former military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida. Attorney General , Mohammed Bello Adoke, acknowledges receiving a requested signed copy of the Pius Okigbo Report, which is known to have implicated Babangida.
The Okigbo document had been hidden by successive administrations, but with a petition from the human rights coalition, Social-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, requesting the Ministry of Justice to prosecute the Evil Genius, the road may have been cleared for the most important trial of this generation.
The minister, in his reply to SERAP, said: “I acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated 5 May, 2010, written in respect of the above.“I appreciate your effort in making available a signed copy of the Dr. Pius Okigbo Panel Report and as appropriate, I shall set up a committee that will confirm the authenticity of the said report and also review the allegations and recommendations contained therein with a view to ascertaining whether these allegations can sustain a criminal charge.
“While we shall keep you informed of our effort in this regard, thank you for your concerted effort in sustaining the fight against corruption in our society.
“Please accept the assurances of my high regards and esteem.”
There have been calls for the prosecution of IBB over the missing $12.4b oil windfall when he was in power. The Okigbo Panel report, which indicted Babangida, has not been made public several years after the report was submited to the federal Government.
Babangida has indicated his interest to run for the presidency in next year’s election even as opposition is mounting against him.
