The Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency, an NGO, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Department of State Security to urgently clamp down on the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi, as the centre claims to have credible information that the helmsmen of the top maritime agency is set to escape to an unknown destination in order to evade possible probe by the incoming Buhari administration.
Executive Director of the Centre for Operations, Comrade Philip Agbese handed down the advice yesterday during a press briefing held in Abuja on the state of the nation.
Comrade Agbese, lamented what he described as Mr. Akpobolokemi’s refusal to give heed to the good counsel of well-meaning Nigerians urging him to “return a large chunk of loot back to the Federal Government.”
According to him, one would continue to be amazed about the mindset of many highly placed Nigerians that known violators of the law with cases like the embezzling of $30M (thirty million US dollars), should be ignored in the name of politics.
Agbese said: “We make bold to categorically state that Mr. President in his recent statement [alleging that he and his ministers will be persecuted by the incoming administration] must be careful as not to set a bad narrative in motion where public officers who have cases before our law enforcement agencies would run to town to blackmail the incoming administration in her much anticipated war against corruption under the cover of political persecution.
“It is more worrisome particularly with the recent developments that while some public officers are busy returning their loots back to the treasury, the Director General of NIMASA Mr. Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi and others who see themselves as being above the law are making travel arrangements to evade arrest in the nearest future.
“We shall mobilize ourselves and other civil society groups to occupy the NIMASA headquarters in view of the fear that agents of the state may conspire to aid his escape from the country and ensure a total barricade until he is arrested.”
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