The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has commenced investigations into allegations that members of the House of Representatives adhoc committee, which recently probed the fuel subsidy regime, collected a bribe of $3 million (about N500m) from some oil industry chieftains.
It was alleged that a cash advance of $600,000(about N96m) was received by the point man in the bribe scandal, who was said to have appeared before the EFCC on Friday.
EFCC had interrogated the alleged ring leader of the bribery scandal who was said have collected the $600,000 bribe directly from the house of a top player in the oil industry.
It was learnt that the top player was indicted by the subsidy probe for allegedly collecting foreign exchange, without using same to import fuel but that the oil mangnate approached a member of the adhoc committee for succour.
A deal of $3million was said to have been struck, while the oil chief gave a cash of $600,000 for the job.
It was learnt that in fulfillment of the deal, the committee later removed the oil magnate’s name from the list of indicted companies in respect of alleged abuse of forex for oil imports.
The heat was turned on the adhoc committee man some days ago when he got wind that the State Security Services(SSS) has tapes of his receipt of the bribe from the oil magnate and that the service was ready to confront the leadership of the House with the details.
The affected Rep was then said to have moved to ensure that the money was displayed on the floor of the House on Thursday after allegedly handing over the cash money he got from the oil magnate.
The plot, according to sources, was that the Rep wanted to claim that he got the money so as to play along with the bribery saga and that he was now sure the time was ripe to release the money.
Sources, however, said the foreign currency handed over to the Rep were marked notes and that the security agencies were on top of the probe.
“There was a frenzy in the House on Thursday when the affected Rep attempted to cause the committee on anti-Corruption to display the money as evidence of attempts to bribe him but members resisted the move on the claim that the line of argument cannot be pushed because the man had kept the money for more than two months.
Besides, the Reps who, opposed the bid, were said to have claimed that the request for which the money was given was carried out on the floor.
Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Zakari Mohammed, said he was not officially briefed on the interrogation of the Rep member by the EFCC in relation to the bribery saga, adding that he had left Abuja for Ilorin after the Thursday sitting.
Calls to the telephone number of the chairman of the Adhoc Committee, Farouk Lawan as well as that of the Chairman of the Standing Committee on EFCC, Hon. Jagaban Adams Jagaban were unanswered on Friday, just as the duo did not also respond to text messages.
EFCC spokesman, Wilson Ewujaren, however, pleaded for time for him to be in official capacity to confirm the development.
He said he was having challenges reaching some key persons.
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