#BudgetPadding: Police Invite Speaker Dogara, Other Principal Officers

AIG Ali heads probe panel
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris has raised a 5-man special team to probe the padding of the budget by House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara and some principal officers.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Amodu Ali-led Special Investigative Panel (SIP) has invited Dogara, his deputy Yusuff Lasun, Chief Whip Alhassan Ado Doguwa and Minority Leader Leo Ogor to appear before it on Friday.

The panel had what was called 'a preliminary session' with Abdulmumin Jibrin, who accused Dogara and others of padding the budget with N284billion.

Jibrin was said to have “furnished the SIP with vital information and a heap of documents” at their meeting yesterday.

A highly-placed police source, who spoke in confidence, told The Nation that Ibrahim has directed the SIP to conduct a “comprehensive investigation into Jibrin’s petition.”

The source said: “We have commenced full investigation into the N284billion budget padding in the House of Representatives based on a petition from Hon. Jibrin.

”A Special Investigative Panel (SIP), with a crack detective, AIG Amodu Ali as the chairman, is the one saddled with the responsibility of looking into the allegations in the petition. The same Ali uncovered the lid on the $620,000 bribery scam in the House for which a former Chairman of the House Committee on Fuel Subsidy Management, Mallam Farouk Lawan, and the Clerk of the committee, Mr. Boniface Emenalo were indicted. The case is in court.

“You will recall that Ali was deeply involved in the investigation of the $180million Halliburton scam. So, the SIP is led by an officer who is tested.”