SAN FRANCISCO, December 14, (THEWILL) –Â The Senate ad hoc Committe, set up to investigate the clash between officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) began its investigative hearing on Thursday.
The Director General (DG) of the DSS, Mr. Lawal Daura; Acting Chairman, EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu; and Acting Director General, NIA, Mr. Mohammed Dauda were in attendance. November 21, 2017
Magu was also accompanied by officials of the EFCC deployed on November 21 for the attempted arrest of the immediate past DG of the DSS, Mr. Ita Ekpenyong; and former DG, NIA, Ambassador Ayo Oke, which was prevented by DSS operatives.
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Francis Alimikhena, after his opening remarks at the hearing asked if any of the heads of the agencies in attendance had any observations or questions.
The NIA and EFCC bosses said they had none but Daura requested that the hearing be conducted in camera.
“I will like to seek or ask the distinguished committee whether our testimonies will not be given in the presence of the press,” he stated.
Alimikhena and other members of the panel such as Senator Shaaba Lafiagi and Senator Fatima Raji-Rasaki and Senator Chukwuka Utazi unanimously agreed with the DSS boss to conduct the hearing behind closed doors after which journalists left the Room 022 venue.
THEWILL had reported that there was a clash between operatives of the DSS and EFCC for over 13 hours when operatives of the Commission stormed Ekpenyong’s home to effect his arrest but were resisted by operatives of the service.
The ex-DSS boss had been invited by the EFCC for his alleged role in the arms scam involving a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), but refused to honour the invitations.
Similarly, EFCC operatives were prevented at Oke’s home despite the search and arrest warrants produced by EFCC operatives on Oke and his wife, Folasade.
The anti-graft body said Oke, who was recently sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari for allegedly stashing away N13bn in a house in Ikoyi, had been refusing to honour invitations for over three weeks.
